How to Take Good Headshots: An Easy Guide

Published by Color Experts International August 29, 2024

Purpose of the Headshot

Before you start snapping photos, it’s important to understand why you need a headshot. Knowing the purpose helps you tailor the look and feel of the image to suit your goals. Here’s how different uses might shape your approach:

Professional Use: Use a headshot for business, like on LinkedIn or your company’s website, and it has a look pro. You want to come across as confident and friendly. These headshots are pretty formal, so stick to clean backgrounds and neutral clothes.
Creative Use: When you’re an actor, model, or creative, your headshot needs to show off your personality and versatility. These photos can be super dynamic – think expressive poses, different lighting, and cool backgrounds that bring out what makes you, you.
Personal Use: Need headshots for social media, dating apps, or personal branding? Make them casual! We’re going for your real self here, so don’t stress about the setting or expression – just relax and be natural.

Professional Tips to Take Good Headshots

So you want a headshot that pops? Forget winging it and hoping for a good shot. Here’s the lowdown: 11 top tips to help you nail a professional headshot that looks amazing.

1. Use a Professional Camera and Lens

Use a top-notch camera, and you’ll be halfway to a stunning headshot. With a good one, you can adjust settings like aperture, shutter speed, and ISO to make your photo look super sharp, rich, and amazing.

Use a prime lens like 50mm or 85mm on your camera. These lenses are great for headshots – they make you look awesome. You’ll get a nice perspective that’s super flattering. And you can make the background blurry, which is cool.

2. Focus on the Eyes

Eyes are the real stars of any headshot. They show emotion, personality, and connection, making them the main attraction in your photo. So, when taking a headshot, make sure the eyes are super sharp and in focus. That’s what grabs attention.

Use your camera’s single focus point and place it directly on the subject’s eyes. This helps create a strong visual connection between the subject and the viewer.

3. Choose a Simple Background

Think about your headshot background for a sec. It’s what makes people focus on you, not the stuff behind you. Keep it clean and simple, and you’re all set. Go for light grays, whites, or soft colors – they won’t hog the attention from your face, which is what matters most.

Shooting outdoors? Look for a simple background. You don’t want bright colors or patterns distracting from your subject. Try this trick: use a shallow depth of field to blur the background. It adds some flair and keeps the focus on what’s important.

4. Master Natural Lighting

Use natural light to take stunning headshots. It’s soft, flattering, and makes your subjects look their best. To get it right, sit them near a big window or outside in the shade. You want indirect sunlight, which gives you soft, even light without harsh shadows.

Avoid direct sunlight, especially at noon, as it causes unflattering shadows and skin texture. Instead, shoot during the golden hour or near a window with thin curtains for soft, warm light.

Want a better look? Try bouncing light onto your subject’s face with a reflector – it fills in shadows and gives you a balanced look. If the natural light is too harsh, consider using a softbox to soften it up. You can also try other tools to make it look more natural.

5. Use Reflectors or Fill Lights

Reflectors bounce light back onto your subject. For headshots, use a white or silver reflector for a soft, natural fill. Place it opposite your main light source, angled to reflect light onto the darker side of the face.

Fill lights supplement the main light, filling shadows without overpowering it. They’re less intense, positioned low and to the side of the camera, ensuring even lighting with natural depth.

6. Guide Your Subject on Posing

A great headshot is more than just fancy lighting and camera tricks. It’s about how comfortable the person in front of the camera is with themselves. Your job is to help them find a pose that makes them feel relaxed and look awesome.

First, get your subject to calm down. If they’re tense, it’ll show up on camera. Create a relaxed atmosphere and give them some simple tips: breathe deep, roll those shoulders back, and gently tilt your head. It makes a huge difference in how they look on screen.

Tiny changes can make a big impact when you’re posing. Ask your subject to turn their body slightly away from the camera – no straight-on shots. Get them to tilt their head or lean in a bit. It’s a great way to catch the viewer’s eye and build a connection.

Hands can be tricky, but try natural positions like on the chin or crossed in front of the body. Small pose adjustments can lead to big improvements. Use a genuine smile or a confident face. Help your subject think of something happy or proud to get a real expression.

7. Capture a Variety of Expressions

A great headshot is more than just a pretty face – it shows off who you are. Take a bunch of different expressions during a shoot, and you get to pick the ones that fit what you’re after. Need a pro look for your LinkedIn profile? Done. Want to show off your personal brand? Easy. Or maybe you want to get creative? You got this.

Get your subject to relax and give a natural smile. Then, ask them to try different levels of intensity, from a slight grin to a broad smile. Each variation conveys a different tone. Use a neutral or serious expression to convey professionalism. A slight eyebrow lift or gentle squint can add depth.

Try out some fun and quirky expressions, especially if you’re in a creative field like acting or modeling. A little smirk, a thoughtful glance, or a laugh can show you’re versatile and have personality.

8. Pay Attention to Wardrobe and Styling

What you wear and how you style yourself is super important for a great headshot. Choose the right clothes and groom yourself. You’ll look amazing, fit the photo’s purpose, and have a sharp, professional image.

Clothing Choices: Choose a purpose for the headshot. For corporate use, select classic, fitted clothing in solid colors like navy, gray, or black. These neutral tones look professional and won’t distract from the face.

For creative headshots, think actors or models – the wardrobe can be super expressive. Tell your subject to pick outfits that show off their style and the vibe they’re going for. Adding layers, cool textures, and unique accessories can make the shot more interesting. But, they shouldn’t distract from your subject’s face.

Grooming and Makeup: Look professional by grooming well. Style hair naturally. Men, shave or trim facial hair. Women, use makeup to enhance features without overdoing it, and opt for matte finishes.

Accessories: Keep it simple with accessories. A simple necklace or a classic watch is all you need to look polished without detracting from the main event – the person’s face and expression.

Final Touches: Check yourself out before the camera starts rolling. Make sure you don’t have wrinkles in your clothes, stray hairs everywhere, or smudged makeup. These little things can really change how the final pic turns out.

9. Use a Shallow Depth of Field

Want to take your headshot game up a notch? Try going for a shallow depth of field. It’s a super simple trick that makes your subject pop by blurring the background. To make it happen, you need to switch to a pretty wide aperture – think f/1.8 or f/2.8.

This trick makes your subject pop by separating it from the rest and adding some depth. By blurring the background, you cut out distractions and get a pro look.

When you’re shooting with a shallow depth of field, remember – your subject’s eyes have to be sharp. They’re the real stars of the headshot. If you mess up, you’ll get a soft or blurry pic, so check that focus twice.

10. Check and Adjust Composition

Make a great headshot by getting the composition right. It’s all about framing the subject so their best features stand out and grab the viewer’s attention.

Rule of Thirds: Divide your frame into a grid with two horizontal and two vertical lines. Place the subject’s eyes along the top third line, slightly off-center. This creates a dynamic composition, drawing the viewer’s gaze to the subject’s eyes.

Headroom: Check the space above the subject’s head. Too much makes them appear small, too little makes the frame feel cramped. Aim for a balanced amount.

Centering: Centering the subject works well for formal or symmetrical headshots. It creates a sense of stability, especially with a simple background.

Framing: Focus the frame on the subject’s face. Avoid cutting off the head or chin. A close-up shot of the head and shoulders works best.

Negative Space: Think about the empty areas around your subject – that’s negative space. A little negative space can balance things out and make your subject pop. But don’t go overboard, or your composition will feel off-kilter.

11. Subtle Post-Processing

So you want a headshot that looks amazing, but still like you. The trick is to edit it just enough. Too much, and it’s obvious. Here’s what you do to get it just right:

Adjust Exposure and Contrast: First, get the lighting just right. You don’t want it too bright or too dark. Then, bump up the contrast a bit. This adds depth and makes your subject pop.
Fine-Tune Color Balance: Get rid of weird color tints by adjusting the color balance. Aim for skin tones that look natural and match the person’s complexion. You can also adjust the image’s warmth or coolness to fit the mood you’re going for.
Sharpen the Eyes: Give your headshot subject’s eyes a boost by adding some sharpening. Just enough to bring out the details, not so much that they look fake or harsh.
Skin Retouching: Fix tiny skin issues like pimples or dry spots without getting carried away. Grab the healing brush or clone stamp, but don’t go crazy – you don’t want skin that looks unnatural or like you’re trying too hard.
Enhance Highlights and Shadows: Give your image some depth by tweaking highlights and shadows. Want a healthy glow? Boost those highlights! Want a sculpted look? Deepen those shadows! Just remember, small changes can make a big difference.
Remove Distractions: So you’ve got background clutter stealing the show from your subject? Try losing it in editing. The clone stamp and content-aware fill can be your new BFFs to keep eyes on what counts – your subject.

To Conclude

Here’s what you need for a great headshot: three key things. Technical skills are a must, plus an artistic eye. You also need to connect with the person you’re shooting. First, grab the right gear and nail the lighting.

Next, help your subject chill out and try some different poses. After that, you have to snap a bunch of different expressions to nail the perfect shot. Each step matters, so don’t skip them!

Refine your skills, try new things, and your headshots will get way better. Now, grab your camera, find some awesome light, and start taking headshots that really pop.