What Makes a Good Headshot? A Photographer Explains

Before someone reads your bio, checks your reviews, or decides whether to call you, they've already formed an impression. Your headshot did that.

Researchers have found that people judge trustworthiness and competence from a face in about a tenth of a second.

Online, that tenth of a second happens on LinkedIn, on your website, on your Google business profile. If the first look doesn't land, there usually isn't a second one.

So what makes a good headshot? It isn't the camera. It's a handful of decisions, and most of them shouldn't be yours to make.

Your headshot is your first impression now

It used to be the handshake. Now it's the thumbnail.

A potential client looks you up before the first meeting. A recruiter scrolls past dozens of profiles before stopping on yours. A referral partner checks your website to decide whether you're someone they want to send people to.

Every one of them is asking the same question: can I trust this person? A good headshot answers that before they've read a word.

An old photo answers it too. So does the cropped one from a wedding three years ago. You probably already know this. It's usually the reason people have been putting off new headshots, not the reason they finally book.

A good headshot looks like you on a good day

Expression matters more than anything else. Lighting, background, and wardrobe support it. None of them can replace it.

The best headshot isn't the most polished one. It's the one where the person who walks into the meeting matches the person in the photo. Approachable and capable at the same time. Present.

Most people have a camera face, a slightly tense version of themselves that shows up the moment a lens points their way. A good headshot gets past it. That doesn't happen by telling you to relax. It happens through direction: small adjustments to posture and angle, and enough conversation that you stop thinking about your face. I see the shift in almost every session. The first few minutes, you're waiting to be told what to do. Then you laugh at something, forget I'm there, and that's the frame we keep.

The details that do their work quietly

Wardrobe should match how you want the people you serve to see you. A therapist and a commercial real estate agent are sending different signals, and both can be right. Solid colors and a good fit keep attention on your face. Bringing a second outfit gives you range for your website and social media.

Background keeps the focus where it belongs. A simple backdrop or a softly blurred setting works because nothing competes with you.

Lighting sets the tone before anyone notices it. Bright and open reads approachable. More contrast reads polished and serious. The right choice depends on your work and your clients.

Small details like a stray hair, lint on a jacket, or a twisted collar are the things nobody notices when they're right and everyone notices when they're wrong.

For the bigger picture, including what to wear and how sessions are planned, read The Complete Guide to Headshots and Personal Branding Photography in New Braunfels and San Antonio.

What makes a good LinkedIn headshot

LinkedIn asks more of a headshot than most places, because it shows your photo small and cropped into a circle.

Your face should fill most of the frame. Around 60 percent is a good rule. A full-body or wide shot turns into a speck at thumbnail size.

Look at the camera. Eye contact is what makes a tiny photo feel like a real person.

Keep the background simple. Anything busy turns into visual noise at that size.

Make sure it looks like you now. If someone meeting you in person would hesitate for a second before recognizing you, it's time for a new one.

Then use the same headshot everywhere: LinkedIn, your website, your email signature, your Google business profile. Repetition builds recognition, and recognition builds trust. That consistency is the foundation of your brand's visual identity.

You don't have to know how to do any of this

Here's the thing. Everything above is the photographer's job, not yours.

Most people I photograph tell me early on that they hate having their picture taken. That isn't something I work around. It's who I'm best at working with. I've watched that tension leave someone's shoulders more times than I can count, usually within the first few minutes, once they realize they don't have to perform.

You don't need to know how to pose, what to do with your hands, or which angle works. You need to show up. I'll take care of the rest.

When it's time

If your current headshot is more than a few years old, came from a phone, or makes you wince a little every time you send it, you already know.

Here's how my headshot sessions work.

Ready to book your headshot session now? When you reach out, tell me what's changed in your work and why now feels like the time.