Want some tips to get the most from your headshots?
Tip 1: Achieve multiple looks with wardrobe changes during your photo shoot. Seems so simple, but most people don’t do it.
You may want to appear one way on your company website to support your company’s brand, but don’t forget that you also have your OWN brand. You can express a different facet of your personality for the speaker circuit, industry organizations, social media and more. You don’t want to look like two different people in your shots, but an outfit change can impart new or different information about you. And a different look can help you stand out in a crowded environment.
Our client Bettina Miraglia is a stellar real estate attorney and partner at her firm. Oc course, she is featured on the firm’s website. She also posts on LinkedIn, belongs to various organizations, appears in the media and just did a podcast. Connect with her on LinkedIn to learn more!
Bettina changed her entire outfit. But you can also achieve different looks with tie / no tie, jacket / no jacket, a cardigan switch, etc.
Do you have multiple professional headshots? What does your wardrobe express about you?
Tip 2: Consider your background. If you can, get shots in front of multiple backdrops.
Want to echo your corporate brand? Consider putting a color from your brand palette behind you. Infuse a little drama? Go with black. Reinforce your vocation? Check out the hint of awards behind the chef. Have max flexibility? White. You can change it up digitally at will — add a logo or a different backdrop. Or mimic the effect of an environmental photo with an office setting, an urban setting, a “top of the world” vibe.
We’ve photographed executives in their offices, on NYC rooftops, on the street, in our studio. In fact, at our Chelsea studio alone, we have several options — white and colored paper, a balcony with an urban backdrop, and a busy NYC avenue. And believe me, we use them!
Which background do you prefer? What’s the best backdrop for your next headshot?
Tip 3: Make one shot work harder by varying the aspect ratio.
One size does not fit all. Different platforms and mediums — websites, LinkedIn, Instagram, FB and printed materials — have different aspect ratio requirements. Ignoring aspect ratios can result in distorted or oddly cropped images, undermining the professionalism and effectiveness of the headshot.
Because we shot this executive starting with a wide landscape ratio (2×3), we had maximum flexibility in the way it could be cropped. Scroll through to see the differences.
- Crop 1 is suitable for a website and showcases the executive with the ETrade emblem.
- Crop 2 is similar, but the emblem is cropped out. Picture an annual report in which the emblem might appear on a facing page or be watermarked beneath print. No need to have it in her photo as well.
- Crop 3 is a traditional headshot and might appear on a page featuring employees or partners with identical crops.
- Crop 4 is 1:1 (great for an author bio, for instance) and would also easily adapt to a circle crop for various social media.
If we’d started with the close-up, we would have lost of the other options.
We have many, many more tips to get the most from your headshots. So check out our galleries and give us a shout — we’re here for you!
Co-owner of Headshots NYC, Deutsch Photography & Gotham Family Photos. Lover of images & the stories they tell. Fanatic about words, numbers & patterns. Entrepreneur & adventurer w/keen wanderlust. Life/love/business partner of my husband, photographer Brett Deutsch. Eternal love affair with NYC, where I landed by way of GA, TX & CA.
