What’s a headshot? What’s a portrait? What’s a selfie?
At Liz Makeup * Hair * Skincare, I get a lot of questions about headshots. How do headshots differ from portraits? Do you need professional makeup and hair styling for a headshot? Is a headshot different from a portrait? Do you need a professional headshot photographer? Will a selfie do? The answer is: it all depends!
The term headshot generally refers to images used professionally and comes from the days when actors and actresses needed to provide a “head shot” to casting agents in the hopes of snagging that audition. However, nowadays a headshot is used by many industries on business cards and in advertising such as real estate agents and insurance brokers.
While it is very similar to a portrait, headshots are usually tightly cropped and show your head and some of your shoulders. Portraits tend to be more creative and can show more of the body as well as have moody lighting and dramatic backgrounds. They can be in black and white and take advantage of shadows and the like.
A selfie could be a used as a headshot or a portrait. Selfie simply refers to the fact that you are taking the picture of yourself and generally not using the best camera out there.
With the rise of LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Match.com, business specific websites, and other similar platforms, the digital headshot has become necessary for putting your best foot forward. No matter what age you are, what industry you are in, or what part of the world you might hail from, an image of your likeness is often the first thing someone will see when they Google you.
The quality of the headshot desired, drives the cost. If you want professional lighting and multiple clothing options and poses to choose from, your are going to have to pay for a professional photographer who typically will have you come to their studio. If you want professional makeup and hair styling, as well as suggestions for what to wear and jewelry to choose, you will need to pay for a makeup and hair artist, and a stylist. When paying for professionals like this, you will likely get more use out of the resulting image than simply an upload for your Instragram handle. You can use the image in multiple places and platforms, business cards, websites, PR campaigns and marketing efforts.
Liz Makeup * Hair * Skincare offers several variations on the headshot service, explained here on my website. The results of my services are for all to see in my headshot portfolio here.
Headshots are here to stay and not difficult to execute if you hire the right person for the job.
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