4 Tips For a Great Headshot
“To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called You.” - Tom Peters
Headshots can be so unnecessarily stressful. What will I wear? How do I pose? What do I do with my hands? I get it completely, I’m not the biggest fan of having my photo taken myself. Have you seen my headshot? It’s over a year old, I took it myself, and I do this for a living! Let’s just dive in so we can prepare you for your upcoming session.
#1 Prepare Prepare Prepare
Do you remember the night before picture day at school, practicing your best smile in the mirror? Turning your face to the left or the right, squinting, smizing, and checking out your angles? Well, it wouldn’t hurt to revisit this preteen right of passage. Hopefully, this time we all have better haircuts. Aside from figuring our your “best side”, how you’d like to smile, I want you to truly think about the energy you want to exude. Are we going for a power CEO vibe with dramatic lighting and structured suits? Is your brand fun and playful, with a light and airy feel? Choose 3 words that define your personal brand. 3 words that represent who you are and where you are going. Got them? Cool. Build your wardrobe and bring that presence to your shoot.
“ Your brand is what other people say about you when you're not in the room” - Jeff Bezos
#2 Choose A Style
So this kind of ties into your prep. During your consult call, we will chat about your session goals, the vibe you’re seeking, and your 3 words. This will help determine what color backdrops we’re using, outfits, lighting, and so much more. If your goal was to cutthroat-shark in the courtroom, it wouldn’t make sense for me to style you in soft, feminine colors, with an artsy, textured backdrop, while you smile and laugh at the camera. That would work perfectly for a designer or creative, but not someone whom someone would want to hire to take down their shady ex. That being said, let’s go over different styles of headshots.
These are what I would consider more “traditional” headshots. We have a plain background, either full or Rembrant lighting- Perfect for a corporate or a clean “about me” page
These are Lifestyle Headshots, were definitely leaning more toward branding, a little less posed, and the ambiance of the background lends a more natural feel
Meet Brand Portraits. She’s on location, she’s having fun, and there are details and product photography that we’re focusing on. This is by far my favorite style because it really dives in and tells a story about your brand and it’s voice. Branding portraits are priced differently from traditional headshots because they place more emphasis on details and action than on the face. It takes less time to edit a mug or hands on the keyboard than to retouch facial and body skin. Because let’s be honest, if they both cost $125, are you more willing to choose a photo of your face or your brokerage’s coffee cup? I want you to be able to tell your story through content creation. That is why we offer specific brand photography collections.
To view more of our Branding and Headshot Photography, visit our Gallery Page
Tip #4 Posing
Looking good in photos is all about relaxing, getting the right angles, feeling confident, and makingconnection through the eyes. Hello, smizing. I know its easier said than done but the best photos come when you let out a natural laugh, when you let your guard down and release that fear.
So here are a few practical tips to help you relax and get flattering photos. If you plan on taking your own headshot, you will need to practise these tips in front of a mirror time and time again until it looks right; or if you hire an experienced photographer (Hi, there) we will be able to guide you through these techniques (and more) to get you feeling good and looking your best:
Relax your forehead and jaws. We tend to hold a lot of tension around our faces, without even noticing it. Close your eyes, roll your shoulders back, take a breath, and open your eyes again just before taking the photo
Sit up - slouching isn’t flattering, especially in photos, but drop your shoulders down for a more relaxed posture. Think long thoughts. You don’t want to stretch, but you do want to relax from your jaw down.
Push your chin forward (towards the camera) and down slightly - this is the key to elongating your neck and highlighting your jawline
Engage your gaze - one trick I like is to squint slightly by just lifting your lower lid- just the tiniest bit.
Depending upon the energy we are going for, try various levels of expression, from a more serious look to a closed-mouth smile, to a full on grin with a laugh.
I hope these tips have led you to feel more confident and ready to step in front of the camera. Have questions about headshots, branding or professional portraits? Give us a call at (910) 939-8779 or email us Here.