What Style of Headshot Should I Use? Defining Your Professional Image

Style of Headshot: We understand that one size does not fit all when it comes to professional branding. That’s why we offer three distinct styles of headshots to perfectly match your career needs and personality:

1. Classic Studio Headshots

This is the most common and versatile option, offering the highest degree of control and customization.

Description: Captured in a controlled indoor environment using professional lighting and a variety of backdrops (e.g., solid gray, white, black, or textured).

Best For: LinkedIn, corporate directories, résumés, and any situation requiring a clean, consistent, and uniform look across an organization.

Key Advantage: Unlimited Selection of Backdrops allows us to create the exact image and tone your brand requires.

2. Environmental & Office Headshots

These sessions leverage your professional location to add context and storytelling to your portrait.

Description: Headshots taken within your workplace, conveying a specific, powerful message. For example, capturing an attorney in front of their firm’s legal library or a CEO in their board room.

Best For: Individuals looking to visually communicate their expertise, authority, and industry setting directly within the image.

Key Advantage: Immediately establishes your professional context, enhancing the image’s narrative power.

3. Signature Outdoor Headshots

For clients seeking a distinctive, unique portrait that breaks the traditional corporate mold.

Description: Headshots captured using natural light and outdoor surroundings. While some can be styled to look like studio shots, they often showcase more personality and a relaxed energy.

Best For: Creative professionals, entrepreneurs, or individuals who want an image that is unique and speaks more clearly to their personal brand.

Pricing Note: We offer outdoor sessions right outside the studio (like your yard) at no additional cost for seamless options. Outdoor shots requiring travel to a different remote location are subject to a price premium.

A perfect backdrop for the creative amongst us. However, the image sis not about the background it is created by the most complicated of the headshot studio lighting set ups. It uses four lights, two to create the white background and two for the subject. The lights will create a white background but if ‘pure’ white is required often I will do that in post-processing.

I took this shot on a summer’s day in my yard. It may look like a studio shout but the beautiful greens are created by the sun shining through the tree leafs and then blurring them out with my camera/lens settings. This client was an author and did not want a studio headshot for the headshot of a book. She was positioned in tree shade and fill-flash was used with a single off-camera strobe.

For those who just  want a simple headshot at a low cost, I have two options. A brown marble background or a blue marble background (this shot).  Both create a beautiful professional headshot and because the set up time is minimal compared to the other types of backgrounds and lighting set ups I can offer these at a low price.

As discussed in the previous photo (marble blue), this is an example of the other budget level headshot., But what is of particular interest in this shot is thta Sanaz is wearing glasses and the photo has no light glare whatsoever. So, if you wear eyewear (like me), I have got you covered.

If you want something that separates you from the crowd, not a problem. Let’s have chat about your vision and make it happen.

While I only keep a few colors of backdrop in-stock, I can change the colors by using color gels. these are filters that I add to to my lights to change the colors of the backdrops. And, by changing the power of the lights, I can change the intensity of the color.

So, how ever you want to perceived in your professional headshot, it can be done. Please do not hesitate to call George and discuss your vision, (401) 284-6106

And if you want something even more creative, check out the samples below!

Resources

• 4 Reasons Why You Need a Professional Headshot
• Professional Headshots in Rhode island, What to Expect?
• What Should I Wear For My Professional Headshot?