How to Take a Professional Headshot (Step-by-Step Guide)

If you're looking to create a strong online presence, it's important to start with a professional headshot photo. Your headshot photo is often one of the first things people see about you online. First impressions matter, so taking a good headshot is essential.

In this article, we'll cover everything you need to know about how to take a professional headshot. It’s easier than you might think and you can get it done easily at home with just your smartphone.

Without further ado, let's dive in!

How to Take a Professional Headshot at Home?

1. Use Soft, Natural Light

When it comes to taking headshots at home, lighting is key. Position yourself near a window to take advantage of the sun's soft, diffused light. This will ensure your headshot photo is clear and crisp. And it also helps to avoid harsh shadows and unflattering angles that can make you look unappealing.

2. Use a Reflector

For better lighting when taking headshots at home, reflectors can be useful, especially if you are in a room with little natural light.

By bouncing light on your face, reflectors can help even out skin tones, and soften wrinkles, blemishes, and other skin imperfections.

In addition, reflectors can help you change the direction of the light. Experiment with different angles to find the one that highlights your best features.

If you don't have a reflector on hand, don’t worry. You can use a piece of white paper, or white foam board as a substitute to achieve similar results.

3. Use Solid or Neutral Color Backgrounds

Don’t let the photo background steal focus from you. When taking headshots, make sure that your surroundings are clean and uncluttered. A busy backdrop is distracting and can give off an unprofessional vibe, which are things you definitely want to avoid.

Choose a simple and solid-color wall for minimal visual distractions. If possible, use a plain background which offers you more flexibility in post-processing.

Change the background of headshots in just one click with Fotor's free AI background changer

4. Choose a Proper Outfit

When choosing an outfit for a headshot, consider the occasion and message you want to convey. For example, if you're taking a headshot for LinkedIn profile pictures, you might want to wear something formal to convey professionalism and trustworthiness. If you’re taking a headshot for social media, you can go more casual look.

It's also important to consider the color of your clothing. Make sure that your outfit complements the background and lighting of your headshot.

5. Experiment With Different Poses and Angles

Find a pose that both flatters your features and you’re comfortable with. Here are a few simple pose ideas to use for your professional headshots at home:

• Stand or sit straight and look directly at the camera.
• Cross your arms in front of your body and tilt your head 45 degrees.
• Try different angles with your shoulders, chin, and the tilt of your head.
• Leaning slightly forward towards the camera.

6. Smile

Give a warm smile and show people you're approachable and positive!

Take Jeff Weiner, the Executive Chairman of LinkedIn, for example. His big and genuine smile instantly gives off the impression that he's friendly, approachable, and passionate about his work.

Although it's difficult to smile on demand, relaxing your face and squinting your eyes helps give a more natural and genuine smile.

How to Take a Professional Headshot With iPhone?

Now that we've prepared everything, it's time to take your own headshot. Taking a professional headshot with an iPhone is easy. Follow these steps to capture a great phone headshot:

1. Use the Back Phone Camera

The back camera on your iPhone is of higher quality than the front camera, so it’s recommended to use it to capture your headshot.

2. Use Portrait Mode

The simplest way to take a professional headshot with iPhone is to set your camera settings to Portrait Mode. This feature allows you to capture stunning headshots with a blurred background.

Blurring the background is a classic technique from portrait photography. When you do this, you make the subject stand out and eliminate any distractions from the rest of the picture.

If your iPhone doesn't have Portrait Mode, don’t worry. There are numerous profile picture maker apps and online photo editors you can use to blur out the background of photos you’ve already taken.

Fotor's free online photo editor can be really handy for this. With just one single click, you can blur out the background of your photos instantly.

Check out the Before and After images below to get an idea of what your headshot could look like using Fotor’s AI background blur tool.

3. Use a Tripod

To take a high-quality headshot, it's essential to keep your iPhone steady to capture clear and crisp images. Using a tripod is recommended as it helps keep your iPhone steady and reduces photos blur.

If you don't have a tripod, placing your iPhone on a stable surface and using the shutter timer can also help to avoid camera shake and produce sharper images.

4. Take Multiple Shots

If you want to get the perfect headshot, then don’t be afraid to take a few extra shots. More photos mean more choices. You’ll have a greater chance of finding the perfect headshot to represent your true self.

Although it may seem tedious or time-consuming, it is definitely worth it in the end.

5. Edit Your Headshot

Use the built-in editing tools on your iPhone to crop and frame your shot to make sure your head and shoulders are centered. You can also make adjustments to lighting, brightness, contrast and white balance. These simple editing techniques can quickly and significantly enhance the overall quality of your headshot.

Improve your headshot in just one click with Fotor's AI photo enhancer

Conclusion

Headshots are an essential part of any professional portfolio, so it's important to invest some time to take a professional headshot.

By following this guide, you can ensure that your headshots look professional and leave a lasting impression. Don't miss out on this opportunity to showcase your best self with the perfect headshot!