By the end of this article, you'll know how to take a headshot with a cell phone.
Don't want to be bothered with lighting and other details? We offer "Virtual Headshot" packages, where we take your photo over the internet and digitally retouch it to make the background and lighting professional. There are three main things to keep track of when taking a professional headshot with an iPhone:
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Lighting
The Secret Sauce to Make Headshots Look Professional
If you don't want people to know you took your headshot on your smartphone, you should spend a few extra minutes to ensure the lighting is good.
Can you see the problem with the lighting in the photo below?
Can you see the problem with the lighting in the photo below?
If you're not careful, you can get extremely dark shadows under your eyes when the lighting is not coming from the right angle!
The best light comes from in front and slightly above. It should come from a large source so it's very soft and doesn't create harsh shadows on your face.
For Great Lighting, Stand in Front of a Window:
The best way to get good lighting without any professional equipment is by standing in front of a window about 4 feet away. Make sure you're facing towards the window so that the light fills in your face (and be sure the sun isn't shining directly on you).
Here's an example where all lights were turned off in the room except the light coming from the window:
The window is right behind the camera, and all that soft light is coming down onto my face.
As a reminder, here's the setup and a diagram to reference:
A Short Video Guide:
Check out this video to learn everything you need to know about the proper setup, and then come back to continue reading the rest of this article:
Part 2 - How You Look
In the photo with the blue cardigan, my shirt collar is sticking out on one side, and not on the other. This is something that should have been fixed.
While shooting, make sure to pay attention to:
While shooting, make sure to pay attention to:
- Posture: Stand up tall. If you think you look hunched, it could simply be the curvature of your spine. Try pointing your body at a slight different angle (like instead of turning left, turn to the right). This usually helps fix posture issues if standing taller doesn't seem to help.
- Clothing: Try to wear solid colors if possible, and make sure you're shirt isn't wrinkled! You can also read this great article on what to wear for headshots.
- Glare in glasses: A trick to fix glare is to angle your lenses down a bit. Basically you can raise the back part of the glasses off your ears so the lenses are tilted down. It shouldn't be noticeable in the camera but works really well!
- No flash: Make sure the camera flash is OFF or it will make you look shiny and unnatural in the picture.
- If you have a double chin, try doing "The Turtle": Push your forehead towards the camera by about an inch to help make your jawline sharper. Don't push too far or it will look weird... just do it a little bit.
Part 3 - Your Expression
If your smile is fake, you won't connect with the viewer and it could create distrust!
So how do you get a real smile in your shot? Well, just look at the camera and start laughing!
So how do you get a real smile in your shot? Well, just look at the camera and start laughing!
The simplest way to get a great expression, whether it's a big, open-mouthed smile or a subtle, closed-mouth expression, is to actually FEEL genuine.
You must feel good in the photo and imagine warmly greeting someone.
When you FEEL what you're projecting, it shows in ways that faking it never will.
Although advanced expression tricks are beyond the scope of this article, we have a great free guide you can read.
It's called Look Your Best in Your Professional Headshot, and is a guided "how-to" that explains our top strategies on getting high-quality headshots with any photographer (even if you're shooting your headshot yourself):
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Part 4 - Upgrading Your Headshot
Now, if you want to take your final photo a step further, we can professionally change the background and adjust lighting, fix blemishes, whiten teeth and more, so your final shot looks highly polished and ready for LinkedIn.
The cost to have your image professionally retouched is $45 and typically takes 2-3 business days. To learn more about this service, click here.
The cost to have your image professionally retouched is $45 and typically takes 2-3 business days. To learn more about this service, click here.
Don't want to be bothered and want us to do all the work?
You can shoot with someone on our team (a professional photographer) who will take your photos through Zoom and guide you through the process, step by step.
Learn more about our Virtual Headshots service here.
Further Reading:
If you enjoyed this article, here are three others I think you'll find helpful:
About
Each person who works at City Headshots has a different perspective on photography and life. The Spotlight Blog is where it all comes together and we post fun and unique stuff!
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