Should My Headshots be Horizontal or Vertical

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been asked a couple of times if headshots should be in portrait orientation (vertical) or landscape (horizontal).  Once upon a time, no one would have considered doing headshots horizontally.  However, times change and now either is perfectly acceptable and both are considered an industry standard.  It really comes down to what you like and it’s something you should consider while preparing for your headshots.

Personally,for professional headshots, I shoot horizontally, although if you ask me I will turn the camera and shoot a few the other way for you.

We are used to looking at things in landscape.

When you watch a movie or TV show on your phone, which way do you hold it?

What shape is your computer screen?

Your TV?

A movie screen?

…see where I’m going?  Many ways that we consume content is composed on a horizontal layout.  Flip through my headshot galleries, then next time you watch a movie notice that many of the close-ups are framed the same way I compose headshots.

Many people use their headshot for business cards, billboards, banners on their website, etc.  Leaving some space in your image make you, or your graphic designer’s life much easier.

Not only that…

Give your viewers some space!

I really like some negative space in the images. It’s “less claustrophobic”.  For me, when someone is really tight in a vertical headshot, my eye tends to wonder rather than focusing on what is most important, your face. which leads me to…

Think about your profile picture on LinkedIn and other social media.  It is the first thing people look at when they visit your profile and the form an opinion about you in 0.10 seconds.

You don’t have a lot of room to get your information across in that small space.

If you crop down a vertical shot, you often end up with a lot of your body and your face in the shot.  Your face cannot be seen as well so it loses impact.  The purpose of your headshot is to let  customers, employers, and even dates notice you.  It’s highly likely they’ll be scrolling through some form of social media, database, or directory when they see you.

For maximum versatility, an image that is easier for the viewer to look at, and takes advantage of the limited space you get, I recommend going with horizontal headshots.

Since I do all of my sessions tethered, you’ll be able to see the difference while we are working.

As an added bonus, it make deciding what to wear much easier as you only have to worry about half of your body!