Posing
Corporate headshot photoshoot poses
Headshot posing is a handful of corrections repeated reliably under time pressure.
Posing
Headshot posing is a handful of corrections repeated reliably under time pressure.
In short: Headshot posing is a handful of corrections repeated reliably under time pressure.
Square-on reads institutional; a slight angle reads engaged.
Defines the jaw. The most useful instruction in the set.
Visible in the shoulders even in a chest-up crop.
Folded arms read as defensive; hanging arms read as tense.
For anyone who freezes standing.
Shoot as it fades — that is where the real expression is.
Start with shoulders angled, head straight — the first two minutes are warm-up and the first pose should be the one that asks least of anyone. Move to chin forward and slightly down and weight on the back foot once the shoulders have dropped, and keep laugh, then hold for the end, when self-consciousness has gone. Shoot each one in bursts through the movement rather than holding it: the usable frames sit between the instructions, not on them.
Two metres back with the lens zoomed rather than close and wide — distance is what keeps facial proportions natural. Camera at or slightly above eye level for portraits, at chest height for full length. Below eye level enlarges whatever is nearest the lens, which is rarely what you want in frame.
The head tilt, the folded arms and the wall lean. Each was standard corporate posing a decade ago and each now dates the photograph instantly.
Photographing thirty people against whatever wall is free, so the set does not match. Allowing two minutes each, which guarantees stiff frames. And using overhead office lighting, which is the least flattering light in the building.