What Makes A Good Headshot?

Wondering what makes a good headshot? What factors make a difference?

Here are some of my thoughts on what makes a good headshot. Lighting, pose and maybe the most important one of all is expression. We might include wardrobe in this list, but I don’t think wardrobe is a make-or-break factor in a headshot. So, let’s talk lighting.

Lighting

I have a few different setups for headshots that I use. I choose them depending on where I’m shooting and how much room I have to work. The more cramped the space, the simpler and smaller my set-up. One thing that remains pretty constant when I’m shooting individuals is the choice I make between men’s headshots and women’s headshots. I tend to shoot women with more of a beauty light. This lighting is very flattering to women’s features. I use either a three light set-up or a large octagonal soft box with an eye lighter. Both of these create very soft, beautiful light that wraps around the face and makes the skin and features smother.

Men’s Lighting

When I shoot men, I want to highlight the facial features more than I do with a female client. I like to shoot with a little shadow on one side so that the angular parts of the face are highlighted. Now, these are not rules cut in stone. Rules are meant to be broken and I’m more than happy to break them! I often shoot beauty lighting with men and sometimes shoot shadows on women. It just depends on who I’m working with.

Pose and Expression

I’ll lump pose and expression for your professional headshot into one part as I tend to coach them together. I don’t generally like the word “pose”, mostly because people feel anxious when they hear it. Most don’t know how to “pose” for a picture. We just stand there, fake a smile, and hope we don’t look terrified. I got news — you look terrified. Expression is the very cornerstone of a good headshot. You can nail down lighting, wardrobe and pose, and miss expression — and get a terrible headshot.

I like to interact with my clients to get a really good expression. I often say ridiculous things to elicit an expression. For example, I don’t like saying “smile”, so I may say something like “ point your right nostril towards the Statue of Liberty”, they’ll be confused for a moment as they hurriedly try and figure out where that is, then start to laugh when they realize I’m just messing with them. Then, as the laugh relaxes, I’m shooting and capturing beautiful natural smiles.

One of my other favorite lines is, “show me your best blowfish impression.” I’m always stoked when people go for it. In the shot below, I told John, “now, give me a look like your run this shit!” He did just that.

So, this is clearly not an exhaustive list of things that go into making a good headshot, but, I feel that these three things can seriously level up your headshot. Now, the best part is that YOU don’t have to know any of this or be good at any of this. It is on my to make sure that these things are cranking and that I’m coaching you on expression and pose. I know we’re not all vogue models and don’t have years of experience being in front of cameras. So, when you come in for your professional headshot session with Armato Photography, you can come in, relax and have a great time!