Three Main Differences Between Portraits And Headshots
If you have never taken professional portraits, some of the terminology can be confusing. One of the most common misunderstood photography terms are the differences between portraits and headshots. It can be a little confusing because headshots are a specific type of portrait. Similar to how maternity portraits are also a specific type of portraits. In this brief post, I will discuss a few differences between portraits and headshots 🙂
One of The Main Differences Is Your Attire
On of the main differences between portraits and headshots is your attire. For headshots, you do not have to worry about your outfit from the waist down! If you’re taking business headshots, it is perfectly acceptable to come wearing shorts 🙂 Headshots are typically cropped from the chest up. When shooting headshots, I tend to shoot them a little wider than this – so that you have enough of the photo to crop it to the specifics of a company website.
How The Final Images Are Cropped
Speaking of cropping, this is another difference between portraits and headshots. When shooting portraits, I tend to shoot them in a rectangular 4×3 crop. Headshots are typically cropped in more of a 1×1 or 4×5 square crop. For example, LinkedIn requires a 1×1 crop for their profile pictures.
Portraits Have More Posing Options
Lastly, another difference between portraits and headshots is the posing. For the majority of headshots, your hands are not in the pose. Portraits offer more dynamic poses. Portraits will also include more of your outfit. It is common to have your hands on your hips, take poses where you are sitting, and can often times also include a little movement to the image.
