What is meant by “a good headshot”, one may wonder?
How often do you hear somebody say, “this is a good headshot” or “I had great headshots done by…”, how do we define the meaning of a good headshot? An acknowledgement of a “good headshot” will vary substantially by individuals age, gender, career and purpose for having a professional headshot.
Please beware that if your definition of a good headshot is being 50 and looking like a 30 yrs old, read no more. Wearing sunglasses and ten inches of makeup, I am not your content provider but feel free to search online, there are thousands of articles that look at headshots superficially, but not here.
A great headshot is an engaging portrait with branding power that showcases the attractive qualities of a professional in his or her industry.
- Engaging portrait is an image that relays a vivid understanding of an individual’s personality. Some will say, it captures the soul of the person.
- Branding power clearly defined. For an example if you are a public speaker your headshot should have the viewer feel enticed by your portrait and sub-consciously agree to stare at you for 3 hours and willing to pay to listen to you.
- Attractive: let’s face it we want to showcase a portrait that bring out the best features of the individual (makeup, photoshop and great lighting). Most clients will skip item 1 and 2 and pick the portrait which they think it looks best… Robbing themselves of a wonderful headshot.
- Professional is defined by one’s individual career path. If you are an actor your professional portrait may allow a casting director to fully understand the role, a CEO will have a portrait that showcases a leader and astute decision maker. The CEO of a high tech company will dress different than a CEO of a bank.
