Francesca Quici came in with a clear goal: headshots that actually open doors. Her previous set wasn't landing where it needed to. So we started from scratch, with a phone call, a plan, and complete honesty about what needed to change.
The Brief: Starting With a Conversation
Francesca reached out because her existing headshots weren't getting results. They weren't bad photographs, but they weren't working in the right way for the right rooms. In the actor headshot world, that distinction matters enormously. Casting directors and agents make snap decisions, and your image needs to speak before your CV does.
Before we even talked about cameras or lights, we got on the phone. We went through colours, clothing styles, and the tone she wanted to project. I gave her my honest read on what I thought would work for the type of roles she was going for, and she brought her own instincts to the table. That back-and-forth is where a strong shoot really begins.
"Her previous headshots weren't bad. They just weren't working in the right rooms."
The Approach: Warm, Natural, Precise
We settled on a palette that felt grounded rather than dramatic. Soft, warm tones. Nothing that would compete with her colouring or distract from her face. Francesca's red hair and pale complexion gave us a natural warmth to work with, so the clothing and background choices needed to complement rather than clash.
The setup was deliberately clean: a two-light configuration with a white table positioned in front of her, acting as a reflective bounce to lift the shadow under the chin. It's a technique that gives the face a beautifully even quality without flattening it, keeping dimension in the skin while eliminating the kind of harsh underlit shadow that reads badly in thumbnail size.
The result is an image that feels polished and intentional, but not overworked. Her expression is direct. There's confidence there, and a stillness that holds up under scrutiny. Exactly what you want when someone's scrolling through a casting database.
Why Preparation Is Half the Job
Shoots like this one go smoothly because the decisions are made before the subject walks through the door. When Francesca arrived at Studio24London, we weren't figuring things out on the fly. We had a direction, a mood, and a plan for the light. That gave us the freedom to focus entirely on connection and performance in front of the lens, which is where actor headshots live or die.
If your current headshots aren't landing, it's rarely about the quality of the photography alone. It's about whether the image is doing the right job for your specific market. That's a conversation worth having before you book a studio.
The Result
Since the shoot, Francesca has landed the biggest agency of her career to date. These headshots did what her previous ones couldn't — they got her in front of the right people and secured her the representation she had been working towards. We're proud of that. Not because of the camera or the lighting setup, but because we took the time to get it right from the very first phone call.
The right headshot lands you the right agency. That's exactly what happened here.
Technical Specs
Camera: Nikon Z9
Lens:NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S
Aperture: f/4
Shutter: 1/200s
ISO: 100
Lighting Setup
Config: Two-light
Fill: White table bounce
Effect: Under-chin shadow lift
Location: Studio24London