Tips for a Successful Headshot Session
Today, your first impression will most likely be made online and not in-person. Here is some advice on how to make sure you capture a headshot that makes the impression you want.
After more than a decade of capturing headshots and executive portraits, I have found that most people have no idea what to expect or plan for when they contact me to set up their session.
The most successful sessions have been with clients who knew what they wanted from the session and knew what to expect out of it.
For those of you who are not seasoned pros at having your headshot taken, I have created the following tips to help you have a successful headshot session where you walk out with the images you like that fit your professional needs.
Step One: Decide on what you need.
Remember, these are your headshots and you need them to serve your professional goals. So, do you want traditional tight headshots? Will you need headshots with a solid background or ones in a location background? Do you want a combination of tight and wide shots both vertical and horizontal? Do you want shots with motion and creative lighting, etc. Once you know what look you want and how you want to use them, it’s time to find the right photographer for the job.
Step Two: Choosing the Right Photographer
Now that you know what it is you want and need from the session, it’s time to find the photographer that can make it happen. Generally, most trained and experienced professional photographers can create the images you need. The trick however is knowing which of the photographers claiming to be professional headshots and commercial photographers are the real deal. There are a couple of simple things to look for when you are viewing their work.
Skin Tone:
First thing you should do is look at the skin tone. After all, this is a portrait. So you want to make sure that subjects skin looks like a natural skin tone. Make sure it is not too orange, blotchy, muted or greenish, blue, etc. A trained professional portrait photographer prides themselves on making sure the skin tone is accurate.
Color Balance:
This is also very important. Make sure the colors are accurate. If they are wearing a white shirt, it shouldn’t have any blue, purple or yellow tint to it. This is a clear sign that they are not color balancing their images properly. What is the point of picking your favorite color jacket or blouse if the color is going to be all over the place in the image.
Details:
Details are important. Make sure they have proper exposures that allow you to see skin that isn’t blown out and hair that isn’t a big dark clump. Proper camera settings will allow them to maintain all the details in the shadows and the highlights while making the important details, like the face, nice and sharp. You should be able to count your eye lashes and see the colors of your eyes.
Lighting:
Look at how they lit the images. Is the face properly lit? Are the shadows harsh or soft? Is the light soft and even? Do they seem to have control of their light? Because the more creative you want to get, the better you will need their lighting skills to be.
Once you look for these and determine that they are right match for you, reach out to them and discuss in detail what it is you are looking for and need. This way, they know what to come into the session prepared to do including any additional lighting or camera equipment they will need.
Step Three: Get Yourself Prepared
Make sure you know how you want to look and what you want to wear ahead of time. I always recommend men get their hair cut between one and four days prior to their shoot so it looks the way you want. For women, if you are going to do it yourself, practice ahead of time to make sure you nail it on the day of. This goes for make up as well. If you like, you can always get some referrals from your photographer on hair and make-up artists who can be on site during the session to make sure you look perfect during the shoot.
As for your clothing, select a couple of options that you like for the day of and make sure they are dry cleaned or pressed. While I recommend staying clear of busy patterns, don’t ever be afraid to go bold with the colors as long as it compliments your own skin and hair tones. If you are not sure, shot a pick with your cell phone and text it to your photographer for their opinion.
Step Four: Ask for Posing Guidance
During your session, it is perfectly ok to ask your photographer for guidance when it comes to posing. We understand that most people are not only inexperienced at posing, but also not extremely comfortable being in front of the camera. Your photographer can help guide you with how to stand, what to do with your hands and tiny movements to get the right angle of your face.
Step Five: Review on Site
Before you finish the shoot, make sure to review the images. Many photographers will be tethered to a computer when shooting in studio. If not, you can always review on the screen on their camera. Ask to see the images to make sure you have some that you like and will fit what you were looking for. If not, see what was missing or what you didn’t like about the shots (your tie, your face angle, the side you hair was one, etc) and shoot some more correcting for this. It is much easier to make sure you get what you need before leaving than to find out you didn’t get it when you see the proofs later. Plus, your photographer wants to make sure you are always happy with the end results.
Step Six: Retouching and Final Product Notes
Once you get the proofs, you should be pretty happy with the straight out of camera images. Again, this is why it is important to select a properly trained photographer. While the straight out of the camera should be usable, you also want someone who can give it a professional retouch.
Now, to be clear, professional retouching should not make the image look like a Snapchat or Instagram filter. It should make it look polished, realistic and clean. Your skin should look flawless, but still like skin, Not soft and plastic like. Your eyes should look vibrant, but like your real eye color. Not every hair should be perfect, but distracting fly-aways should be cleaned up.
As photographers, we don’t want to remove too much without your consent. This includes scars. I once removed a scar on a clients shoulder only to find out that how she received the scar was a source of pride for her. So if there are scars that you want removed or kept, let your photographer know ahead of time.
This is also the time to discuss any final product requests such as masking. If you or your graphics person plan to use these images with graphics behind you or layered onto products or property to represent, ask your photographer about creating masked file versions. There may be a small added cost for this, but it is better to let the photographer create them from the RAW files than with compressed JPEGs afterwards.
So, that’s it. I hope you found this information and these tips help you get the best out of your headshot and executive portrait session. If you have any questions about planning your session, please feel free to reach out to me by email at ivan@apfelphotography.com or even text me at (305) 301-9314 and I will be happy help any way I can.
About Ivan Apfel
Ivan Apfel is a commercial photographer in South Florida. Over the past decade he has been the Executive headshot and portrait photographer for NBCUniversal, Telemundo, Bacardi, Loud and Live, and others as well as National On-Air Talent for MSNBC and Telemundo.