As a video producer, we regularly have casting calls and invite talents to submit their profile and photos by email. Its a convenient first round filter. We received profiles and photos by email, shortlist the ones we like then call them in to audition.

Sounds easy enough doesn’t it. As a talent, all you have to do is list your profile in an email, attach some photos and send.

Yeah. That’s what we thought too. But no.

So pay attention. If you ever do send in your details by email for any casting calls, here are some things you may want to remember.

Size may matter but big isn’t better

One of the most annoying experiences is to have our mailbox clogged with emails that take forever to download. The cause – super high res photos with countless megabytes.

Let’s be clear – we want your photos so we can have a first look at you. We don’t plan on zooming in to scrutinize your skin pores. And we are absolutely not printing a life-size poster of you.

So large high-resolution photos are definitely no-nos. Photos that fit half the computer screen or less at the web standard resolution of 72dpi are ideal enough.

Photo overload is bad

There seems to be a certain misconception that the more photos you send, the more convincing is your case. Let me stress that the keyword here is – misconception. It’s just not true.

Again, remember that we only want a first impression of you in a few different poses, themes or styles so we can quickly size you up. Anything from 3 to 5 different photos should do it. If you get our attention and we want to see more of you, we can always easily request more photos from you or call you in for an actual casting or audition.

10 good photos isn’t going to be different from 3 good photos. Likewise, 10 bad photos isn’t going to be different from 3 bad ones either. Focus on having a few good ones that show you off clearly.

If you don’t take it seriously then why should we?

Now, 2 practices that I personally find lazy and reeking of appalling work ethics are: (1) mass mailing the same email to different parties for various castings all at the same time; and (2) recycling or forwarding previous casting submissions.

First impressions are crucial and how you send your email reflects on your work ethics. How much effort you put into this shows how serious you are about it and how much you want it.

Take that little bit of time to send a proper email. It’s about being professional. And everyone loves working with a talent who is professional about work.

No marks for fancy formats

Another thing we would like to totally avoid is having to open multiple programs just to view your profile and photos. We’re referring to profiles and photos that come with a variety of jpg gif bmp tif doc ppt pdf extensions all in the same email.

You should try to make it as easy as possible for us to view your profile and photos. Making this job tougher on us won’t win you any points.

The standard rule is: List your profile in the body of the email and attach your photos in jpg format. Just like that. Clean and simple.

These are just a few of the most basic practices you may want to consider when next participating in an email casting.

Don’t ruin your chances by making silly mistakes. Good luck.