The Art of HeadShot | TerrificShot Photography

We cannot emphasize enough how important it is to invest in a great headshot! It is your calling card and the first impression your next employer, recruiter or a casting directors will have of you. A great headshot will open doors. It is the most important tool you can invest in. If your headshot does not catch the eye of them they will never know how talented you are because you will not get an interview or audition.

For each client, TerrificShot team sets an imposing goal: We  try to capture a look that’s unique to you. All of us  have singular expressions and gestures that define our personalities. That’s what we are after

Part of this approach strives to create a photograph that has a quality. A photograph that shows something in a person’s facial expression, posture, and body language that engages and holds the attention of viewers.

Headshot should be 10 percent photography and 90 percent communication. The best advice we can give you is to have fun with the photo shoot. If you take it too serious you will be nervous and your photos will probably end up looking stiff and lifeless. If, on the other hand, you are relaxed and having a good time you will get amazing photos with life and personality. At TerrificShot Photography, we love interacting with my customers and we'll make you feel comfortable from the start in such way eventually the camera will disappear for you. 

On technical side, we shoot headshot using the standard lighting technique called Three point lighting. 

The goal of three point lighting is to create the illusion of a three-dimensional subject in a two-dimensional image. While you can create dimension a number of different ways, there’s no doubt that using light and shadow is a powerful way to accomplish this, and three point lighting is the lighting technique most commonly used.

What are the three points of light we’re talking about?

• The Key Light – This is the main light used on your subject.
• The Fill Light – The purpose of this light is to fill in the shadows created by the key light, preventing them from getting too dark.
• The Back Light – This is used to separate the subject from the background.

For men, we often don’t fill from the bottom. we like men to look a little rugged. we like to see the detail in their faces, and don’t mind lines and other imperfections. It gives them character.

corporate business Headshot Photographer Bay Area Sunnyvale

Man Headshot Executive with blue background in Studio

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For women, this lighting usually fills in every shadow, rendering complexions smooth and wrinkle-free.

woman with blond hair against gray backdrop studio

Woman with red shirt and jacket for Executive Corporate headshot with blurred office background

woman executive headshot portrait with office blurred white background

As the shoot progresses, we search for what is commonly called a person’s “best side”. We ask subjects to angle their heads slightly one way, then the other. Even very slight rotations of the face can make a huge difference in the image. 

To find this “best side” comes from looking at each feature of the face—eyes, nose, forehead, mouth—and noticing when each looks its best. The process is very subjective and is all about how the features play off of each other to create an overall impression.

The Nose

We start by looking at the subject’s nose. Some are curved or lean to one side.  We make slight changes to the angle of the head, and find a place where the nose looks a little straighter. Most people prefer those shots.  

Finding angles that accent a person’s attractive features—and conceal the unattractive—requires focus, and is usually achieved with tiny adjustments to the angle of the face or the way the light falls on it.

woman with blond hair against black backdrop studio

Man Portrait Casual and Headshot in Studio

woman with blue shirt and gray jacket posing for headshot executive portrait

The Jawline

Another goal? Accentuate the jawline: If a person stands normally, with their chin slightly tucked in, you get something of a double chin, even with people who aren’t overweight. So, we the subject to bring their foreheads out and angle them down slightly. It has the effect of extending and better defining the jawline. Moving the forehead out and down pulls the skin taut around the jaw and reveals bone structure and the shape of the face more strongly. 

Corporate headshot Terrificshot behind scene

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and finally, the Eyes

During the session, we suggest you squinch to give an intensely focused look. (below images, Hervé, TerrificShot team member, explaining how to squint the eyes to a client)

behind scene studio headshot Modeling portrait elder man

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If you're unaware what squinching is, here Merriam Webster defines it as:

SQUINCH

transitive verb 1: to screw up (the eyes or face); squint 2: to make more compact.

Squinting slightly - by raising just the lower eyelid a bit - brings to portray more confidence and self-assurance as opposed to the fear and uncertainty that you project when you stare wide-eyed at the camera. Crucially, it's a little different to squinting, which leaves you looking a bit... odd. Instead, you lift and tighten your lower eyelids, and let the top ones come down just a fraction.

While the squinch takes most subjects some practice to perfect, once learned it can lift the portrait from boring to brilliant in an instant.

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Please click here, you still ask yourself why hire a professional photographer for corporate headshot.

Based in Mountain View, California, TerrificShot Studio Headshots Photography™ in the middle of the Bay Area, including but not limited to San Francisco,  Burlingame,  Woodside,  Atherton, San Mateo,  Foster City,  Belmont,  San Carlos,  Redwood City,  Stanford,  Menlo Park,  Palo Alto,  Los Altos,  East palo Alto,  Sunnyvale,  Los Altos hills,  Cupertino,  Campbell,  Santa Clara,  San Jose,  Saratoga,  Los Gatos,  Milpitas,  Newark,  Hayward,  Fremont,  Union City,  Santa Cruz