3 Tips for Adding Costumes to Your Online Profile
It's officially fall and with Halloween right around the corner, it's a good time to add or update your profile with any photos of you in costumes and specialty wardrobe.
While broadcast TV shows typically film their Halloween episodes in late summer, streaming and cable series film throughout the year, creating plenty of opportunities for you to get booked with your costumes. Here are some tips for adding photos of your costumes and wardrobe to your online profile.
1. Add non-trademarked Halloween costumes you own and have access to
Typically, background roles require non-trademarked costumes and wardrobe. So, costumes of characters from movies and TV, attire from professional sports teams, and clothing with logos cannot be used for background work and shouldn't be uploaded to your profile.
Examples of non-trademarked wardrobe you can add to your profile may include witch, vampire, zombie, pirate, or other generic costumes. Since copyrights and trademarks require clearance to be shown on camera, non-trademarked wardrobe helps production avoid infringement and ensures another franchise's characters and logos don't appear in the background of their scenes.
When uploading additional photos, keep in mind that you should own and have access to the costumes or wardrobe in them. Aside from the fact that you should never take photos on set, you should also never upload photos in wardrobe provided by production because you can't bring that same costume with you to another booking.
Depending on the production and the needs of the scene, there may be times when trademarked costumes are accepted or where specific costumes are needed. In these cases, this information will be included in your availability inquiry or as a follow up message during the booking process. Instead of keeping photos of yourself in trademarked costumes in your profile, we recommend keeping a current photo handy for when a Casting Director asks for one as part of your submission or in an availability inquiry.
2. Upload unique or distinct looks
In addition to your main headshot and fully body shot, we recommend uploading a casual, business, and formal look, then adding 1-2 photos in unique costumes or wardrobe. Casting Directors recommend only uploading unique and distinct looks so you don't clutter your profile with multiple photos in similar wardrobe. If your profile has too many photos, it only makes it harder for our casting staff to find the photo they need to determine if you can portray a role.
Don't worry if you have a variety of costumes you want to show off, when Casting Directors are looking for specific wardrobe, they will likely post to the Jobs page or ask for a recent photo in that wardrobe.
Check out our Photo Guidelines before taking and uploading photos. You may have great photos in your costume from a Halloween party or out with your friends, but these types of photos cannot be used for casting purposes as they may include other people and likely do not reflect your current look. A good profile photo only features you, is well-framed, in focus, and taken in good lighting against a white or solid background so your face and costume are clearly visible.
All photos in your profile should reflect your current look. If your look changes, be sure to remove any old photos. Remember, if you are booked based off the photos in your profile, you will be expected to show up to set with that same look.
3. Add costumes and wardrobe to your profile
In addition to uploading photos of you in costumes, don't forget to also add wardrobe to your online profile. This helps our Casting Directors find you when searching for Background Actors with specific costumes or clothing.
You can add this information by selecting the "Casting Information" section of your profile, then scrolling to the "Wardrobe" field. If you don't see an option in the dropdown that fits your costume, select "other" then enter the costume type. You can also add any props that are part of your costume to the "Props" field.
Putting looks together is a big part of working as a Background Actor. Read through the guides in our wardrobe article category inspiration to help you get ready for set.
