Simon Ridgway Photography

With the rapid adoption of reasonably priced digital cameras in offices throughout the land, it follows that more and more companies are shooting their own pictures instead of employing the services of a professional photographer.

Now, obviously as one of those professional photographers, I have a vested interest in telling people they shouldn’t do that – they should commission professional photos, preferably from me! But even I can see that its not really cost effective to book a photo shoot if you just want a single headshot of the new person in your office, for use on the company’s internal intranet site or the noticeboard in the corridor. So, here’s a few quick tips on taking better headshots with whatever equipment you have :

1. Move the person to the best location

Just because your subject happens to be sitting at their desk in front of their computer when you go to take their picture doesn’t mean they have to stay there. Take them to a better location. You want to find a simple, plain, uncluttered background, preferably near a window. Alternatively, if you’re lucky with the weather, take them outside and stand them in some shade (not in bright sunlight).

2. Posing

Have your subject point their body towards the light, usually a window. Then, get them to turn just their head towards the camera. You’re aiming to have their body at about a 45 degree angle, halfway between you and the light, and their eyes straight into the lens. Trust me this looks better than square on, “rabbit in the headlights” style.

3. Shooting position

The camera should be at the subject’s eye level, or slightly above. This is much more flattering than shooting from below. If your subject is taller than you then get them to sit down. You should set your camera to a medium focal length. Too wide angle and the face will be distorted, and your subject will not thank you! Zooming in from too far away will increase the chance of camera shake. About 70-100mm is fine – most cameras will have a suitable lens.

4. Turn the camera

You know you can turn the camera vertically, right? Well, if you’re shooting a headshot, you really just want the top of the person’s head down to just past their shoulders in the picture – “head and shoulders”. This fits best if the camera is turned vertically. Obvious really.

5. Framing

The most common mistake people make when taking pictures is not filling the frame. Either zoom in or move closer to your subject until they completely fill the viewfinder. Their head should be near the top of the frame and the bottom of the frame should be around their chest and shoulders – that’s all you need. You don’t need their desk, their chair, their noticeboard or their colleagues in the background. Just the head and the shoulders.

6. Focus on the eyes

Most modern digital cameras will have a little square which is where the camera will set its autofocus. Set the camera to focus on this spot and aim it at your subjects nearest eye. (Remember, if you posed them correctly, one eye will be closer to the camera than the other). The closest eye should always be the one in focus.

7. Take plenty of shots

Once you’ve gone to the trouble of setting everything up just right, take more than two pictures! People blink, pull funny faces, look in the wrong direction – make sure you’ve got a good selection to choose from before you release your subject back to their proper job!

Notice that I haven’t specified equipment, lighting, or any other techy stuff. You can shoot a good headshot with any camera as long as you get the basics right. But hey, if your requirements are a little more advanced, or you’re actually going to show the pictures to someone important (like your customers!) then you need to give serious consideration to booking a professional to do what they do best.