BUSINESS HEADSHOTS VS PERSONAL BRANDING PHOTOGRAPHY – A USEFUL GUIDE
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BUSINESS HEADSHOTS AND PERSONAL BRANDING PHOTOGRAPHY? DO YOU NEED EITHER OF THEM? THIS USEFUL GUIDE EXPLAINS IT ALL.
People love faces.
It’s true. When we see a face, our minds instantly create stories about what that face means and who it might represent. When it comes to trust and rapport, seeing a friendly face can go a long way.
So if you’re looking to hire a professional photographer to get an image of your face, you’ll need to understand what type of photoshoot to ask for. A perfect headshot can help you land jobs, while personal branding photography can help you round out your personal website.
You might be confused, and that’s what this post is for. Here are all the key differences between a business headshot and personal branding photography:
THE PURPOSE OF BUSINESS HEADSHOTS
To know whether you should go for headshots or personal branding, think about the message you’re trying to get across. For some professions, you might want to use both.
Talk to your photographer about the reason why you want professional photographs. Are you looking for an image for LinkedIn or a professional website? If so, a headshot might be appropriate.
Headshots are a way to put a face to the name, whether you need it for an application, for clients, or to help promote your company. If you’re looking for one or two excellent photos rather than a varied collection, your best bet is a headshot photoshoot.
THE PURPOSE OF PERSONAL BRANDING PHOTOGRAPHY
Personal branding photography is about creating images that work to promote your public presence. You don’t have to be a lifestyle blogger or influencer to have a personal brand that you care about (though if you are one, go get a personal branding photoshoot!).
Let’s say you’re a freelance writer trying to get noticed in your field of work. Headshots might seem like the obvious option for your professional needs.
But personal branding can help too.
Having a personal brand can help potential clients, collaborators, and employers understand who you are and what your creative style is. An excellent set of photos will go a long way in conveying the story of you.
THE SESSION
A headshot photoshoot will be a pretty straightforward session. It will likely consist of a few variations on one solid image. There’s a note of perfectionism in these sessions since you’re trying to create an image you can get lots of use out of.
The good news is, there are fewer things to think about in a headshot session. You’ll only need to worry about clothing from the torso up, and the session will probably take place in just one location.
Personal branding photography is more exploratory, and it often takes longer than professional headshots because there are more moving parts. You and your photographer will want time to fiddle with the background and try out different ideas.
While you may think that the personal brand route would be super-focused on you, it’s actually less about you than a headshot is. Personal branding photography is about your brand.
To prepare for a personal branding photoshoot, take the time to think about your brand image and how it might differ from you as a person. What imagery, clothing, and attitude can you bring that will help you embody the ‘personal brand’ version of you?
Remember to have fun with it!
You might even find that the photoshoot can help you understand your personal brand in a way you never realized before. Think of this as a generative, creative process that you are embarking on with your photographer.
THE BACKGROUND
A headshot will almost always be done on a solid or simple background. The less noticeable, the better. All attention should go to you and your beautiful head.
For a personal branding photo, though, an interesting background is actually a great choice. This will help define the image as something that’s meant to tell a story. While the headshot focuses on neutrality and generalizability, the personal branding photograph is part of a story.
This isn’t to say that a headshot can’t be dynamic or powerful. A great headshot can be both. But if you’re getting a professional headshot done to polish your application for potential employers, you might want a photograph that can be used for the widest possible range of job fields.
To prepare for a personal branding photoshoot, you should choose a background that fits your personality and the energy you want to convey. This can be literal, like a chef standing in front of her restaurant. Or it can be metaphorical, like a nature setup that aligns with an artist’s body of work.
THE POSE
We all know the typical headshot pose. Eyes looking straight at the camera, shoulders back, head high, arms in a neutral position, and mouth in a warm smile. This pose inspires confidence and is simple enough to translate well to a variety of settings.
Of course, you can switch this up by choosing a special angle or forgoing the smile for a serious look. But whatever the pose is, it will stay within the boundaries of a professional and clean-cut look.
Personal branding is a different story. You might want to stick with the simple headshot-style poses, but you can also explore poses that interact with the background. If the setting is an important piece of your image, you’ll want a pose that engages with your surroundings.
In this way, poses for personal branding can be a bit like modeling. Don’t be shy! Let your personality shine through, and talk to your photographer if you’re feeling unsure.
THE LIGHTING
A typical headshot will have bright lighting and will accentuate your face over everything else. Personal branding photos can be well-lit as well, but there’s more space here to explore different lighting styles.
Like the background, you can use the lighting to accentuate the mood you’re trying to convey. Do you want to play with shadows for a mysterious image? Or use ‘found’ lighting sources, like neon shop lights?
The lighting in headshot photography should make your facial features as easy to see as possible. For personal branding photography, it’s your brand that should be easy to see.
CONCLUSION
Business headshots and personal branding photography share a lot of things in common—they’re both ways to put your image out in the world, and you can customize each to fit your unique needs. The key difference is the reason why you need the photographs in the first place.
Whether you’re looking for headshots or defining your personal brand, make sure you hire a photographer who understands how to let your personality shine. And if you’ve still got questions, give our team a call today! We’ll love to hear from you.