Here is a great example of how a soft smile and eye squint can win over anyone! And on our end, we also practice subtly in the editing process. In our opinion, a great photo is one where you can’t even tell which parts were edited. For fashion modelling our techniques differ slightly, with the editing job being a bit more apparent with the person looking too perfect to the true !
As straightforward as polaroids sound, you’d be surprised at how much variation you can make ! With a simple change in hair position, slight head tilt, or even shift of weight from one foot to the other, the photo can have a completely different feeling, and we want the photo to feel natural and light, not awkward !
Our white backdrop serves as the perfect canvas to highlight your features, and we recommend for the best results to wear something form fitting and minimal like the above examples.
It may sound generic and you may be saying to yourself “will brick look good with my skin tone?” the answer is—yes! Though it may sound daunting to have a red background, the colour is completely tweakable to your taste of saturation.
The science behind why red looks good is simple, we all have blood running through our veins, and the result is a warm undertone in our skin. Due to this, warm shades will compliment everyone. In this example we added cyan to the background to even out the vibrancy of the red.
Make the most out of your photoshoot and customize your session ! Here are some headshots from the lovely staff at Twin Image Hair Salon, who had us set up this custom high contrast editorial style lighting. They also loved the feeling of black and white as it matched with their website design.
It doesn’t cost you anything but time to enhance your photoshoot by providing us with reference images depicting your ideal lighting and photography style. Search through our blog for more examples of what we can do, or show us an example from another photographer and have us match the look and feel.
One thing we’ve noticed over the years is how everyone defines what a smile is differently. Of course there is not just 1 answer to the question of how to smile for your corporate portrait, and like most things it depends on the intended usage. For example a realtor can get away with a cheeky full on grin where as a lawyer is a profession more suiting of a firmer closed mouth smirk.
Whatever the case is, one thing that is true for all headshots is being able to smile with your eyes. Even the sternest pout will soften if your eyes are emitting a light intensity which we call a “micro squint.” On a day to day basis we find ourselves doing micro squints when things are either interesting or funny. Physiologically the muscles around the eyes tighten causing us to appear engaged and alive. Not a bad way to come across in your photo if deer in headlights is not your thing !
Victoria needed a professional headshot and arrived to our studio completely camera ready with a full face of makeup and her hair beautifully curled. Of course most people do have a bit of hair frizz naturally, but coming to a photography studio in the summer time, you risk the chance of running into hair that can’t be tamed in in the name of humidity.
So the topic I’m discussing in todays blog is, should you keep the hair frizz or should you request to remove it completely? The answer is my favourite, it depends ! There is no doubt that a little bit of hair frizz is acceptable and even appears more organic than completely wiping up the outline. However, the decision to do so is largely personal, as well… well… seasonal !
In this case, Toronto had just been experiencing a wave of humidity, so it was the right choice this time to tame the outline for a squeaky clean look that will help her nail that first impression.
The simple answer is why not! With any of our packages, we encourage everyone to make some quick variations, time allowing. All of these changes are so minor we don’t count them as full outfit changes, however they are not minor in the sense of how they can alter the impression of your photo greatly.
Some of the small changes you can make without counting as a full outfit change include:
-removing your jacket
-removing your tie
-glasses on and off
-inclusive of props
Most of our packages come with more than 1 photo, which means you have the opportunity to get a bit strategic and allow yourself a variety of final images. There are a couple poses to do to make your business portrait appear less formal, but when it comes to classic headshots, there’s not much you can do with out the hands in the picture, thus your clothing choice becomes your main tactic.
Choosing garments with a slightly unique shape is the approach Corinne took to liven up her photo. In our experience, simple silhouettes and simple colours/design work better than patterns or busy layers. The goal is to draw viewers to your face first and foremost, and the rest of the image should be non distracting and act as secondary information.