Headshot vs Portrait – Peets Photography

There is a subtle but important difference between a portrait and a headshot. Often when people come in for headshots, they feel a bit disappointed that all they got was a simple headshot, something that would suffice for a profile picture on social media. I’m learning that people have had some other expectations when going to a professional photographer for a headshot. They expect something more than a passport photo, or mass produced school photo, even if the headshot turned out perfect.

As such, I always want to know what the expectations are when people ask for a headshot.

My feelings about this are that since we’ve gone to the trouble of setting up a highly professional photo environment to get a perfect headshot, we might as well take the time for a portrait.

Key differences between a headshot and portrait are:

Headshot

Tight shot just of face from shoulders up.
Used mostly in small format such as social media profiles, executive photos.
Generally does not make a unique statement about you.

Portrait

Show more than just the shoulders up.
Shoot may involve more than one wardrobe.
Background may be at a location that tells part of the story of who you are. i.e. at your work, in your art studio, or on a site where your product is being used or has been installed, or in a board room, etc.
Suitable for many types of displays. From a large wall size image – akin to the hotel chain owners you see hanging in the lobby to a simple desktop display that a spouse might have at the office, or a parent at home.
Because portraits are often printed and viewed in larger size, a high degree of touchup is applied.
May combine studio session and a session on a location which helps tell your story or say something about you.