London's Finest Actors' Headshot Photographer — Four Sittings, and a Word About November

Natalie Dormer London's Finest Actors' Headshot Photographer — Four Sittings, and a Word About November (Rory Lewis London 2026)

People sometimes ask me why an actor should sit for a headshot with a portrait photographer rather than a headshot photographer. It is a fair question, and the honest answer is that the distinction shouldn't exist. A headshot is a portrait — it is simply a portrait with a job to do. It has to walk into a casting director's inbox at nine in the morning, sit alongside three hundred others, and make somebody stop scrolling. That is not achieved with a white seamless and a ring light. It is achieved by looking properly at a face, understanding what it does, and lighting it the way the old masters lit theirs: with intent.

I have spent twenty-three years working in that tradition — Caravaggio, Holbein, Van Dyck, Rembrandt — and the actors who come to my London studio in Farringdon are, on the whole, people who have been photographed many times before and have rarely felt seen. So rather than tell you what I do, let me show you four sittings.

Andy Serkis — the mask and the man

Andy Serkis London's Finest Actors' Headshot Photographer — Four Sittings, and a Word About November (Rory Lewis London 2026)

Andy came to the London studio for my ChronoVisions series, and I gave him a Greek theatrical mask to hold — Melpomene and Thalia, tragedy and comedy. It was not a prop for its own sake. Here is the actor who gave us Gollum, Caesar and Snoke, a man who has spent a career with his face obscured beneath layers of motion-capture, and whose performances live entirely in the body and the voice. The mask was the point. What interested me was the face behind it: unguarded, curious, alive. You can read the sitting in full here.

Natalie Dormer — patience rewarded

Natalie Dormer London's Finest Actors' Headshot Photographer — Four Sittings, and a Word About November (Rory Lewis London 2026)

I wrote to Natalie inviting her to sit for my Expressive Portraits Project, and it was a little over a year before she walked through the studio door. That tells you something about the volume of requests an actress of her standing receives, and something else about why it is worth writing the letter anyway. When she did sit, she brought everything you would expect from The Tudors, Game of Thrones and The Hunger Games — intelligence, stillness, and an expressiveness that needs no coaxing. My job was mostly to get out of the way and light it properly. The sitting is here.

David Morrissey — the Old Master register

David Morrissey London's Finest Actors' Headshot Photographer — Four Sittings, and a Word About November (Rory Lewis London 2026)

The British Film Institute has called David one of the most versatile English actors of his generation, and what strikes you in person is the seriousness of his preparation — he researches a role the way a historian researches a period. I photographed him for Selah, the series in which I set out to recreate the light, atmosphere and tone of Rembrandt, Ribera, Titian and Caravaggio. David's face is made for it: heavy, intelligent, carved for shadow. The portrait is here.

Babs Olusanmokun — a privilege

Babs Olusanmokun London's Finest Actors' Headshot Photographer — Four Sittings, and a Word About November (Rory Lewis London 2026)

The most recent of the four, and the one I keep returning to. Babs — Jamis in Dune, Dr. M'Benga in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds — is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, and it shows in how he holds stillness: as something active, not an absence. I worked him across three grounds — slate with low, raked, warm light in the pure Caravaggio register; an ochre ground that makes deep skin glow rather than merely register; and a frontal, unhurried gaze straight down the lens. I have written before about how often Black actors tell me they have never been properly rendered, and how much trust it takes to sit in front of a photographer again. I wrote about that afternoon here, and I stand by every word of it.

November 2026 — London sittings, places limited

I will be in the London studio in November 2026 for a short run of actor headshot and portrait sittings. Because I work between Los Angeles, New York and London, my London dates are limited and they do fill. If you are an actor — established, emerging, or represented and in need of new material for the year ahead — write to me at RL@RORYLEWIS.STUDIO and I will send you the available dates.

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Frequently asked questions

Where is the London studio?
2 Bleeding Heart Yard, Farringdon, EC1N 8SJ — a few minutes' walk from Farringdon and Chancery Lane stations.

What is the difference between your headshots and a standard actor headshot?
Lighting and attention. I light the face the way a painter would, with shape and shadow, rather than flattening it with soft, even light. The result is a headshot that still reads instantly as you on Spotlight or IMDb, but with a depth that makes casting directors look twice.

Do you photograph Black actors and actors of colour?
Yes — and it is something I take seriously as a craft. Deep skin needs light that respects its planes and tones, and warm grounds that make it glow. Many of the actors who now find their way to my chair come precisely because they have been let down elsewhere.

How long does a sitting take?
Allow around two hours. I don't rush a face. We will work across two or three backgrounds and a couple of wardrobe changes, and I direct throughout — you are never left standing there wondering what to do with your hands.

What should I bring?
Two or three tops in solid, muted colours — knits, denim, a good shirt, a jacket. Nothing with logos or busy patterns. Bring what you would actually wear to a meeting with your agent. We will talk through the rest before the day.

Do you offer hair and make-up?
Come camera-ready as you would for a self-tape — I want you to look like you on your best day, not a version of you that doesn't exist. I can recommend someone if you would like professional make-up on the day.

How are the images delivered, and can I use them for Spotlight, Casting Networks and my agent?
Yes. You will receive fully retouched, high-resolution files, with cropped versions suitable for casting platforms and social media. I retouch with restraint — blemishes and stray hairs go, character stays.

How much does a sitting cost?
Rates depend on the length of sitting and the number of finished images. Write to me and I will send the current London rates and dates.

Can I book a sitting in Los Angeles or New York instead?
Yes. I keep studios in Downtown Los Angeles and Midtown Manhattan and am in London several times a year. If November doesn't work, tell me which city you are in and I will find you a date.

How do I book?
Email RL@RORYLEWIS.STUDIO with your name, agent (if represented), and preferred dates. November places are limited and are confirmed on a first-come basis.