INSCMagazine: Get Social!

A picture says a thousand words and, for the purpose of this article, can say a thousand things about your business.

If you’re someone who’s in need of an amazing headshot photo for your business page, you might be worried you might never get the “best look.” Here are some tips to taking amazing headshots for your business page.

According to an eMarketer report, as stated in a Forbes article, it appears 77 percent of consumers are likely to buy from a company and 82 percent are likely to trust it more if they are on social media. As such, a “human” presence in your company can potentially be of great help to generate appeal to audiences.

One of the many ways to do this is by including a business headshot of the owner/s in the business page, and below are just some of the ways to capture the best one for you:

Always remember the purpose of the shoot. Aside from your headshot being used for a business page, ask for more details about the subject and the business in general. What business is this? What attire are they supposed to wear? How is the subject as a person? This can help you generate better ideas for angles and expressing themselves.

Make sure you focus on the eyes properly. When it comes to a person’s face, the eyes are perhaps one of the most – if not the most – expressive parts one could see. As such, it’s essential to make sure eyes in a headshot are crisp and sharp as these can draw in viewers into the photo. This can help establish a powerful connection that can make a reader find your business page appealing.

Be careful of the angles. Similar to the eyes, be sure you’re aware of the kind of angle you want in order to express the subject’s facial features properly. For instance, if you’re photographing women, try to make the eyes appear larger and the face much smoother by shooting slightly down. For men, try to emphasize strength by shooting slightly upward.

Try to experiment with the proper lighting. Given that headshots are close shots, the skin should be properly accentuated. Try to make sure there aren’t blemishes in the skin with diffused light, as this gently wraps itself around the skin without bringing too much detail into it. Likewise, hair light can be used to add a kind of depth to the shot.

Be sure to equip yourself with the proper lens. While a lot of things can be done post-processing, making sure the raw photo is powerful enough to captivate is a good way of ensuring you’re off to a good start. Avoid the usage of mid-range to wide angle lenses for these headshots. Try to use 90mm lenses or of ranges above it, so the subject’s face will be slimmer and the image will be slightly compressed. You can ask for assistance of a service that can provide professional headshots in Chicago, should you find yourself in the area.

Try to guide and ease your subject into expression. Nothing speaks more about a person than how they act off-cam, and this is something that is tricky to show when a camera is in front of them. Capture their natural expressions by talking with them while shooting them, or guide their expressions through speaking while shooting. Ask them serious questions so they can pull off a gaze that speaks thoughtfulness, or crack a joke to capture their laughter.

Conclusion: Remember that when it comes to taking amazing headshot photos for your business page, it’s a matter of making sure you get yourself to a pose and an angle that works best for you. A combination of confidence and aesthetics that suit your face and body type can help you pull off the best headshot photo that will surely help your business page shine.

Author’s Bio: Michael Schacht is a portrait photographer and photography educator based in Chicago Illinois. As owner/operator of 312 Elements Headshot Photography located in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood, Michael overseas the day to day operations and has had the opportunity to photograph thousands of corporate professionals over the last decade.

Through his direction, attention to detail, and people skills, he’s helped these clients to craft a narrative around their personal brand. It’s his belief that the headshot is the modern dad business card and that a better headshot is essential for a better career. Michael, his wife Meghan and his two daughters reside in Tinley Park, Illinois where he is a community leader and active participant in the local business sector.

Michael studied business at Ball State university and photography with world renown headshot photographer, Peter Hurley. It was Hurley that trained Michael in the art of human expression. Michael is now a Headshot Crew certified Mentor and active member of the Headshot Crew community where he was named one of the top 20 headshot photographers in the world.

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