Head Shots

Head Shots

by William Lulow

Many people confuse head shots with portraits. A portrait is a person’s likeness recorded the way a photographer “sees” his or her subject. A headshot has a specific purpose. It is a photograph that is supposed to show a person at his or her best at a given time. It should be well-lit with few shadows.

In order to achieve this, the photographer must use all the tools at his or her disposal including: good lighting, sharp optics, hair and makeup (when necessary) and the psychology involved in the photography process. All this in an effort to arrive at something approaching a “natural” -looking image.

Casting directors want to see what the prospective actors actually look like. If the person doesn’t look like their headshots when they show up at the casting call, they will not be called back. It’s important for actors, therefore, to realize that their headshots should be updated on a regular basis. Most likely, they will be outdated in around five years or so, maybe sooner. It’s also important for photographers to be aware of what the casting directors are looking for. Photographers should provide the elements of the shoot listed above, but should also strive to make an image that is somehow different from the ordinary. There was a fairly successful headshot photographer who had a small studio and always had his lights set up in exactly the same place. The results he achieved were technically perfect, but each person’s shot looked exactly the same. Only the face was different. The same background and same lighting was used every time.

I think that photographers need to get to know their subjects a bit in order to make each headshot different. Whereas some may call for a studio shot, others might benefit by using a location. (A park, a wall, the sky). Even though there has been a trend lately for more casual types of headshots, directors still want to see what the person looks like. And, corporations want good, clean, well-lit shots of their staff for brochures and websites. Not only that, but if you are doing corporate portraits or headshots, you need to make sure that they look like the ones that the company is using currently. You need to study the lighting and background, so that the new ones fit in with the old.

These are a couple recent headshots:      

Corporate headshots are a bit different than ones for actors because, although as a photographer you should always try to elicit great expressions from your subjects, corporate executives are not usually looking to land a role in a play or movie. They simply want a clean representation of what they look like currently. However, if the headshots are really great, it will often cause executives to do more with them in brochures, websites and other printed materials. So, it is something to keep in mind while you are shooting them.

I am often asked to make a series of corporate portraits on location at a company’s headquarters. I bring all necessary studio equipment with me and set up usually in a conference room or other large room that has enough ceiling height and space for lights and a background. This is the best way to ensure that all executives will have similar-looking headshots. Here is an example:

These headshots all have the same look and feel to them. Here, the subjects don’t really have to have hair, makeup or grooming. They usually show up just as they are. They are working and don’t have time for extensive, personal shoots the way folks do when they come to my studio. Here, I spend maybe 10 or 15 minutes with each person. On this particular shoot, I think it took me a day-and-a-half to shoot 60 or so individuals.

This also allows the corporation to save quite a bit of money over sending each individual to the studio. I charge a day rate for my time plus expenses so each headshot represents a great savings over my standard fees.

By the way, I have a special running for the month of September. Get 30% off regular fees when you mention this blog piece.