In the business world, a headshot is often considered to be an important tool of self-promotion. Businesses use it to make themselves look good and trustworthy in front of potential clients, while individuals use it for a variety of reasons, including using their headshots on social media profiles or updating their LinkedIn profiles. Creating a successful headshot can seem difficult at first glance, but you will have everything you need to know about creating business headshots with these four tips!
Consider Your Background
A white background is typically the best option when trying to create a professional-looking shot. This way, your clothing, and any props can take center stage without competition from anything else in the shot. When you are trying to decide on a background, the key is it needs to be clean and simple. If your backdrop is too busy or colorful, it can take away from the focus of your headshot, which should always be you!
Choose Quality Lighting
Your lighting will have one of two effects in your shot: harsh shadows that darken half of someone’s face or soft diffused light across an entire photo. When creating business headshots, typically, softer lighting does better because it reduces shadows and creates a more flattering look for everyone. Business portraits are taken outdoors during mid-morning hours when the sun is lower in the sky provide this type of natural lighting most frequently. You may also want to consider using professional studio lights if photographing outside doesn’t work for your schedule.
Quality Camera Equipment
When deciding on equipment, look at how important it is to have a high-quality camera vs something more affordable that will do the job just as well. Business headshots are typically used in professional settings, so people expect them to be crisp and clear with no blurred images or shadows from poor lighting conditions. A good rule of thumb when determining what type of camera you need: if photographing outside during mid-day poses a problem, consider investing in DSLR cameras which allow you to use higher ISO levels (greater light sensitivity) than most point-and-shoot cameras can handle without producing noisy shots with an abundance of digital noise artifacts visible throughout the photo.
They should be simple and clean.
If you’re able to focus on the subject’s face, then that is ideal as it will allow for a clear facial expression (smile or neutral), and they’ll show off their true personality without distractions from another object in the photo. These headshots are typically used by companies looking to hire employees, so having good, simple, and clean photos can make all the difference when deciding which person would best fit within your company culture.
To conclude, creating good business headshots requires a lot of thought. The quality of your headshot will depend on the type of camera you are using, the lighting, what is in the background, and where you are taking it.