13 Professional Corporate Headshots Tips to Look Best

Summary: This post is mainly focused on how to take professional corporate headshots. We’d like to introduce 13 useful tips and 5 pose examples to help you get best professional headshots for business.

Corporate headshots are a kind of business photo headshots and a portrait photography that shows an individual’s face.

It’s particularly used for company websites, business cards, and LinkedIn profiles.

Therefore, professional corporate headshots can help us gain the trust of customers, build a marvelous company branding image and reinforce the first impression.

Now I will introduce 13 tips and also show 5 headshot examples to help you get professional corporate headshots to look best.

13 Tips on How to Take Professional Corporate Headshots

Here are some headshot tips to help you get professional corporate headshots.

1. Preparations

Before we start to take professional corporate headshots, there are some preparations to make. First, have a good rest. Sufficient sleep can ensure you have a full mental state. Your complexion will look more rosy and your eyes will be brighter. Thus you will be well-ready for taking the best corporate headshots.

Second, review your previous best pictures and notice if there are any that you’re particularly fond of. Send them to your photographers since in this way, you can find the best angle to look flattering.

2. Consistent with Your Personal Brand Image

Everyone has his own brand image, and it should be in accordance with his headshots. For instance, if you are a business owner, and your brand image is powerful, reliable, and authoritative.

But how can you convey these messages to your clients? That is, by creating your professional headshots for business. And it is achieved via the photo composition, your outfits, facial expressions, and backdrops, which I will clarify in detail later.

3. Clothes

What to wear is a key question for professional work photos. And it’s up to your personality and industry.

But commonly, the clothes for corporate professional headshots should be: standard suit-and-tie, and the colors should be formal and serious: white, black and blue.

For those job seekers, they can take a look at LinkedIn to see and learn their peers’ outfits style.

4. Backdrops

The background for headshots will make a big difference to your overall look and influence the other’s feelings to your headshots.

A neutral-colored backdrop(white, black, and grey) is a classic type for professional corporate headshots. A solid color background will make the customer focused on you only to show your professionalism and personality of rigor.

If you are a large corporation executive, you could have several extra outdoor photos to show to your clients or subordinates, making you not look too dull. You can choose the location relevant to your personal interests, such as golf course.

5. Lighting

Lighting is what makes the best professional corporate headshots. The proper lighting can stand out your best facial structures and optimal state of mind, helping you look confident and trustworthy.

Use key light with fill light. The key light is the main light focused on the subject, and the fill light is to fill the shadows created by the key light, preventing them from getting too dark.

The two lights can neutralize and coordinate the light on your face, and clear your facial contour, thus generating the best corporate headshots.

6. Hair and Makeup

Your hairstyle and makeup are important for business portraits. They should be simple and natural.

For businesswomen, neutral eyeshadows look best for professional business photos. For businessmen, keeping their facial hair neat is of vital importance.

For both male and female professional corporate headshots, you should choose a hairstyle that is consistent with what you would present in the workplace, that is, to be authentic.

7. Relaxation

Staying relaxed is also a beneficial factor for taking a professional corporate headshot.

First, you can smile more naturally in a state of relaxation, and show your clients that you are easy to get along with.

Second, your whole body will look coordinated when you feel relaxed, and convey a message that you’re confident and capable of dealing with tough tasks.

8. Facial Expressions

Professional headshots for work aim at depicting the skill and experience of the subject. This can be enhanced by the right facial expressions.

For the senior executives in a business company, their eyes should be firm and powerful, to show their leadership and strong management power.

For those job seekers on LinkedIn, their eyes should be friendly and soft, and they’d better smile with their mouths open, to show they are passionate about everything.

9. Posture

A good posture can help you generate the best photo composition and make you look confident and professional.

For professional corporate headshots, there are some common types of poses, including crossing arms, putting hands at hips, leaning in, looking over the shoulder, and standing straight. And I will introduce these poses one by one in the next part.

10. Composition: Your Overall Look

Composition refers to the arrangement of the whole components of your photo. A proper composition can help your company headshots look charming and professional.

But often, this is a factor that a professional corporate headshot photographer needs to consider. They should pay attention to the coordination of points, lines, shapes, colors, texture, and space.

11. Lots of Shots

To get a best professional corporate headshot, only shooting one time is not enough.

So you can tell your photographers to shoot a lot for you, so that you can choose the best headshot picture which shows the best angle of your face, to optimize your facial advantages.

12. Camera’s Shooting Angle

The camera’s shooting angle has a great impact on your professional pictures for work. The angle should neither be too high nor too low.

Shooting from a lower angle will clearly show your double chin. Similarly, shooting from a higher angle tends to shoot your head only, which is weird.

A flat angle is a professional headshot tip. Best professional headshots for business should contain both your head and shoulders.

13. Accessories

Less is more for a professional corporate headshot. But sometimes, the appropriate accessories can make your headshots stand out. Here we mainly talk about earrings, glasses, and ties.

Earrings are an elegant accessory for professional corporate headshots of women.

Glasses are suitable for both male and female professional headshots for work. Since glasses can show others that you’re wise and intellectual.

Tie is especially a great element for male professional corporate headshots. Your tie will match or compliment your outfit without drawing attention away from your face.

How to Pose for Professional Corporate Headshots? 5 Examples

1. Cross Arms

This is a typical pose for professional corporate headshots. It’s a good pose for both business men and women. Since crossing arms with hands can show their power, authority and leadership.

2. Put Hands at Hips

It is a best pose for professional company headshots. Stand still and put your both hands at hips. This can show that you are assertive and stand in your own ground.

3. Lean In

This is a casual and comfortable corporate headshot pose. Put your chin on your hand and look directly to the camera.

Leaning in can help you relax yourself and look more natural, thus leaving a good first impression on your clients.

4. Look over Your Shoulder

This is a common pose for professional corporate headshots. Looking over the shoulder can make you have a direct eye contact with the camera, and it’s best for capturing your most charming angle. And it is perfect for female professional corporate headshots.

5. Stand Up Straight

This pose is often seen in business headshots. Standing straight can show others that you are full of beans and ready to devote yourself to work.

Where to Get Professional Corporate Headshots?

Here comes the question, although the tips and examples above may be helpful, but where to get business professional photos if you want to take headshots at home and with iphone?

Here is an excellent tool: Fotor’s AI Headshot Generator. You can use it to easily and fastly generate professional corporate headshots at home.

All you need to do is to upload your pictures and AI will do the rest. The best professional corporate headshots with different styles will be generated in seconds.

Conclusion:

Taking Professional corporate headshots is a good way to show you’re skilled and experienced. The above are 13 tips for taking business photos headshots and also 5 exmples of corporate headshot poses. Wish you find these contents helpful and useful.