South Florida Headshot Photographer
I am a South Florida-based headshot and portrait photographer capturing clients in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, and surrounding areas.
But what are headshots? How are headshots and commercial portraits different? Do I need a headshot or a portrait? What should I expect when getting a headshot? What should I expect when getting a portrait? How much are headshots and portraits? These are all valid and important questions. I hope to answer them for you so you know what it is that will fit your needs best. Continue reading to learn more about headshots and my services, or to view a gallery of my headshots, Click Here.
What are Headshots?
While Headshots may seem like a new thing, they have been the standard for actors and models since the mid-1900s. The characteristics that made them the standard portrait for these industries was that they were evenly lit images focusing on the individual's face. It allowed the agents and casting directors to know whether the individual matched what they were looking for before meeting with them. Fast forward to the internet age, and headshots have become the standard for profiles on LinkedIn, business websites "About" pages, dating sites, and many other online communities for the same reason.
How are Headshots Different From Commercial Portraits?
Simply put, Headshots are a professional driver's license or passport photo, while a Commercial Portrait is the professional version of the portraits you would take with yourself and family. Headshots are evenly lit images with little to no shadows, cropped tight with the face filling 2/3 of the image, and showing you in a pleasant manner but with little personality. Commercial Portraits, on the other hand, implement creative lighting to give the individual more form and dimensionality, will include 1/3, 1/2, and full body images, and use posing with the intent to reflect more of your personality.
Do I Need a Headshot or a Portrait?
The simple answer is yes. Regardless of profession or industry, everyone should have a professional image of themself in their online presence. Now, whether it is a headshot or a portrait is entirely up to you and what your specific profession is. A headshot may work best for professionals looking to use it on LinkedIn and their "About" section of a website. Commercial Portraits would be a better fit for people in the creative fields, realtors, or other professionals who will need to also use the images for advertising, promotional use, or feature publications.
What to Expect When Getting a Headshot?
I can only tell you about what you can expect when having your headshot taken by me. Because these are such straightforward images, I like to keep the session simple. Thanks to COVID, the days of you needing to travel to the photographer's studio are gone. During COVID, I captured over 200 headshots at people's homes. Clients responded so positively to it; I have made bringing the headshot studios to your home or place of business the standard. These setups take up very little space. As with portraits, you can choose between having a solid background or using your environment as your background. Studio lighting setup takes about 20 minutes, and the session itself takes about 15 to 20 minutes. Then another 20 minutes to break down and pack out. The whole session will only take about an hour, of which you can continue working for 40 minutes of it. During the session, I would guide you with posing and expression. You can review as we shoot to make sure you like what you see.
Within 12 hours after the session, you will receive an email with the link to view your online proofing gallery. From here, you select the three images you wish to have fully retouched. Once these images are retouched, they are sent to you in full-sized, high-resolution format via digital download. In many cases, clients have received their final retouched images by the day after the session.
How Often Should I Get a Headshot?
You should probably get new headshots taken every three years. Most of us go through changes over that period of time. Different hairstyles, facial hair, body changes, etc. all change over the years. A big mistake is when people use headshots from many years earlier. Like with casting directors, potential clients will react negatively if the image you project online does not match the “you” that they meet in person. It will immediately make them put up a “Trust” flag which is exactly the wrong foot to start on.
How Much Are Headshots?
Traditionally, headshot pricing is done in two parts. The first part is the Session Fee which can range from $100 to $200. Then the second part is the image file purchase which ranges from $50 to $100 per image. I have never been very traditional. My price for headshots starts at $250. This fee includes the session and your choice of three images fully retouched and delivered in their full-size, high-resolution format. You are welcome to get more than the three images included for $50 per image. I also provide a discount on headshots when shooting four or more individuals in the same session.