Headshots and Portrait Photography

I’m happy to admit that I look at the headshot photographs above with a degree of pride. Most of the people who have visited the studio have never been photographed before under studio conditions. What I see is confident expressions of the people who I’ve met briefly and I have never tired of seeing any of these images.

My approach is to achieve a simple honest statement of the person who is in front of my lens. It’s rare that people don’t smile during a headshot session but frequently the more interesting and timeless images are a simple confident look.

It’s often said that there isn’t a lot of ‘photography’ to a headshot and with most sessions we sit and chat for quite some time before the photography starts. Within the envelope of simplicity rests a wealth of subtleness and knowledge that belies the purity of these shots.

What Is A Headshot?

I guess the first question to clear up is ‘what is a headshot?’ For most people there is a tangible difference between a headshot and a portrait, therefore it is important to clarify this at the beginning. The content below is drawn from Wikipedia because I couldn’t have put it much better:

A head shot or headshot is a specific type of portrait (usually a photograph) that realistically demonstrates a person’s appearance for branding or casting. Many head shots are promotional pictures of actors, models, authors. Headshots could be a portrait of a face or full body with a background that clearly illustrate the personality inside the person photographed.

Modeling head shots or comp cards, sometimes also called tear sheets, are a compilation of images for casting in one sheet with a résumé of work, name and relevant statistics. They are often done in color; however in some jurisdictions, such as the UK, they may be in black-and-white. Models often use them for castings and modeling work applications. A close-up head shot is often required to show a model’s skin complexion for beauty work.

Corporate head shots are portraits often produced digitally and used for engaging in social media, the ‘about us’ page and industry specialty sites. A headshot or head shot is often used for branding and to showcase the business leader’s life, style and personality while corporations will use the headshot to merge branding between the people working for them and its agency. Traditional head shots are still taken in a studio setting, though shots “on-location” or “in-the-field” continue to increase in popularity. In both cases, backgrounds tend to be simple. Subjects are often shown head-to-chest or head-to-torso.

Source – Wikipedia

So, in essence a headshot is a subset of portraiture, usually simpler in form, often with a plain background. We shoot both portraits and headshots, occasionally the line between becomes blurred.

Headshot Photography Options

With a well equipped studio in central Exeter it is not surprising that we are known for our well considered ‘lit’ shots. Visiting the photography studio sitters often bring a selection of clothes and in a single session a surprisingly wide range of looks can be achieved.

However we also love getting out and doing lifestyle and location photos.

Finally, for corporate clients we are happy to bring the studio to you.

Headshot Backgrounds

For most clients a simple white, black or neutral background will allow full expression of their headshot. Many of our sittings will allow a variety of these options, our, folio pages serve to highlight the differing feel of the resulting images.

Some clients prefer an outdoors setting or maybe have a specific location in mind although with these shoots the end results may be more of a portrait than a pure headshot.

Printing and Framing

Although we don’t print and frame in-house and we rarely do work for non-commercial end-use we do get asked to deal with both (See FAQ’s).
Our photos are generally supplied in both hi-res and lo-res forms and are created for different applications. We will support clients who are uncertain about handling files.