5 tips for a more professional headshot selfie

Do you need a headshot in a hurry? Of course nothing beats a professional headshot session, but if you find yourself caught out and need to do your own headshot in a hurry then here are my top tips to taking a pain free and professional looking selfie. One that you won’t be embarrassed to use for your LinkedIn profile pic:

1. Set up

How you set up your phone for a selfie will make a world of difference. Get a stand or tripod for your phone so that you can go hands free and position it so that the camera lens is at eye level. This allows you to look directly at the camera and make eye contact.

Avoid positioning the camera too high (this makes you look small) or to low (no one wants to see up your nose!) And for a traditional headshot fill the frame with your head and shoulders.

2. Lighting

Position yourself so that you are facing the light source. This can be a window or video/ring light, but it allows your face to be brightly and evenly lit. Avoid staring in to the sun as this will cause you to squint. If you are outside consider positioning yourself in a shady spot, avoiding direct sunlight but turn your face towards the light.

3. Location

If you are going for a more formal headshot (think LinkedIn profile pic of your company website) a neutral background is always a good option. Make use of a neutral wall in your house for a plain background and do a nice head and shoulders shot. Alternatively there are some great apps out there that allow you to swap the background, so if you are struggling with the background don’t worry you can just swap it out after!

An environmental shot is a great option too. Have a think about the background you want, is it a work environment or a nice outdoor shot? Just make sure that the background isn’t too busy or distracting – you want the primary focus to be on you. And if you do decide to go outdoors don’t forget to make sure that no trees or poles are growing out of your head!

4. Make use of the timer

By utilising the timer function on your phones camera you can give yourself plenty of time to get ready. You have time to get in to position and adjust your pose and retake as many times as you like. But don’t forget to look at the camera and not the screen when the photo is taken, so that you are making eye contact with the viewer.

5. Have some fun!

It’s just you and your camera, no one is watching. So have some fun and try out some different poses. If you are relaxed and having fun this will translate to some great natural photographs. And the ones that don’t make the cut? Well you can just delete these and no one will ever know….

So give it a try and let me know how it goes in the comment section below.

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