KIMBERLEY CREATES ACTOR & PERFORMER PORTFOLIOS SHOWING PRESENCE, CHARACTER & AUTHENTICITY. WE HELP BOTH EMERGING & ESTABLISHED ACTORS DEMONSTRATE RANGE IN IMAGES & SELF TAPES THAT GETS YOU SEEN BY CASTING DIRECTORS. YOUR HEADSHOT IS THE FIRST AUDITION YOU NEVER GET TO ATTEND.
KIMBERLEY CREATES ACTOR & PERFORMER PORTFOLIOS SHOWING PRESENCE, CHARACTER & AUTHENTICITY. WE HELP BOTH EMERGING & ESTABLISHED ACTORS DEMONSTRATE RANGE IN IMAGES & SELF TAPES THAT GETS YOU SEEN BY CASTING DIRECTORS. YOUR HEADSHOT IS THE FIRST AUDITION YOU NEVER GET TO ATTEND.
For actors, creatives & performers in Dubai WHO VALUE THIER PROFESSIONAL HEADSHOT PORTFOLIO. ACTORS HEADSHOTS FOCUS ON FACIAL FEATURES, EMOTIONAL RANGE & EXECUTING COMMUNICATIVE EXPRESSIONS BASED ON THIER NATURAL COMPOSITION & DESIRED ROLES.
For actors, creatives & performers in Dubai WHO VALUE THIER PROFESSIONAL HEADSHOT PORTFOLIO. ACTORS HEADSHOTS FOCUS ON FACIAL FEATURES, EMOTIONAL RANGE & EXECUTING COMMUNICATIVE EXPRESSIONS BASED ON THIER NATURAL COMPOSITION & DESIRED ROLES.
CURRENT & CREATIVE HEADSHOTS & PORTRAITS ARE AN ESSENTIAL PART OF AN ACTOR OR PERFORMERS TOOLKIT. AS MUCH OF OUR NETWORKING & 1ST MEETINGS HAPPEN DIGITALLY. OUR ADVICE IS TO UPDATE EVERY 18 MONTHS OR WITH ANY CHANGE TO HAIRSTYLE, FACIAL FEATURES OR BODY. YOUR PORTFOLIO IS YOUR CALLING CARD.
CURRENT & CREATIVE HEADSHOTS & PORTRAITS ARE AN ESSENTIAL PART OF AN ACTOR OR PERFORMERS TOOLKIT. AS MUCH OF OUR NETWORKING & 1ST MEETINGS HAPPEN DIGITALLY. OUR ADVICE IS TO UPDATE EVERY 18 MONTHS OR WITH ANY CHANGE TO HAIRSTYLE, FACIAL FEATURES OR BODY. YOUR PORTFOLIO IS YOUR CALLING CARD.
Actor headshot portfolio packages range from 2,300 - 5,000 AED in Dubai. Acting portfolios are undoubtedly a career critical investment for actors & performers at every point in their career. The quality of your Professional Headshots can be the difference between being called for a casting ...or not. It's key to invest well in your acting portfolio to ensure it looks true to life, is current, reflects your style & feels contemporary in 2026.
Choosing a headshot photographer who understands the area of acting & performing is something to carefully consider. Some studios will rotate freelance photographers, so ensure you have seen real actor headshot portfolio photographed by the photographer you will schedule your session with. Sometimes offering acting headshots without real experience working with actors.
Lastly, ensure your photographer is someone you feel super comfortable spending time with in the studio. Check Instagram, LinkedIn & other social channels to verify experience level & get to know them a little.
What to wear for your acting headshots is ultimately very personal to you, as an overall guide Kimberley would advise a more neutral colour palette to keep the emphasis on the main focus which is your facial features, expression & posture.
Overall do
- Match wardrobe colours within the same outfit
- Ensure clothing fits well
- Iron/Steam/Press clothing
- Bring more clothing options rather than less to your portrait & headshot session
- Ensure a variety of sleeve lengths are in your wardrobe kit (if appropriate)
- Bring clean/polished matching shoewear - this could be trainers if that's your style or smarter shoes
Overall don't
- Bring turtle/polo neck to avoid 'floating head'
- Wear detailed/ruffled necklines as they are distracting
- Wear clothes made of thin material as the body shows though
- No shoes with patterns/bows/big logos
- No Logos/Emblems on clothing
If you are a flamboyant performer & dressing in bright colours or patterns is part of your own regular personal style, then it will work well. Also bring some neutral, as better to shoot this whilst we are doing a session in case your agent requires a neutral image in the future.
If you have a darker skin tone, avoid white. Vice versa, if you have a very light skin tone, avoid black.
Kimberley will assist on the day to select 3-5 outfits which will work well on camera for you. Most clients bring a small suitcase of options.
Preparing for your Actor Headshot session checklist
Kimberley's headshot & portrait sessions are both well structured & allow for free flow experimentation with different postures, expressions, backdrops & framing.
You're welcome to arrive at the studio to prepare your hair/make in the make up zone an hour prior to your photo session.
We'll start by selecting outfits & receiving an overview of your career direction, desired roles & checking out previous acting portfolio images to hear any feedback on those.
We'll then move into the studio where we have 2-4 different sets to enable us to photograph a variety of image styles.
Headshots & wider framed portraits will both be photographed.
Kimberley is well known for chit chatting as we work & cracking a few jokes which naturally generates beautiful expressions.
You'll be shown images as we go, so we can share conversation on creative styling.
As we are all human beings it's a little tricky to define how many outfit changes we will have, generally it's 4 or 5 outfit changes in a 1hr session.
Self Tape Video can be combined with Headshot sessions, which of course is not 'self tape' at all. Kimberley will video you performing or introducing yourself as per your brief. Offering a little direction if needed.
Kimberley's Sessions are 1hr sessions in studio. This will produce a range of headshots & portraits for your acting portfolio on 2-4 different coloured backdrops with 3-5 different outfits.
Yes, she's a fast operator due to many years photographing fashion weeks in extremely fast paced environments.
Some clients prefer a 2hr session potentially photographing in 2 different studios delivering an even greater range of images. An extra hour may also work well for you if you are particular nervous sitting for your headshots or like to discuss aspects in detail. Please do WhatsApp if you would like to add an extra hour to your package.
Your acting headset portfolio should always look true to your current self showing natural expressions. Our faces do progress year on year & therefore it's best to photograph new acting portfolio every 12-18 months.
Should you have any major changes in hairstyle or appearance in any other way, it's advisable to update your headshots to show casting directors the current version of yourself. So the same person will be walking into a casting as seen in your headshots.
It's not advisable to bring anyone into the studio with you during your headshot session. Humans behave differently under observation Often becoming distracted or shy by others in the studio.
The only exception is if you are under 18yrs old & have a parent or guardian accompanying you.
Absolutely, we can arrange a Make Up & Hair Artists to apply professional make up & hair styling before your session plus offer restyle & touch ups in between takes on set. Please enquire on WhatsApp for options.
Please do be aware that mostly in Dubai Hair artists are separate to make up artists. Some clients like to style their hair at their regular hair salon on the morning of their shoot.
After your headshot session, you'll receive your private gallery with circa 100-200 images to choose from.
10 professionally retouched images are included in your package, which is a great range for a headshot portfolio.
After you have selected the 10 images you would like to have retouched, it will be 5-10 working days at our retouching team.
Image retouching includes skin, hair, eyes & wardrobe. It is an editorial level retouch which takes around 30-60 minutes per image to complete. Still maintaining a natural look.
Kimberley Archer is the leading Actor Headshot Photographer in Dubai. With 6 years of actor headshot experience in London's media scene prior to to 5 years in Dubai. She has photographed many well known actors who have starred in West End Theatre Musicals, Films & major TV shows including Eastenders, Casualty, Extras, Spooks, Sherlock, The Bill, & Calvary. She has worked with many celebrities such as Judi Dench, Simon Cowell & Alexa Chung.
Kimberley has been a photographic panel judge since 2020 & personally won 5 photographic awards herself:
'Portrait Photographer of the year’ London Prestige Awards 23/24
‘Most innovative Fashion & Portrait Photographer’
Greater London Enterprise Awards 2022
'Best Fashion Events Photographer' UK Event Awards 2021
'Best Headshot & Portrait Photographer' UK SME Awards 2020
'Best Editorial Fashion Photographer' UK SME Awards 2019
Winner ASOS fashion photography competition 2018
Kimberley has extensive experience as a fashion photographer working on the runways & studios of London & Paris with a plethora of luxury fashion clients: Burberry, Mulberry, Malone Souliers, Off White & Swarovski. Kimberley's work has been featured in many global publications including Vogue, Forbes, Marie Claire, Tatler, The Guardian, The Telepgraph & The Metro. Which lends itself well to creating contemporary & editorial style headshots & portraits full of character.
“ After graduating acting school I knew I had to have amazing headshots. After finding Kimberley's work, I knew I wanted her to take my headshots. I was very happy with the results & they led me into the TV industry with high confidence. After signing up with my dream agency, I then scored a role in Eastenders & several other high profile TV series. Thank you Kimberley! ”
“ Thank you so much for the photos & for the fantastic day!! The photos are phenomenal!!! Couldn't have asked for a better photographer for my headshots! ”
“ Kimberley Archer has been our photographer for the last two years & we have been delighted with the quality of her work. The Imagination & creativity she adds to her professionalism make her the best photographer we have used in 20 years. She has an eye for a moment & captures it perfectly every time. ”
“ I have worked with Kimberley on several projects over the years, and each time she has been a consummate professional who makes it all look so easy. She is tenacious, determined and pragmatic, always has a smile on her face—even when the going gets tough and the client/weather/powers that be throw you, and the crew, a curveball—that’s the kind of photographer I want on my team. Kimberley is someone who you can give the most ludicrous-sounding creative brief to; she’ll step up to the plate before finally—effortlessly—hitting the ball out of the park. To put it simply, Kimberley is a highly-creative and gifted photographer, and a pleasure to work with. ”
“ What an absolute joy Kimberley was to work with on a very large & difficult to manage family photo shoot at The Belfry Golf Course & Hotel. Nothing was a problem, the photos was of exceptionally high quality & her bubbly & calm demeanor was just what we needed to keep the peace with 50 family members. I'm sure she even influenced the weather with her sunny smiles. We had one big family photo & quite a few smaller family pods & even some portraits which Kimberley chose the perfect backgrounds for. The final results were stunning & has become a family tradition we will continue to use Kimberley for. It was actually the last time we could all be together as members have sadly departed since our photoshoot. ”
“ For a down-to-earth, genuine, professional and talented photographer Kimberley is a good person to talk to. We used her services to market our business globally where we needed several corporate shots which could be adapted for different social media formats. We loved working with Kimberley on the day - she's pragmatic, execution focused and takes the initiative; and we were equally happy with the grading, post and final edits which perfectly matched our brief. I have already recommended Kimberley to other companies and would be happy to do so again. ”
“ It was great to work with Kim for our photo shoot. She had an amazingly calming effect on my team when taking the photos, which allowed a for real and natural reflection on the image. ”
“ Kimberley is a delight to work with & brings out the best in models. Which is not an easy thing to do if they are staff & don't want their picture taken. Super prompt delivery of images too. The marketing team were raving about the pictures!!!! ”
(and create
awesome shots?)