In the entertainment industry you are first judged by your picture. Your picture is called a headshot. This is extremely important to you along with your resume. The way that an agency may decide to call you in for an interview or to even book you for a job is based on these two things.

It is important that you get a good headshot of a professional quality. If you don’t know of a good photographer, click on our Resources or Photographer page. If you specifically want to be a model, then you will need a comp card and a portfolio or book of photographs.

If the photographer is qualified, he or she will know what a headshot and comp card are and how they should be done. If the photographer does not know, you should find another photographer who does. If you are not qualified to do your own make-up, some photographers have make-up artists that they work with.

Once you have decided which picture or pictures you want, you will need to have them duplicated. There are a number of companies local and abroad that will duplicate your pictures. You can find a few of them by clicking on our Resources page.

While your pictures are being duplicated, you can work on your resume. If you are new to the business, you may not have lots of experience, but there may be some things that you don’t realize you can use. Have you done any school plays, fashion shows, community theater, or public speaking? Have you taken any acting classes or workshops? Don’t forget about your hobbies or interests? Sometimes a casting director might be looking for someone who plays basketball, tennis or the drums. The job might go to someone who speaks a foreign language or someone who can juggle. List all these things in the order of importance. The categories might be theater, film, print (for modeling) and special skills. Try to balance out each category so that one won’t outshine the other, unless you want to work in a certain area like modeling. If you only want to model then put more modeling experience, but still use the other things to show that you are well rounded. Click here to see a sample resume. Click here to see some sample headshots.

When you get the duplicates back, you need to include one picture or comp card, one resume (which should be attached to the back of your headshot and neatly trimmed to the same size), and a cover letter in each package that you mail out to each agency. Do not visit these agencies without being called for an interview. They are very busy and will not see you if you just stop in. Speaking of agencies, go to the Talent Agencies Page for a list of agencies that you may want to approach since you are just entering the business.