Commercial Photography » Three Different Headshot Session Styles

This week, we’re looking at three very different headshot portrait situations: first, a natural setting for a beauty pageant; second, a professional setting for a federal marshal; and third, a fast-paced conference setting culminating in a total of 450 headshots. You’ll see how each session is tailored to the needs of the client.

I’m not sure why I only end up sharing such a small percentage of my commercial work on this blog and social media. But as I sort through my archive of images in preparation for my next big photography portfolio update (which, as always, is long overdue!) I’m seeing so many commercial sessions that I never got around to sharing with you: restaurants, architects, business professionals, small farms and vineyards, small businesses, all things I’ve been photographing since the early days. But for this week’s photo blog we’re looking specifically at headshots!

First, let’s take a peek at Ms. Alyssa’s session at Audubon Park. This talented young woman needed headshot portraits for her upcoming beauty pageant, which required her to submit photos with a certain look and style of outfit. We chose this location for her session, so we could get a mix of greenery, as well as a clean background, using the amphitheater pillars as a backdrop. I used a telephoto lens to give us that nice soft background, and the natural light from a rare overcast day, to let her natural beauty shine through.

I’m happy to say that Ms. Alyssa did end up placing in her pageant, earning the title of ‘Miss Fleur de Lis’ in the Miss Louisiana USA Pageant. She also received an additional award for ‘Miss Congeniality’ and ‘Interview Award’. Way to go!

Second, we have Mr. Lightfoot, in front of the federal building in the Central Business District of New Orleans. He needed an updated headshot, and wanted to include the iconic flying eagle statue, which is part of the Federal Marshal badge and visual identity. I brought my trusty off-camera flash, which allowed me to lower the exposure of the background, while lighting his face nicely, to add a little interest and drama. I think it suits him!

He was pleased with his session, and left me these kind words:

“Dani is a true professional! I was blessed to do a photo shoot with her, and I was truly impressed and delighted with her work! I STRONGLY RECOMMEND Dani Benton Photography. My experience and quality of my photo session was AWESOME!!”

And third, let’s look at a small sampling from a whirlwind of 450 back-to-back headshots for attendees at a multi-day conference, held at the New Orleans Convention Center. If you do the math, in order to complete 450 portraits over the course of three 6-hour days, that means I got to spend a maximum of 2.4 minutes with each person. Boy… I’m tired just thinking about it!

In preparation, I knew I would have to set my lights up in a way to accommodate a wide variety of people: height, clothing color, hair color, skin tone, age, gender, these are all things that need to be considered. But with such a small window of time with each person, I wouldn’t have time to make many (if any) adjustments. I chose to light them equally from both sides, which means they would be given the option of choosing their “favorite side”. Then I tried to coach them into a flattering posture, and coax out a natural smile. Before their 2.4 minute timeframe was up, they would choose their favorite out of a handful of images, and we would move right on to the next. It was an unforgettable experience.

Commercial Photography » Three Different Headshot Session Styles

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