A headshot is most often a candid pose generally shot with natural and softened makeup. However, depending on the demands of casting, a headshot must sometimes take on the life of a specific persona. Aging an actor upwards or downwards to assure their consideration in certain roles or styling an actor to help convey an emotion or type is sometimes the work of a makeup artist for headshots.

Whatever the need, the challenge of a headshot is to bring out the uniqueness of the actor that will make them stand out to a casting director.

Because many actors are gravitating towards color photographs over the traditional black and white, making a client look unique, yet natural, becomes ever more important. Here, the task of a makeup artist is to find the client's most salient features and successfully augment them. This is also true for models and musicians. For a model, the key to success is often linked to the ability to be chameleonic in photographs. Likewise for musicians, molding and remolding a public image is inextricably bound with their music and press.