I am by no means an expert on what makes the perfect headshot. It is a personal thing, an expression of the comedian. As a photographer myself I do know a bit about it, and I have heard some things. I find just like with anything in comedy there are some basic guidelines and for me it works better to have guidelines. These are my guidelines for headshots.

“If you are an artist, learn science. If you are a scientist, cultivate art.” – Karin Timpone

Keep it simple, but professional. Go do a photo shoot with an actual photographer. Yes, we all have the latest iPhone that shoots 4k video and images that have more color than the human eye. Unless they are a wizard with your phone camera, get a friend with at minimum a DSLR and some knowledge of using it. I feel like phones have given people this delusion that they are professional photographers now, it’s like how everyone thinks they are a good driver. They can be candid photos but professional quality. If one can get into a studio and shoot with someone who has flashes and a seamless backdrop that is ideal. I think that this is an important aspect to my comedy career, so I am not afraid to drop a little on it. It’s also fun as adults we don’t get that annual school picture anymore so why not get some good photos. I would make sure and look at the photographers work to make sure it’s something that resonates and works with my personal brand. I am not going to go to some photography studio and get some school picture style ones.

I have heard the rule: Don’t try and be funny in your headshot. I believe that it’s better to be funny on stage than in headshots. That being said I have used some silly ones, but I took them very seriously when I was shooting them. I think that comedy can be created when we make silly serious and make the serious silly. I submitted all serious headshots to this comedy festival, and they ended up pulling one of my silly headshots off my Instagram account and used that for promotion. It was a silly shot of me in underwear I did for a Halloween thing, but it fit perfectly for a LGBT comedy festival. I never would have thought to submit those photos but it was fun they used them.

Dress at or just above what you normally would at a show. Dress for the job you want not the job you have. I think that this works on several levels with comedy. I would not dress in a suit and tie for my headshots because I am not wearing that on stage. If that is how I always dress in shows, then yeah I am going to wear that in my headshots. But normally I wear a hoodie and tee shirt. I might just wear a blank tee or a basic button up shirt. If I want to be taken seriously by promoters or bookers then I want to be presentable.

One of my weekly shows (Blue Velvet Comedy) that I did we asked the performers to dress up. This was just a fun thing that we did and an excuse to dress up nice for a show. Many of the comedians took us up on it and really had fun. It led to a more professional looking show in my opinion. I did get a lot of pushback and several that declined to dress up, as it was optional. I don’t regret doing it because I think it really elevated the look of the show. It was oddly a way for our show to stand out and was just fun. I did however quickly run out of formal dress outfits and began taking some liberties with what constitutes as formal.

Bjorn & Todd Basil Hosting Blue Velvet Comedy Show. 2019

Versatility is another aspect to consider. So if I am going to pay to get these photos done and take the time to do them, they should be able to serve me. I want something that I can use for lots of different shows or promotional things.

No props. As a general rule I would advise against having props in my headshots. Unless it is a part of my act, and it's not so I would never have any props. If it’s a one off show great, but not in headshots I am submitting for festivals or comedy clubs no way. I don’t want to give people any reason to say no to me.

If anyone is serious about pursuing standup comedy, getting some headshots done is an important thing to do. I would say get them before you need them. I am so bad about changing my facial hair every year and then I’m submitting some headshots with last year’s beard, not this year’s mustache. I think at the end of the day when it comes to headshots, the guiding principle should be truth. My headshots should be an honest reflection of me and my personal brand. Wearing clothes that I would wear, look the way I will look on stage to the best of my ability. If it feels dishonest to who I am and who I present then figure out what I need to do to change that. I have seen plenty of great headshots of comics in a plain black hoodie.

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Thank you for reading, You’re doing great.

Bjorn RG.

Standup Comedy Headshots.