A professional headshot might look like a simple photograph, but there is considerably more to creating a good one than standing someone in front of a camera and asking them to smile.
Your headshot may be one of the first photographs people see of you. It could appear on your company website, LinkedIn profile, social media, a press release, a brochure or alongside an article about your business.
So while it needs to look like you, it also needs to say something about you, your role and the business you represent.
At dpix, we photograph headshots both in our Bromsgrove studio and on location, and the approach we take depends very much on what the photographs are going to be used for.
Studio or location?
There is no right or wrong answer. It depends on the person, the business and the style of photography you are looking for.
Studio headshots give us complete control over the lighting, background and composition. This can be particularly useful for companies wanting photographs of several members of their team, where consistency is important. It isn’t that we cannot be consistent on site but there may be some constraints down to space and sometimes there is a lighting compromise.
A clean studio background can give a professional and contemporary feel, while different lighting styles and backgrounds can create something with considerably more character.
Location photography gives us another set of possibilities.
For some businesses, the environment in which someone works is an important part of who they are. An architect might be photographed in one of their buildings. A chef could be photographed in the kitchen. An engineer might be better represented in their working environment rather than against a plain studio background.
The location becomes part of the photograph and can help tell the story of the person and their business.
What should you wear for a professional headshot?
There is plenty of advice online about what you should and should not wear for a headshot, but we don’t think there is one universal answer.
What you wear should make sense for you and your business.
If you normally wear a suit, then a suit may be the obvious choice. If you work in a creative environment where smart casual clothing is more appropriate, your photograph should reflect that.
It is also worth thinking about colour. Your clothing can work alongside your company branding, complement a chosen background or simply help create the look you want.
We would generally recommend bringing a couple of options if there is any uncertainty. It gives us more to work with and means we can see what works best once we have established the lighting and background.
Most importantly, you should still look like yourself.
A headshot should represent you, rather than turning you into somebody you are not.
What about make up?
Make up can be useful for some headshot sessions, but it certainly isn’t essential for everyone.
Where appropriate, professional make up can help even out skin tones and reduce shine, particularly under studio lighting. It can also give someone a little more confidence in front of the camera.
The aim should never be to make someone look heavily made up or unlike themselves.
Good photography, careful lighting and subtle make up where appropriate should work together to create a natural and flattering result.
Your headshot should fit your brand
A headshot is part of your visual identity.
If your business has a strong brand, the photography should work alongside it rather than looking like something completely separate.
Lighting, background, clothing, composition and even the way someone is asked to stand or sit can all contribute to the overall look.
A professional services company might want something polished and confident.
A creative business may want something more relaxed and informal.
A manufacturing company might want to show people in their working environment.
There is no single style that works for every business, and that is one of the reasons we think it is important to discuss how the photographs will be used before the camera comes out.
Photographing a whole team
Creating a headshot for one person is one thing. Photographing an entire company is something else.
When we photograph several members of a team, consistency becomes particularly important.
You want everyone to have their own personality, but you also want the photographs to look as though they were created as part of the same shoot.
That means considering the lighting, camera position, background, framing, crop and overall style.
This becomes especially important when photographs are going to appear together on a website or company directory.
Nobody wants one member of the team photographed against a grey background with soft lighting and another against a completely different background with a completely different style.
Consistency gives a company’s photography a much more professional and considered appearance.
That doesn’t mean making everyone look identical.
People are individuals and should still look like themselves. The skill is in creating consistency while allowing personality to come through.
Think about where your headshots will be used
Before a headshot session, it is worth thinking beyond LinkedIn.
Your photographs could potentially be used across a wide range of platforms and marketing materials, including company websites, LinkedIn, social media, brochures, annual reports, presentations, press releases, editorial features and PR.
Different uses can require different crops and compositions.
A photograph that works perfectly as a LinkedIn profile image may not be the best choice for a website banner or a printed brochure.
Planning for those different uses before the shoot gives you far more options afterwards.
It can also be useful to have a mixture of tighter headshots and images with more space around the subject, depending on how the photographs are going to be used.
Helping people feel comfortable in front of the camera
For many people, having their photograph taken is not something they particularly look forward to.
That is completely understandable.
Most of us are much more comfortable being behind the camera than standing in front of it.
Part of professional headshot photography is knowing how to work with people and help them relax.
We don’t expect everyone to arrive knowing how to pose or what to do with their hands.
We guide people through the process, make small adjustments and look for natural expressions rather than simply asking everyone to give us the same smile.
The result should be a photograph that feels natural and confident, not forced.
A headshot should work as hard as you do
Ultimately, a professional headshot is about much more than having a nice photograph of yourself.
It is part of how you and your business are presented.
The right location, clothing, lighting, background and photography style can all make a difference. When several people are being photographed, consistency becomes just as important as individuality.
And perhaps most importantly, the final images need to work wherever you intend to use them.
Whether you need a single portrait for LinkedIn, photographs for your company website or a complete set of consistent headshots for your team, the best place to start is by considering what you want the photographs to achieve.
At dpix, we can photograph professional headshots in our Bromsgrove studio or on location, depending on the look and purpose of the images.
Because a good headshot should do more than show people what you look like.
It should show them something about who you are.
