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Forums » Issues » Photos

Something should be done about actors' photos. Some people seem to be unable to grasp what a proper headshot is. Especially since photos here are generally displayed in very low resolution. Yet people keep adding pics which, on casting pages (and not actor bio pages), end up having the actor's face in a size of 10 pixels by 10 pixels.

For example look at the current photo of Mads Mikkelsen, where the head is one ninth of the total surface of the photo. This pic was either uploeaded by someone careless or by someone who hates Mads and wants him to have a horrible photo on here.
Okay, look, something HAS TO be done about stupid people uploading photos that show the actor's torso more than their face. Look at the new picture of Navid Negahban. Whoever uploaded it, is either a fool or a troll. I motion that a new rule be introduced: the face of an actor must comprise at least 50% of the surface area of the photo. For comparison: the Negahban photo is only EIGHT per cent face.
More profiles with photos uploaded by trolls. This time Dylan O'Brien and Krysten Ritter got hit. Something really should be done about this soon, because people don't understand that the photo should show the face, not the torso.
More phototrolls. This time Sean Bean got a photo where the face is one ninth of the surface area of the image. Could someone PLEASE do something about it?
Photo trolls yet again. This time: Chris Hemsworth, where the face is about 1/12th of the photo, and Samuel L. Jackson where the photo is, don't wanna sound racist, but it's so dark that you can barely see his face. Is there any hope of official guidelines being introduced?
I like that we are able to change actors' photos to our own liking, but surely this system is a recipe for chaos, if members are able to constantly change them. Clearly no one picture is going to satisfy everyone.

For example, I like to edit photos so they contain an image of the actor that best matches the role I have cast them in (to be fair, I do think the pictures I have chosen are clear and focus predominantly on the face), but surely those changes won't be to everyone's taste (i.e. I might want to cast Willem Dafoe as say The Joker, in which case I'll pick a particularly scary photo of him, but another user might want to cast him as, I don't know, Santa Claus).
I fully agree that the fact we're able to change the photos is a net positive. But I would like official guidelines to be established, especially regarding the proportion of the photo that should be covered by the face (at least 50% IMO).
I think that's a fair request.

Unfortunately, the site won't allow you to crop and focus some pics to 50% of the actor's face, possibly because it would adversely affect the picture quality.
The trolls have struck again. This time it's Mahershala Ali and Mike Colter. Will the admins finally ban photos like these (and people ading them)?
We have established guidelines of a "recent, high quality headshot." That isn't too specific regarding the proportion of the photo that should be covered by the face, or how recent it should be, but should deter full body shots or other inappropriate photos. For users that blatantly upload photos outside these guidelines, they will be banned from changing photos in the future. We are also in the process of implementing photo moderators; if you are interested in that, let us know here. In the future, we may add the feature of being able to upload a custom actor photo for a specific role. But for now, photos should be generic enough to apply to any role - not chosen to go with a specific role.
Thank you! This is a very welcome piece of news.

Yes, I'd be willing to give it a shot as a photomoderator. Seeing as I've done so much complaining, it's only fair that I put my money where my mouth is.
I'm scared of being banned. Hard to find good pictures of less known actors & actresses of now.
Why does rossjames keep doing that?
I'm pretty sure they change it to match the story they're fan casting the person in.
Could someone please explain to joshthomas, joecool, theatrekid and a few other users that the photos should emphasize THE FACE and not the neck or cleavage?
I've found another person who should be temporarily banned from editing photos: user "tddaly98" and "tomdogdaly98" (I would assume they are two profiles of the same person). He's another one of those guys who care more about cleavage and boobs than faces of actresses. Examples: Sophie Turner, Lupita Nyong'o, Elizabeth Gillies, Patricia Richardson.
Can I ask, have you encountered any of the photos I've edited? And are you satisfied with them? I've stuck to the rules set by mycast, the only exception being where I have to find a photo for an actor (often a more obscure one) who has long retired and, thus, doesn't have any/many up-to-date photos online. Assuming you and others are satisfied with the photos I've edited, can I ask that you do not re-edit them? If you're satisfied with them, surely there's no need to re-edit them.
I generally don't pay arrention to who uploads which photo, unless they're blatantly cleavage-focussed. So I can't tell which photos are yours and which are not. Drop a few names, if you want my private opinion, and I'll give it to you. But remember, even if I promise not to change them, you can't really force everyone else to honor my promise.