A useful way through
- Identify where the image will appear. Ask the destination for its current file and crop requirements. Distinguish a casting submission, professional biography and social profile; they need not use the same version. Bring requirements to the photographer before agreeing the session.
- Discuss how you want to be represented. Share relevant references, wardrobe options and any accessibility or comfort needs. Agree what will be photographed, who attends and how private images are handled. Do not assume another person’s portrait will suit your purpose.
- Define selection and editing. Ask how proofs are shown, how many final images are included, who selects them and which corrections are covered. Agree the extent of retouching so the result remains an intentional and recognisable representation.
- Check final files at the destination crop. Confirm agreed size, format, naming and permitted uses, and retain a version record. Where an organisation will publish the image, clarify the photographer’s licence and the subject’s permission. An image cannot guarantee a job or an audition.
Read the map as text
ONE PORTRAIT, TWO DESTINATIONS · Biography crop · Square profile crop · → · Illustrative framing only: agree the actual destination requirements.
- Intended destination
- Framing and appearance
- Selection and edits
- Files and permitted uses
Put it into practice
A fictional performer needs a portrait for a biography and a square profile. The brief asks for a composition with enough agreed crop room, one selected image and two specified exports. The performer checks both crops before approving the files. A square crop that cuts an important feature is a delivery issue; lack of a booking is not proof that the photograph failed its specification.
Illustrative example, not a reported client project or test.
Your take-away checklist
A headshot brief built around the actual use
- □ Intended destination: ____________________
- □ Framing and appearance: ____________________
- □ Selection and edits: ____________________
- □ Files and permitted uses: ____________________
Before you act
Casting and publishing requirements vary. Verify them with the actual destination. Do not publish another person’s portrait as a stand-in for the named artist, and do not infer professional credentials from a polished photograph.
A proof review that is easy to answer
For each selected frame, record filename; destination; preferred crop; factual correction; agreed retouch; approval status. Send one consolidated list rather than conflicting instructions from several channels.
Keep the rights beside the image
Store the photographer credit, agreed uses, any time or territory limits and the approved filename together. Do not assume ownership of every source file merely because a session was paid for.
Sources & context
The earlier Should Your Headshot Photographer Care About The Outcome Of Your Shoot? page was dated 2021-04-22. Its subject is developed here as a new procedure, with the original byline retained separately. This edition does not carry forward the page’s supplier recommendations or unsupported outcome claims.