Photos on your actor portfolio website can now be sorted into named categories. Each becomes its own gallery, with its own heading, in the order you choose.
Why one big gallery fails
A single page holding forty images asks the visitor to do the editing. They will not. They will scroll for four seconds, form an impression from whatever happened to be in view, and leave. If the first three images are a commercial headshot, a wedding photo and a blurry set selfie, that is your portfolio as far as they are concerned.
Categories let you make the argument yourself. Here are my headshots. Here is my theater work. Here is me in a period piece, because you are casting one.
Categories that work for actors
- Headshots. Three to six, no more. Different looks, same person.
- Production stills. On set, in character, ideally with lighting somebody else paid for.
- Theater. Stage work reads differently and deserves its own space.
- Commercial. If you do commercial work, casting for it is a different conversation.
- Character or period. Only if you genuinely have the images. An empty category is worse than none.
Three good categories beat seven thin ones. Our older guide to a headshots gallery and to showcasing your best moments both make the case for ruthless selection, and it holds.
The first image in each category is doing a job
It becomes the cover of that gallery. Choose it as a cover rather than as your favorite photograph. A tight, well-lit face at a small size beats a beautiful wide shot where you are the size of a thumbnail.
How many photos in total
Twelve to twenty across the whole site is plenty for most actors. Casting is not browsing a portfolio for pleasure. They are checking whether you look like the person in their head, and then they are moving on to your reel.
The strongest version of this advice: if you would not send an image as your submission photo, it does not need to be on the site. Our headshot guide covers what makes one worth sending.
What comes with it
Categories are the foundation for multiple galleries, for lightbox viewing on every design, and for the loading improvements in faster headshot galleries.
No photos uploaded yet? Start your free actor website and upload three. Three good ones is a real portfolio.
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