5 Headshot Photography Tips & Posing Prompts

These are my favorite headshot photography tips & posing prompts that I use in my daily practice!

The equipment used for this shoot was a Canon R5 using an 85mm lens which was tethered directly to MacBook Pro using Capture One. For lighting I used a Profoto D2 500 strobe with a Broncolor 5ft octobox. I also used a V-Flat World v-flat with the white side facing in toward my subject on her left side (opposite to the light), that reflects the light back onto her. I have the light at a 45 degree angle facing my subject and a 45 degree angle downwards. For the backdrop, I used a Savage Universal stand with a Savage Universal seamless paper in super white.

 

Tip 1 - Use a large modifier

I like to use a large modifier. Either my Broncolor 5ft Octobox or a white shoot through umbrella with diffusion.

As a rule of thumb, the larger the light source relative to your subject, the softer the light. I really like a soft light for headshots as I find it the most flattering for all my clients.

 

Tip 2 - Use a focal length more than 70mm

I always use about an 85mm or 100mm or a 70 to 200 telephoto lens. If you go below that there will be a lot of distortion in the image and things such as the nose, are going to look a little bit bigger than if you were using a higher focal length.

 

Tip 3 - Shoot at a high aperature

For headshots you’re going to want a clean, crisp, sharp image and not a super artistic image with a lot of falloff. To achieve this I shoot at a higher aperature. When working with studio lights I start at f5.6 and go upwards.

For this shoot I chose to shoot at f8. This is a comfort zone for me that tends to be where I like to start because I like a very sharp, in focus image especially for a professional headshot.

 

Tip 4 - Posing and direction prompts

I LOVE posing and directing my subjects. And when it comes to headshots, there are a few things in particular that you need in order to prompt your clients and direct them.

When I have a client in front of my lens and they’re a little bit nervous they usually have the tendency to pull their head back which gives them no jawline. So the first thing I do is I ask my clients to relax and take a few deep breaths to calm their nervous system.

Then I ask them to turn their body on a 45 degree angle towards their preferred side and shift their weight onto their front leg leaning towards the camera. I ask them to bring their face towards the camera and drop their chin which brings their forehead forward and the attention to the eyes. A headshot is really all about the eyes and the connection.

Another thing to keep in mind is ask your client to keep their shoulders back and stand tall with their weight shifted towards the camera. This will give a very engaging headshot!

 

Tip 5 - Review your images with your client on set

I find reviewing the images while on set makes a huge difference. If your client is nervous it gets their confidence up because they see how good they look. Or it inspires talk about what could be better, say they don’t like how they look, discussing together what can be done to fix that.

I find that getting that feedback with the client right in front of you makes a big difference, and you’re able to communicate with them exactly what their needs are so that you can meet them and create a stunning headshot.

 
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