My Yellowbelly Headshot Experience: Getting Actor Headshots That Actually Look Like Me

As actors, we spend a lot of time talking about what makes a good headshot. The lighting. The wardrobe. The background. The expression. Whether it looks commercial or theatrical.

But after getting new headshots with Yellowbelly, I was reminded that one of the most important questions is actually much simpler:

Does this photo look like you?

My previous headshots were taken in 2024, and I genuinely loved them. But a lot had changed since then…including me. I had lost more than 50 pounds, recently signed with a new agency, and was entering a new chapter of my career. I needed my materials to reflect the person who would actually be walking into an audition room today.

My agent recommended Yellowbelly, and once I started looking through their work, something immediately stood out to me: the people in their photos looked like real people.

The shots weren't overly polished or edited. They weren't so glamorous that they stopped feeling like actor headshots. You could see skin texture. Personality. Individuality.

They looked like the person.

And that's exactly what I wanted.

Disclosure: I received a discount on my Yellowbelly session in exchange for promotional deliverables, including this blog post. All opinions and experiences shared here are my own.

Headshots by Yellowbelly

Why I Chose Yellowbelly

After my agent recommended Yellowbelly, I went straight to Instagram and started looking through their portfolio.

I'd seen some of their work before, but this time I really paid attention.

One of my biggest pet peeves with headshots is when an actor looks incredible in the photograph…but doesn't necessarily look like themselves anymore. Between retouching, dramatic lighting, makeup and editing, it's possible to create a gorgeous image that isn't actually doing its most important job.

A casting director should be able to look at your headshot, look up when you walk into the room and immediately know you're the same person.

Yellowbelly's philosophy aligned almost perfectly with what I was looking for. Their preparation guide explains that a great headshot isn't about dressing as a character; it's about capturing who you actually are and creating images that feel authentic, confident and unmistakably you.

That idea became a huge theme throughout my entire experience.

I Booked My Headshot Session in About a Week

I was also working with a bit of a time crunch.

Yellowbelly didn't have immediate availability when I initially looked, so I joined their waitlist. Not long afterward, I received a text letting me know that an appointment had opened up for the following week.

I clicked the link, booked it and paid my balance.

Suddenly, I was taking new headshots in a week.

You can learn more about their sessions here.

I booked their Sixty session, a one-hour studio shoot. My package included three fully retouched images, and I added one additional retouched image as well as the Full Color-Graded Gallery.

That last add-on ended up being particularly valuable to me. Yellowbelly describes the Full Color-Graded Gallery as every successful image from your shoot delivered in high resolution and professionally color-graded. These don't receive the detailed retouching of your final selected images, but they're ready to use for things like websites, social media, press and personal branding.

Check out my personal actor site here.

As someone who creates a lot of content in addition to acting, having that variety was absolutely worth it.

Preparing for My Yellowbelly Shoot

I've taken headshots plenty of times before, so I went into this session with a pretty clear idea of what I needed.

I had recently signed with new representation and wanted to update both my commercial and theatrical materials. I knew I wanted range, but I didn't want to show up wearing costumes for five different characters.

I wanted everything to still feel like me.

Yellowbelly actually encourages that approach. Their wardrobe guide says that actors should wear clothing that feels like them rather than trying to dress as a particular character. They also recommend bringing plenty of options because sometimes the outfit you don't expect to work ends up photographing the best.

So I brought options (a lot of options!)

Once I arrived, my photographer, Angela, helped me figure out what would work best. We ultimately shot around four or five different outfits during my one-hour session. She helped with wardrobe choices, steamed tops when necessary and made adjustments as we went.

That collaboration was something I really appreciated. I came in knowing how I wanted to represent myself, but I didn't feel like I had to figure out every visual detail alone.

And that brings me to one of my biggest pieces of advice for actors getting new headshots:

Know what you want your headshots to do for you before you walk into the studio.

Talk to your agent or manager. Talk to people who know you well. Look at the roles you're being called in for and the roles you want to be called in for.

Ask yourself: How do I want casting to see me?

You don't need to walk in knowing exactly what background you want or how you're going to position your shoulders. That's the photographer's job.

But you should understand what you're trying to communicate.

Arriving at Yellowbelly

Yellowbelly's New York studio is located at Industry City in Brooklyn.

I dropped my things off in their waiting area and, because I had a little time before the session, grabbed a coffee across the street before coming back to meet Angela.

Funny enough, that's essentially what Yellowbelly tells you to do. Their guide encourages clients to arrive early, grab a coffee and settle into Industry City before their session.

When Angela came to get me, she was incredibly sweet and immediately made me feel comfortable.

The actual shooting space had a relaxed, loft-like feel, and once we started, it was just the two of us.

I loved that.

Headshots can feel vulnerable. You're standing in front of a camera while someone captures hundreds of images of your face, and it's incredibly easy to start overthinking every tiny thing you're doing.

Because the environment felt so relaxed, I felt comfortable advocating for myself. If I wanted to adjust something or had an opinion about how a shot was looking, I felt like I could say it.

There wasn't a sense that I needed to stand there quietly while someone else decided what my headshots should be.

It felt collaborative.

What It's Actually Like Shooting With Yellowbelly

The best way I can describe my session is that it didn't feel overly posed.

It felt conversational.

Angela would direct me by giving me adjustments to my body position, expression, where to look and how to interact with the camera. We were constantly communicating throughout the process.

There was also a mirror nearby, which I loved because I could check my hair and see how I was presenting myself.

And every several shots, Angela would turn the camera around and show me some of what we were getting.

That made a huge difference.

Instead of shooting for an hour and crossing my fingers that we were getting what I wanted, I could actually see what was working in real time.

We could adjust.

Maybe an expression was reading differently on camera than I thought it was. Maybe a certain angle was particularly strong. Maybe a wardrobe choice looked better than expected.

We weren't waiting until the end to figure it out.

This is part of Yellowbelly's stated approach as well. Their guide explains that photographers regularly review images with clients during the shoot and make adjustments along the way so that the photographs feel authentic and representative of the person being photographed.

And I experienced exactly that.

One Hour, Four to Five Looks and More Than 500 Images

My session lasted exactly one hour.

And somehow, we got more than 500 images.

We shot multiple outfits, expressions, crops and backgrounds, giving me everything from warm, approachable smiling shots to more grounded theatrical options.

What I particularly like when looking at the final images together is that there's range without any of them feeling like a completely different person.

That's exactly what I wanted.

Getting My Photos Back

I didn't have to wait long to see the results.

I received my proofing gallery the same day as my shoot.

Yellowbelly promises a private online gallery within 24 hours (and notes that clients often receive it the same day) so my turnaround was right in line with that. From there, you can look through the images and choose which ones you'd like professionally retouched.

And yes, narrowing down more than 500 photographs of your own face is exactly as overwhelming as it sounds.

Yellowbelly does offer a Photographer's Top 10 Selection as an add-on if you'd rather have a professional help narrow things down. I also recommend sending your favorites to your agent or manager and asking people you trust for their opinions.

Sometimes other people see something in a photo that we don't.

In fact, Yellowbelly recommends doing exactly that when choosing your final images: ask agents, friends, family and industry professionals for input instead of making every decision after staring at your own face for hours.

The Thing I Like Most About My New Headshots

When I look at these photos, I don't think:

Wow, that's a really glamorous version of me.

I think:

That's me.

That's probably the biggest compliment I can give a headshot photographer.

I still love my previous headshots. They represented me really well during that chapter of my career.

But these feel like the person I am right now.

They look like how I might actually show up to an audition. My curls look like my curls! My skin looks like skin. My expressions feel familiar. I don't feel overly smoothed, overly edited or transformed into somebody I'm not.

They feel raw in the best possible way.

Yellowbelly's own guide has a piece of advice that perfectly summarizes what I took away from the experience: “Trust authenticity over perfection.”

I couldn't agree more.

Would I Recommend Yellowbelly for Actor Headshots?

Yes. Particularly if you're looking for headshots that feel natural, current and representative of who you actually are.

I think Yellowbelly is especially worth considering if you're due for a refresh, you've recently gone through a significant change in your appearance or career, you've signed with new representation, or you simply look at your current headshots and think, That's not really me anymore.

But no matter where you get your next headshots taken, my biggest advice is the same:

Do some of the work before you get in front of the camera.

Have a conversation with yourself. Talk to your agent and manager. Ask people you trust how they see you. Think about the roles you currently play and the opportunities you want your new materials to help you attract.

Bring options. Know what you need. And then be willing to collaborate once you get there.

You only have a certain amount of time in front of the camera. The more you understand what you're trying to accomplish, the more you can spend that time actually creating.

And when it comes time to choose your final images?

Don't automatically choose the photo that makes you look the most perfect.

Choose the one that looks the most like you.

That's the person casting is eventually going to meet anyway.