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Headshot guide

How to take a headshot photo with your phone

A phone, a window and a timer are enough to take a headshot photo you can use on LinkedIn, a company site or a CV. Get the light, the distance and the pose right, keep the editing light, and the picture will look like you on a good day.

Updated

How to take a headshot photo in six steps

  1. Stand facing a large window in daylight, out of direct sun, about a meter (3 feet) from the glass. Turn off the room lights.
  2. Put a plain wall or a calm, uncluttered view one to two meters behind you.
  3. Prop the phone at eye level about 1.5 to 2 meters away, on a tripod or a stack of books, and switch to the 2x or 3x lens on the back camera.
  4. Set the self-timer, or better, ask someone to press the button. Frame from mid-chest up with some room around your head; you'll crop later.
  5. Turn your shoulders slightly away from the camera, bring your face back to the lens, push your chin a little forward and down, and smile with your eyes as well as your mouth.
  6. Take 30 to 50 shots, pick the sharpest one with the most natural expression, crop it to head and shoulders, and edit lightly.
If someone can take it for you, let them. You'll stop thinking about the phone, and they can tell you when your expression goes stiff.

Where to stand: the best light for a headshot

A big window on a bright or overcast day is the best free light there is. Light from a large source wraps around the face and makes soft shadows, which is what a photographer's softbox imitates. Face the window square on for even, flattering light, or turn about 45 degrees away from it for a little shadow on one side of the nose, which gives the face more shape.
  • Avoid overhead lights. Ceiling lights put dark shadows in the eye sockets and under the nose and chin.
  • Avoid direct sun. It makes you squint and leaves hard-edged shadows. Outdoors, stand in open shade, such as the shady side of a building, facing the open sky.
  • Don't mix light. Daylight on one side of your face and a warm lamp on the other gives two skin colors that no edit fully fixes.
  • Never put the window behind you. The phone will expose for the bright glass and your face will go dark.
  • Fill the shadow side if it's too dark. A sheet of white card or a white pillowcase just out of frame bounces window light back.
Look for a small reflection of the window in each eye. Photographers call it a catchlight, and without it eyes look flat.

How far away to put the camera, and why selfies distort

A selfie is taken from about 40 to 50 cm away with a wide-angle lens. At that distance the tip of your nose is roughly 10 cm closer to the camera than your ears, so the nose is drawn about 20% larger relative to them, the face looks narrower and the ears shrink. From two meters away the difference is about 5%, so your face keeps its real proportions. That is why portrait photographers stand back with a longer lens, often around 85mm on a full-frame camera.On a phone, the 1x camera and the front camera are both wide. Switch to 2x or 3x on the back camera and step back until your head and shoulders fill the frame with room to spare. The back camera is also usually better than the front one. Hold the lens at your eye level or a touch above: from below it looks up your nose, and from far above it makes you look small.
  • Tap on your eyes to focus there, then hold to lock focus and exposure if your phone offers it.
  • Wipe the lens. A greasy phone lens gives a soft, hazy picture.
  • Use portrait mode with care. Its fake background blur can smear the edges of hair and glasses; a real distance of a meter or two behind you blurs the background more naturally.
  • Use the self-timer or a remote. A smartwatch camera app or a cheap Bluetooth shutter lets you see the frame and fire from where you stand.

What background to use for a headshot

Pick a plain wall in a mid tone, such as gray, beige or muted blue, and stand at least a meter or two in front of it so your shadow doesn't land on it and the texture goes soft. Avoid clutter, bright windows, doorframes and plants that seem to grow out of your head. A background close to the color of your clothes makes you blend in, so go darker or lighter than your top.Outdoors, open shade with trees or buildings far behind you works well. The further away the background, the more it blurs.

How to pose for a headshot: shoulders, chin and the squinch

  • Shoulders: turn your body 20 to 45 degrees away from the camera, then turn your face back to the lens. Shoulders square to the camera look broad and stiff.
  • Chin: push your face slightly toward the camera and tip your chin a little down. It feels odd, but it defines the jawline and removes the soft shadow under the chin.
  • Eyes: raise your lower eyelids slightly, as if looking into a little sun, without closing your eyes. Headshot photographer Peter Hurley calls this the squinch. Wide-open eyes read as surprise or nerves; a slight squinch reads as confident.
  • Smile: a small, real smile beats a big held one. Think of someone you like, laugh at something, then let it settle, and take frames as it fades.
  • Posture: sit on the front edge of a chair or stand tall, and lean very slightly toward the camera from the waist.
  • Glasses: if they catch the window, tilt them down a touch by lifting the arms off your ears, or turn your head until the reflection moves.

What to wear for a headshot

Wear what you'd wear to an important meeting in your field, one step smarter. Solid, mid to dark colors work best and keep attention on your face. Skip busy patterns, fine stripes and checks (they shimmer on screens), logos, and large jewelry. Necklines show a lot in a head-and-shoulders crop, so choose a collar or a simple crew or V-neck, and make sure the shoulders fit and nothing is creased.

How to edit a headshot without overdoing it

Straighten and crop, fix brightness and white balance, and remove things that won't be there next week: a spot, a stray hair, lint on a jacket. Leave your face alone. No skin smoothing, no slimming, no eye enlarging, no bright-white teeth and no beauty filters. People will meet you on a video call, and a headshot that looks like a different person works against you.Keep the full-resolution original and export crops from it: square for LinkedIn and chat avatars, 4:5 for website bios. Our headshot size guide lists the pixel sizes for each place.

Taking photos for an AI headshot generator

An AI headshot generator learns your face from what you upload, so the photos matter more than any setting. One to three good photos beat ten poor ones. The best set is three different views:
  • One straight on, at eye level, with a natural expression.
  • One with your head turned about three-quarters to one side, so the shape of your nose, jaw and cheek shows.
  • One that someone else took from a few steps back. It has none of the arm's-length distortion, so the model sees your real proportions.
Each photo should be sharp, evenly lit and recent, with your current hair. Only one face in the frame, no sunglasses, no hat unless you always wear one, nothing covering your face, and no filters or beauty modes. If you wear glasses every day, include them. Leap's headshot generator takes one to four photos and recommends these three.

Actor headshots: why you need a photographer

Casting needs real photos taken by a photographer. Casting directors want to see exactly who will walk into the room; they have said they reject AI headshots, and heavy retouching causes the same problem. Agents sometimes ask for digitals, plain unretouched snapshots in natural light, and the light and lens tips above suit those. For your main headshots, book a session and ask for the following.
  • Ask for minimal retouching: temporary blemishes only, with no change to your face, body or age.
  • Ask for two looks: a warmer, smiling commercial shot and a more serious theatrical shot.
  • Bring two or three tops in solid colors, and come with the hair and makeup you'd wear to an audition.
  • Get full-resolution files and the right to use them on casting sites and in print. In the US the printed standard is 8x10 inches; at 300 DPI that's 2400x3000 pixels.
  • Book a new session when your look changes, such as a new haircut, color or beard.

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