Headshot/Resume Formatting Guide
A practical formatting guide for pairing your headshot with your resume in the industry-standard way
Overview
This resource card explains how to properly pair your headshot with your acting resume for both physical and digital submissions. It covers print sizing, paper stock, stapling conventions, and digital file formatting that casting directors expect.
The guide details the standard 8x10 headshot format, how to size and trim your resume to match, and the correct way to attach them together. It also covers digital formatting for online submissions, including file naming conventions and resolution requirements.
How It Works
Proper headshot and resume formatting is one of those small details that signals professionalism. Casting directors notice when materials are sloppy, misaligned, or formatted incorrectly, and it can negatively impact your first impression.
This guide is free and serves as a companion to the Actor's Resume Template Guide. Together, they provide everything you need to create a polished, industry-standard submission package.
Who Uses It
Whether you are attending an open call or submitting digitally through a casting platform, this guide ensures your materials look professional. Review it each time you update your headshots or resume.
Pricing & Plans
This formatting guide is completely free to access with no registration, subscription, or payment required. All information is available directly on ActorsJunction and can be bookmarked, saved, or printed for reference. There are no premium tiers or upsells. The guide covers both physical print formatting (for in-person auditions and open calls) and digital formatting (for online casting platform submissions), ensuring actors are prepared for both submission contexts. Compared to paying a print shop or graphic designer to format your headshot-resume package, this free guide gives you the knowledge to prepare materials yourself using standard software and printing services available at any FedEx, Staples, or local print shop. The guide is updated to reflect current industry standards as submission practices evolve from primarily print-based to increasingly digital. The companion Actor's Resume Template Guide, also free, provides the resume formatting details that complement this headshot-resume pairing guide.
Pros & Cons
What's Great
Proper headshot-resume formatting is one of those invisible professional details that casting directors notice primarily when it is wrong — materials that are the correct size, properly aligned, and cleanly presented signal that you take your career seriously and understand industry conventions. The guide covers the complete physical submission workflow from printing your headshot at the correct 8x10 size on quality paper stock, to sizing and trimming your resume to match, to the correct stapling technique that keeps materials paired without looking sloppy. The digital formatting section addresses the increasingly important topic of how to prepare headshot and resume files for upload to casting platforms, including proper file naming conventions, resolution requirements, and format specifications that ensure your materials display correctly on every platform. Understanding both physical and digital formatting is essential because actors frequently need both — digital submissions for online casting platforms and physical materials for in-person auditions, open calls, and agent meetings. The guide prevents common formatting mistakes that immediately mark an actor as inexperienced, such as printing resumes on separate letter-size paper that does not match the headshot dimensions, or uploading low-resolution digital files that appear blurry on casting directors' screens. Having your materials properly formatted from the start means you are always ready to submit or attend an audition without scrambling to prepare materials under time pressure.
What Could Be Better
The guide provides standardized formatting advice that may not account for every casting platform's specific upload requirements, file size limitations, or format preferences, as each platform has its own technical specifications that change over time. Physical headshot-resume formatting is becoming less relevant as the industry shifts increasingly toward digital submissions, and some actors in major markets may rarely need physical materials, making portions of the guide less applicable to their current workflow. The standardized formatting advice may not address specialized situations such as formatting for commercial submissions where the headshot presentation differs from theatrical submissions, or international markets where conventions vary from US standards. The guide focuses on formatting technique rather than content quality, meaning it ensures your materials look correct but does not address whether your headshot is actually good, whether your resume content is strategically organized, or whether your overall presentation is compelling. Digital file format requirements change as casting platforms update their systems, and static guide content may lag behind platform-specific changes. Actors who submit exclusively through established casting platforms may find that those platforms handle most formatting automatically, reducing the practical relevance of manual formatting knowledge.
Our Recommendation
This guide is essential for every actor preparing submission materials for the first time and serves as a valuable reference for experienced actors updating their presentation. The guide is particularly important for actors transitioning from exclusively digital submissions to in-person auditions and meetings, where physical materials are still expected and formatting quality directly impacts first impressions. Actors in major markets who submit primarily through casting platforms should focus on the digital formatting section, while actors in smaller markets and those attending open calls should pay equal attention to the physical formatting guidance. Use this guide alongside the Actor's Resume Template Guide for a comprehensive understanding of how to prepare industry-standard submission materials. If you are unsure whether your materials meet industry standards, ask your acting teacher, career coach, or agent for feedback, using this guide as the baseline for correct formatting.
Pro Tips
Print several copies of your headshot-resume package in advance and keep them in a clean folder so you are always ready for last-minute auditions, open calls, or industry meetings without scrambling to prepare materials. Use a quality print shop or photo lab for your headshots rather than a home printer, as the paper stock, ink quality, and color accuracy of professional prints are noticeably superior and worth the modest investment. Test your digital files by uploading them to every casting platform you use, checking how they display on both desktop and mobile screens, to catch any formatting issues before they affect an actual submission. Maintain a master folder on your computer with properly formatted digital versions of your headshot and resume in every file format and resolution you might need, ready for immediate upload. Update both your physical and digital materials simultaneously whenever you change your headshot or update your resume, ensuring consistency across all submission channels.
