Modern Business Headshot update: Tips from an Orlando headshot photographer
Today I am sharing a behind the scenes Orlando headshot photography session with a contact sheet of all of the RAW images.
I’ll be showing you how small shifts in posing, posture and getting the right angles really create a big impact. In this post I’ll also share with you the image I selected as my new business headshot and what I did to edit + retouch it to give it that GRACE WITH FIRE.
Subject = me
Photographer = me….
Confused yet?
Read on!
It all starts with wanting to update my current professional headshot. I had been using the same one for many years and knew it was time for a modern business headshot refresh.
I needed a photo that said, “I’m a professional photographer.”
Perhaps you need a headshot that says, “I’m a modern realtor” or “I’m a business owner” regardless…
TIME IS MONEY and I only had about 20 minutes to get these done, so I quickly set up a spot in front of a window in my studio and got to work in my Winter Park studio.
I made certain that my makeup was on point, hair was done and so were my nails. You have to think of ALL these things when getting your professional headshot taken!
I wanted a chic color palette, so I kept with silver, ivory, black and red. Since I recently had my nails polished, I made sure that my lipstick did not clash.
People often ask what to wear once they book their photo shoot and I always say pick a color you feel confident in and a style that flatters your figure. I love blazers because they are effortless and give a polished appearance. In this shoot I opted for this ivory blouse because of the color and cut. A v-neck top is a good option or a rounded neckline works too, you don’t want anything you have to fuss with.
You can see at first I am holding a Canon AE-1, but promptly determine that holding a digital camera body is a better choice. (I rarely shoot film and when I do it's usually personal projects and not my professional work)
This is the setup. You really don’t need a huge amount of space to get the results as long as you have great lighting and a tripod. You can use a timer on your camera, a remote or connect your camera to a laptop.
In the photo below, I am starting to get the composition and pose down, but still haven’t fine tuned it yet.
Ah yes, we are getting somewhere!
I realize I like the way I am holding the camera, but need to tweak my pose a little and also move further back to get more of me in the frame of the photo.
Here you can see I have moved further back so that there is more breathing room in the composition. I am not concerned that the backdrop doesn’t completely fill the frame, as I will be cropping the image.
So now I am a little further back and just have to position my face and body at the right angles.
Now that I know where I need to be, I just have to work on the pose itself.
This is where some self awareness comes in handy.
I realize that when I smile or laugh, I have the tendency towards a double chin. The best way to remedy that is to push your face forward and down to elongate the neck. It feels awkward, but it definitely helps—I will show you the difference in these two photos.
I still have a double chin here….but….NOT.FOR.LONG! Let’s work on the pose!
BOOM!! All I needed to do was to push my face down and forward in a rather exaggerated expression.
THIS IS THE WINNER!!
Now I just need to edit and I will be on my way to having a lovely headshot.
YES!! This is the pose. Face is forward and down just a bit and it is a subtle shift that makes a BIG impact!
Final image! I made retouches such as removing wrinkles from backdrop and taking away “extra” part in my hair (see previous image to compare) and I am loving the results.
Now that I am ready to edit….I cropped the image and edit for color, contrast, exposure and white balance. For further refinement I retouch to smooth skin, take away flyaway hairs and other nuances that make sure the image has more impact or as I call it, it more grace with fire!
There you have it. A quick photo session and the result is a perfectly polished clean, crisp and modern headshot.
Interested in booking your own session? Head on over here for more information. Call 352-682-7311 to book or use the booking feature here to schedule your shoot.
Check out other blog posts with all things photography related here.