# Professional Headshot Examples

> Eighteen headshots grouped by industry, each with the wardrobe, background and expression that made it work, plus the phone selfie eight of them started from.

- Source: https://www.betterpic.io/headshot-examples
- Language: en
- Note: markdown rendering of the page above, published by BetterPic for AI agents and assistants

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## What every good headshot has

Four things separate a headshot that works from a photograph of your face.

- **Chest-up framing** — head and shoulders, with the eyes about a third of the way down the frame. Wider than that and it stops reading as a headshot.
- **Soft, frontal lighting** — light from the front and slightly above, with no hard shadow cutting across one side of the face.
- **An engaged expression** — eyes on the lens. A small genuine smile reads as approachable; a wide one dates faster.
- **A background that recedes** — a plain colour or a blurred setting. Anything with detail competes with the face once the image is displayed small.

## Corporate and finance

The most conservative end of the range: the shots that sit on a partner page, an annual report or an investor deck, where looking dependable matters more than looking interesting.

- Attire: dark suit or navy blazer over a crisp shirt. A tie reads as more senior in law and finance and as overdressed almost everywhere else.
- Background: solid charcoal or grey studio, or a clean office wall thrown well out of focus.
- Expression: composed, with a closed mouth or the smallest of smiles.
- Best for: executive bios, annual reports, law and finance team pages, LinkedIn.
- Examples on the page: blue suit and tie on a city street; black suit and tie in window light; cream blazer in a modern office; grey blazer at an office window.

## Business casual and tech

One layer down from corporate, and the default for most office work now. The jacket stays; the tie usually goes.

- Attire: blazer over an open-collar shirt, or a shirt on its own in a solid colour.
- Background: a light studio grey, or an office interior blurred enough to read as texture.
- Expression: warmer than corporate. A visible but closed smile.
- Best for: consulting, tech, sales, recruitment, company about pages.
- Examples on the page: navy suit with an open collar; blue shirt in a modern interior; grey blazer against a concrete wall; white shirt in a bright stairwell.

## Healthcare and medical

Patients read a clinical headshot for competence and warmth at the same time, which is why the uniform does most of the work and the expression carries the rest.

- Attire: lab coat over a shirt or scrubs. A stethoscope reads as clinical rather than administrative.
- Background: plain and light. Clinical settings photograph badly and date quickly.
- Expression: open and reassuring, with a genuine smile.
- Best for: hospital and practice directories, ERAS and residency applications, medical team pages.
- Examples on the page: lab coat and stethoscope in a consulting room; lab coat over scrubs; scrubs and stethoscope in a hospital corridor.

## Creative and startup

Where a corporate shot would read as stiff. The looser wardrobe only works if the lighting and crop stay disciplined.

- Attire: smart casual. A knit, an open shirt or a light jacket, in a solid colour.
- Background: natural light outdoors, or a bright studio colour.
- Expression: relaxed, often a full smile.
- Best for: design and agency teams, founders, speaker bios, portfolios.
- Examples on the page: grey polo against brick; white blazer against a patterned mural; blue shirt against a navy wall.

## Outdoor and natural light

Daylight and depth of field instead of a studio backdrop. It suits client-facing work where being approachable matters more than looking formal.

- Attire: anything from a blazer to a knit. Solid colours hold up better against a busy background.
- Background: greenery or architecture, blurred far enough that no single object is identifiable.
- Expression: open and unposed.
- Best for: real estate, coaching, therapy, personal brands, LinkedIn.
- Examples on the page: powder blue blazer by a river; navy blazer in a sunlit park; white shirt against woodland; white outfit in evening light.

## Every headshot here started as a selfie

The page shows the same eight people photographed on a phone and then generated as a professional headshot, selfie beside result. This is the part a photographer's example gallery cannot show you: the input, not just the output.

## What separates a good headshot from a bad one

The same five decisions account for most of the difference, whichever industry you are in.

| Decision | What works | What fails |
|---|---|---|
| Crop | Head and shoulders, eyes about a third down the frame | A full-body shot, or a crop so tight the chin is cut off |
| Lighting | Soft and frontal, both eyes clearly lit | Overhead or hard side light leaving half the face in shadow |
| Background | Plain, or blurred enough to read as texture | A kitchen, a car interior, or somebody else's shoulder |
| Wardrobe | Solid colours, one layer more formal than you dress daily | Tight patterns and logos, which break up at small sizes |
| Resolution | At least 1000 px on the short side, so it survives being cropped | A screenshot, or one face cropped out of a group photo |

## Questions this page answers

**What should a headshot include?** Your head and the top of your shoulders, both eyes visible and in focus, and nothing else competing for attention. No props, no second person, and no part of the setting sharp enough to identify.

**What is a professional headshot example?** A chest-up photograph on a plain or blurred background, lit softly from the front, with the subject looking into the lens. Every example on the page follows that pattern; what changes between them is wardrobe, background and how much they smile.

**What colours should I avoid for headshots?** Anything close to your background colour, because the outline of your shoulders disappears. Avoid tight patterns and stripes, which alias into moire at small sizes. Solid mid-tones photograph most reliably.

**What is the best pose for a headshot?** Shoulders angled slightly away from the camera, head turned back towards it, chin forward and very slightly down. Squaring both shoulders to the lens flattens the frame and reads as an ID photo.

## Related

- [AI Headshots](https://www.betterpic.io/ai-headshots.md)
- [Pricing](https://www.betterpic.io/pricing.md)
- [Headshots for Teams](https://www.betterpic.io/headshots-for-teams.md)
- [Free tools](https://www.betterpic.io/free-tools.md)