Headshots vs Portrait photography.
Discover the world of Headshot Photography: From Corporate to Creative. Learn about the conservative approach of capturing portraits for specific industries and the standard guidelines set by professional photographers worldwide. Understand the difference between headshots and formal portraits and the role of headshot photography in today’s digital marketing and online service searching.
As a portrait photographer I have met many customers, inquiring headshot quotes, and also beginner photographers often confused identifying what are the differences setting apart Headshot photography from, conventional, Portrait photography.
In this blog post, we’ll delve deeper into the world of headshot photography, from the history and evolution of the industry to the latest trends and techniques. We’ll also explore the different types of headshots, such as environmental headshots, candid headshots, and fine art headshots, and how to choose the right type for your project. Whether you’re a business professional looking to update your LinkedIn profile or an actor auditioning for your next role, this post will give you a better understanding of headshot photography, and help you create stunning images that truly capture the essence of your subject.
Let’s analyze what exactly Headshots photography is:
What is a Headshot in Photography?
Headshot photography is a specialized branch of portrait photography that focuses specifically on capturing a person’s head and shoulders in a more defined professional manner. It is also known as a formal portrait, and it’s mainly used in the corporate and creative industries, such as actors, musicians, and other professionals, where the main purpose of the image is to portray a person providing specific services and introducing the subject to potential clients or prospects within their professional scope.
The terminology of headshot photography is relatively new, and it has adapted to the new way of digital marketing and searching for services online. However, it’s important to note that the concept of headshot photography is not new and it’s been around for a long time, back in the days of analogue photography, it was known as a formal portrait.
To ensure that a headshot accurately represents a person, certain guidelines have been set within the worldwide community of professional photographers. These guidelines cover aspects such as composition, lighting, and retouching, to ensure that the final image is polished, professional, and represents the subject in the best possible way.
From the images above can be seen my personal, creative, approach to the traditional headshot photography:
Format
A headshot is a head and shoulder close-up capture. In some cases, a slightly wider approach can be utilized to allow for cropping and more flexible usage of the image.
Location
Studio headshots – background is white, black or variations of grey. Location headshots – background is blurred, out of focus, as it is not of importance.
Outfit
Corporate Outfit for business headshots, Creatives Outfit for actor headshots.– defined dress code.
Usage
Photographing a headshot is about facial recognition, Corporate headshots for interview attenders and Actors headshots for casting.
Posing
The subject is looking at the camera, revealing his/her best side.
Lighting
Photography lighting set-up is simplified for quick turn-over, photographing and editing the headshots.
Headshot photography may look like a very simple and straight forward style. However, because of its wide usage across different industries, it can easily gather enough complexity to stand out as a photographic genre on its own.
Below you can see how versatile and specific, upon the usage and industry, a headshot can be:
Corporate Headshots.
As the name suggests, corporate headshot photography is a product designed to satisfy the needs of professionals working for businesses or corporations.
A headshot can be of a business owner or founder, displaying his/her personality and general appearance. While a corporation can use headshots, also like with the small businesses, to build a brand or identity with the appearance of the people working within its structure.
Usually corporate headshots are photographed in photography studio, however “on location” headshot sessions are increasing in popularity – this is mainly down to two reasons.
- A CEO or Staff doesn’t have the time to visit a studio.
- When location takes a significant part in the company’s brand and identity.
Despite backgrounds being blurred and out of focus, the feeling and atmosphere of a place can still be significant for the final result of the captured images. Also, very often a headshot photo session can be part of a more extensive campaign, where environmental portraits need to be captured too.
Where and how Corporate Headshots can be used and the purposes they serve, in a corporate/business involvement:
- Author page
- Marketing materials
- About us or Our Team page
- Company website
- Press releases – announcements
- Annual reports
- LinkedIn image profile
- Across social media
- Catalogues, brochures, advertising and complementary materials
- Marketing materials
Models Headshots.
Within an industry where model agencies need to establish two-way connections (model – agency, client-agency); Headshots of models, they represent, are of utmost importance for their work.
Modelling headshots are a selection of model’s images, building on profile and statistics, accompanying a relevant work resume. Specific requirement photographing model’s headshots will be the capture of a close-up, revealing the quality and complexity of the model’s skin – something very important for beauty work. And again, as the corporate headshots, models will need a mixture of portraits along with the headshots they’ll be required to have.
Where and how Headshots of models are used:
- Modelling portfolio
- Online agency profiles
- Advertising across different mediums
- Packaging for cosmetic products
From a business model perspective, Headshots of models is the most sustainable form of headshot photography; models need to upgrade their portfolio with images more frequently than clients from the corporate sector.
Headshots for the entertaining sector.
Professionals on the fields of theatre, film, TV, actors, musicians and in fact any other creative/entertaining industries, will be required, by standard, to provide a headshots picture with their job applications.
Headshots of artists will require, as you can guess, a more artistic approach; capturing the essence of the artist’s character and mood profile for better recognition in a feature process of selection. One good thing, when capturing artistic headshots, is working with people who should be very good at conveying different moods and expressions, something you may find hard to obtain from corporate clients.
Same as with Models, headshots of clients from the entertainment industry can be the more sustainable business opportunity for professional photographers. The reason being is that, for example, an actor’s headshots are intended to show the artist in his/her current state, reflecting on their best features. Many things can change easily in artist’s appearance in a short period of time, changes like this (body weight, hair colour, piercing, scaring etc.) will require newly updated headshots – reflecting on these changes.
It uses to be a norm for, mainly, actor’s headshots to be in black and white. However, like everything in life this aspect has evolved too – nowadays norms are much more relaxed which allows for both colour and B&W captures. The standard way of presenting headshots, when applying for roles, within this industry is by providing 8 x 10 inches prints; this is a standard size of printed headshots actors are using in their portfolios. In some cases, casting associates or extras agency may require only 3 x 5 inches prints of artists headshot.
This pretty much outlines what Headshot photography is, the purposes it serves and how is been utilised across different platforms and industries.
Now lets, briefly, see what accounts for the conventional Portrait photography.
Portrait photography.
Portrait photography is a genre that encompasses a wide range of subjects and settings, from professional headshots to personal, creative projects. It delves deeper into a person’s professional, creative, or personal life, and offers a wider range of possibilities for expression, storytelling and usage across unlimited range of mediums and platforms.
It encompasses capturing emotion, moods, and personalities, and often includes the entire body of the subject, not just the head and shoulders, in an environmental set, studio or on a location – without any constrains on what the subject outfit, styling and mood will be.
In summary, if you need a polished and professional image for business or professional purposes, a headshot may be the best choice. If you’re looking for a more personal and creative representation of yourself or a loved one, a portrait may be the better option.
Due to the depth and complexity of portrait photography, it can be difficult to fully explain in just a few lines of text.That’s why I’ve decided to dedicate a separate, more in-depth blog post to the topic.
In this post, I’ll explore the different facets and the essence of portrait photography, including the latest trends, techniques, and ideas to inspire your own creative projects.
I’ll also go into more detail about the different types of portrait photography, such as environmental portraits, candid portraits, and fine art portraits, and how to choose the right type for your project. With this post, you’ll have a better understanding of portrait photography, and be able to create stunning images that truly capture the essence of your subject.
Answers to most common questions regarding headshot photography:
What is the difference between a Portrait and a Headshots?
The main difference setting headhots apart, as stand alone genre, from portrait photography is the very rigid format of capturing people’s personalities. Such formal constrain, dictated by various industries standards, is the main factor forcing “formal portraiture” to deviate to what we know today as Headshot photography – a style of its own.
Should Headshots be a portrait or landscape format?
Although the most common format of displaying and printing headshots is a portrait format, in reality, there is nothing standing in the way of capturing landscape headshots too. Ideally, you can have your headshot photographed both ways for greater convenience and flexibility of usage. Also, nowadays most cameras capture very high-resolution images which can be cropped in any format ratio – if further required.
Should I smile or be serious in my headshot?
This can depends on several factors such as:
- Styling and identity of your headshot – Where company/industry guidelines in place , defining (for identity, consistency or styling reasons) what the final expression of the sitter should be.
- Personality – If smile don’t come very easy to you, as personality, the best practice will be to act naturally rather than ending up photographed struggling to pull a smile.
- Outfit – Outfit can be a contributor when comes down to where should you smile or reveal more stoic nature of your character.
What is the best background for a headshot session?
Although most usual choices of background colours such as grey, white, black and any tonality in between are the most common choice for most headshot photographers, my personal choice comes down to client preference and outfit chosen for the session. It is always a good practice of deviating from standards as long as this is acceptable by both client and photographer.
How to look good in for a headshot?
Here a three, perhaps, the most important and simple rules to begin with.
- Have a good sleep the night before your headshot session, makeup or coffee can not compensate for your fresh and smart look.
- Be on time for your headshot session. This will ensure smooth photoshoot, with enough pictures taken in a more relaxed atmosphere.
- Don’t waste to much time in changing outfits. Better concentrate on spending more time in front of the camera, ensuring the best of your personality is captured.
Conclusion.
Headshot photography is a specific branch of portrait photography that can be easily confused with other styles of portrait photography. However, understanding the foundation of portrait photography can help us become better photographers, regardless of the style we choose to specialize in.
Portrait photography is a diverse genre that encompasses many different styles and techniques. Headshot photography is simply one of these styles, tailored to the specific needs of certain professional industries.
Having a clear understanding of what is meant by headshot photography makes it easier for both photographers and clients to communicate effectively. Instead of trying to guess what a client is looking for, a clear definition of headshot photography allows for more efficient communication and more accurate quotes for photo shoots.
While it may be more efficient to build a business model around a specific style of photography, like headshot photography, it’s important to remember that this doesn’t mean the approach should be taken lightly. As a professional photographer, it’s important to always put your best skills and intent into every headshot photo shoot, as this will define your style and place among other professionals within the industry.
This is a great guide for those looking to learn about if they need a professional headshot or more of an artistic portrait of themselves that will show more of their personality. Thanks for sharing!