SHOOTING UP AT THE SUBJECT

Ah-ha! The lighting looks good. This must be a good shot, right? Well, not quite. Every element of a headshot has to work in concert to take it from average to great. Lighting and camera angle are just two aspects of many. In this case, the lighting is right, but the camera angle is wrong. Shooting up at Katherine means she's gone from looking strong to looking just the slightest bit overbearing. No one likes to be looked down upon. But Katherine can't really help looking down on anyone who looks at this photo. She had to look down slightly to make eye contact with the camera lens. What should be confidence now reads as arrogance. What should be approachable now seems a bit intimidating.

There is a power imbalance inherent in this pose. It is the opposite, as you might guess, of the trouble with shooting down on your subject. It makes anyone who looks at it into the weaker party. While you do want your headshot to convey your expertise and show you as strong, you don’t want it to show you as overpowering. People choose to do business with someone who makes them feel comfortable. Part of feeling comfortable is believing that your needs will be listened to and considered. This pose doesn’t really say, “How can I help you?” It comes closer to saying, “I’m going to tell you what to do.” Clients do want guidance. But they generally don’t want their opinions discounted, either.

Probably no one looking at this photo would say it's bad. Certainly, it's a more subtle blunder than some of the others we've shown. But someone looking at it would most likely feel a bit uneasy, in a way they might not even be able to articulate. That is a bad footing for a business relationship with a potential client.