Photography Tips for Headshots: How to Take Professional Headshots
From resumés and applications to online profiles and presentations – in today’s professional world, a high-quality headshot is more important than ever. It’s no longer just a picture of you but a critical part of your brand. Whether you’re updating your LinkedIn profile or giving a big corporate presentation, a professional headshot can help make a long and positive impression.
Capturing the perfect headshot, however, involves more than just pointing a camera and clicking. Several factors, such as lighting, clothing, angles, and so on, play a huge role in how the picture turns out. With this helpful guide and our portrait photography tips, you will be able to learn the most important factors so you can take professional headshots with ease.
What Makes a Great Professional Headshot?
A professional headshot should not just be seen as a picture but rather as a visual representation of your brand and professionalism. In corporate and business settings, a headshot is often the first impression clients, colleagues, or potential employers have of you. Therefore, a high-quality headshot must convey the right amount of confidence, approachability, and competence. The key characteristics of an excellent headshot should include:
- Clarity with the subject in sharp focus
- Professionalism with appropriate attire and expressions
- Suitability in a way that ensures the image aligns with the intended use
When shooting professional business headshots, you should be able to guide your subjects on what to wear, how to pose, and what works for corporate use, social media, or even personal use. You should also know what to change if the headshot is used for other purposes, such as auditions for actors or models.
How to Take Professional Headshots
In order to capture stunning professional headshots, attention to detail is key. From selecting the right camera gear to setting up optimal lighting, each element plays an important role in taking polished images of high quality.
Camera Setup and Gear
The right camera setup is essential for capturing flattering and professional headshots. Start with a lens that provides a natural and flattering perspective – for example, an 85mm or 50mm lens. These lenses offer a good balance between compression and sharpness, which makes the subject stand out against the background.
For camera settings, use an aperture between f/2.8 and f/4. With this range, you will be allowed to keep the subject in sharp focus while also creating a beautifully blurred background. This will help draw attention directly to the face and avoid unwanted distractions in the headshot.
Lighting Setup
Lighting can make or break a great headshot. When using natural light, you need to position your subject near a larger window with soft, diffused light. This setup provides even lighting on the face while reducing harsh shadows, which you want to avoid in headshots.
If you are using artificial lighting, a basic key light paired with a reflector can create the same soft and flattering look. For more control over the light, consider a three-point lighting system with a key light, fill light, and backlight to add depth and dimension to your shots.
Background Selection
A clean, uncluttered background is crucial for professional photos such as headshots, as it keeps the focus on the subjects. Aim for neutral-colored backdrops like white, grey, or beige, as these are ideal and won’t distract from the face and can even complement a wide range of outfits.
How to Guide Your Subjects on Posing
Posing is a very important part of any type of photography – and headshots are no exception. How you pose and your expression will determine what message you send with your headshot. This is why it is important for you as a professional photographer to be able to guide and advise anything sitting in front of your camera.
Posing
Effective posing is important when it comes to creating a professional and flattering headshot. Start by guiding your subjects to relax their shoulders, which often helps eliminate tension while creating a more relaxed and natural look. Position your subject at a slight angle to the camera with their body turned slightly away while their face remains directed towards the lens. This is a very common pose for headshots, as it adds dimension and avoids a flat, head-on appearance. Finally, have them lower their chin slightly. Although small, this adjustment helps prevent the “chin-up” effect and creates a more balanced and engaged shot.
Facial Expressions
A warm and approachable expression can make all the difference in a headshot. Therefore, you should encourage your subject to relax and smile naturally while avoiding forced or stiff expressions. To achieve this, avoid having them smile constantly throughout the shoot. Instead, try to engage them in light conversation or share a joke to help them feel at ease. Remind them that a genuine smile or a subtle, confident look can convey both professionalism and friendliness, which are great attributes for a headshot. Remember that the more comfortable and confident your subject feels, the more authentic and compelling the final image will turn out.
How to Dress for a Professional Headshot
Choosing the right clothing for a professional headshot is paramount to keep the focus on the subject’s face and avoid unflattering elements. Neutral and solid colors work best to create a clean, polished look without drawing attention away from the person. For headshots, you should avoid bold patterns or logos as they can be distracting and may even clash with the background or overall composition.
When it comes to accessories, less is more. Opt for more minimal and understated pieces that won’t steal the spotlight rather than bold jewelry. The goal is to ensure that the viewer’s attention remains on the subject’s expression and overall presence without getting distracted by bright colors or statement jewelry. This will help create a more positive first impression, which is the whole point of a great headshot. For this reason, it can be wise to guide your subjects on what to wear for their upcoming professional headshot.
Edit Your Photos and Add Final Touches
Once you have captured your headshots, the post-processing part is essential to refine the final images. Focus on minor touch-ups, such as:
- Skin smoothing to reduce blemishes
- Color correction to ensure natural skin tones
- Cropping to enhance composition
These adjustments should be minor to keep the subjects looking natural and like themselves, but they will still be able to subtly enhance the professionalism of the headshot.
If you’re shooting corporate or team headshots, you should strive to maintain a consistent style across all images. This includes uniform lighting, a similar background, and consistent editing techniques. For a large number of pictures, you might consider using AI to edit many photos in the same way and in a shorter time frame. This can help increase your consistency, which is key to ensuring a cohesive look – especially if the pictures are used together on a company website, for example.
Finally, your subject should receive the images in high resolution to make sure they are suitable for both print and web use. This gives your subject more flexibility in how they use their headshots as they can be used for both the company website, a LinkedIn profile, and many other places.
Professional Headshots for the Arts
Whether your subject is a model, actor, or performer, a professional headshot is their calling card. That means that their headshot is often a casting director, agent, or client’s first impression of them. Therefore, it is very important to use the right kind of headshot to send the right signal to the right people.
Unlike corporate headshots, artistic headshots often allow for more creativity and personality. The focus should be on capturing your subject’s unique character with expressions and poses that showcase their range and versatility. For this reason, you might want to have them pose in different ways and with different stylings. Just remember that although wardrobe and styling can be more varied, the face should still be the main star of the photo.
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