Field notes from 15,000+ sessions
Pricing, wardrobe, LinkedIn, AI, prep. Twelve guides from a working Fort Myers studio that has shot more than 3 million headshot images.
6 Headshot Background Ideas and What Each One Says About You
There is no single best headshot background. The right one depends on your industry and how you want to come across. Here are six options, from neutral gray to outdoor light, with what each one signals and who it suits.
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5 Common Headshot Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)
The most common headshot mistakes are bad light, a distorting angle, a forced expression, a cluttered background, and an outdated photo. Here is the fix for each one.
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5 Steps to Prepare for Your Headshot Session
Preparing for a headshot comes down to five things: rest, wardrobe, grooming, what to bring, and your mindset. Here is exactly how to get ready, even if you hate the camera.
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What Makes a Good Real Estate Headshot
For a real estate headshot, wear a solid mid-tone jacket or top in a fit that skims your frame, with a genuine, approachable expression. Here is exactly what to wear and why it works on signs, MLS, and Zillow.
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Are AI Headshots Worth It? An Honest Photographer's Take
AI headshots are worth it for low-stakes profiles where a placeholder is fine, but they fall short anywhere the photo has to look like you and earn trust. Here is where each one holds up.
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10 Headshot Poses That Look Natural (Not Stiff)
Head shot poses that look natural come down to your chin, shoulders, and weight. Here are 10 poses that read relaxed and confident, with the how and the why for each.
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How to Take a Professional Headshot: A Complete Guide
A professional headshot needs soft even light, correct head-and-shoulders framing, a clean background, and a genuine expression. Here is how to get one yourself, and when to book a pro instead.
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What Actually Happens During a Headshot Session
A calm walkthrough of a real headshot session: arrival, the conversation before we shoot, lighting and test frames, how the photographer directs you, reviewing images on-screen, wardrobe changes, timing, and what happens after. Written to settle first-time nerves.
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Attorney Headshots: What Actually Works for Lawyers
What makes a strong attorney headshot: conservative wardrobe, the right background, an expression that reads approachable and competent, and consistency across your whole firm. From a Fort Myers headshot photographer.
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How to Look Good in Photos When You're Not Photogenic
Feeling unphotogenic is almost never about your face. It is nerves and no direction. Here is what to relax, how to hold your head, and why a guided session handles the hard part for you.
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New Year LinkedIn Photo Refresh: What to Update and When
Update your LinkedIn photo when you no longer look like it, roughly every two to three years. Here is exactly what to change, how to swap it cleanly, and when a refresh is worth it.
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A Guide to Strong Executive Headshots
A working photographer's guide to executive headshots: expression, wardrobe, lighting, grooming, and the prep that makes senior leaders look the part.
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How to Take a Good LinkedIn Photo (Even If You Hate Photos)
A good LinkedIn photo is a well-lit, correctly framed shot of your face with a genuine expression. Here is how to get one even if you hate photos, whether you do it yourself or book a guided session.
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7 Outfits That Photograph Well for a Professional Headshot
The best headshot outfits are solid mid-tone colors in a fit that skims your frame. Here are seven combinations that photograph well, why they work, and the fabrics and colors to leave in the closet.
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Professional Headshot vs. a Phone Selfie: What Actually Converts
A professional headshot signals competence and trust in the first fraction of a second; a phone selfie usually reads casual. Here is what a pro controls that a selfie cannot, and when a selfie is fine.
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The truth about AI headshots
AI apps promise a gallery in 30 minutes for $20. Here's what hiring managers and recruiters actually see when you upload one to LinkedIn.
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How much do headshots cost in 2026?
Headshot pricing is the most-googled question in the entire portrait category. Here's what one actually costs, and where every dollar goes.
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Professional headshot cost, line by line
A working photographer's breakdown of where the money actually goes inside a professional headshot quote. Validated against the PPA cost-of-doing-business study.
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What to wear for headshots
Half of every headshot session is fixed before the first frame is shot. The wardrobe is doing more work than the lighting. Real rules from 15,000+ sessions.
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What to wear for corporate headshots
A team headshot gallery is a brand asset, not a yearbook. The wardrobe call is the difference between a polished firm and a stack of mismatched portraits.
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What to wear for a LinkedIn photo
LinkedIn is not Instagram. The crop is square, tight, and unforgiving. Most of your outfit doesn't make the frame. Here's what actually does.
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The complete headshot guide for LinkedIn
Recruiters scan profiles in half a second and decide based largely on the photo. A working-photographer guide to LinkedIn headshots that actually convert.
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How often should you update your LinkedIn photo?
The honest answer is every 2 to 4 years, with earlier refreshes when life gives you a reason. Most professionals wait too long, and the cost is invisible.
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How often should you update your headshot?
The cadence depends on where the photo lives. Avvo and Healthgrades aren't LinkedIn. A use-case-by-use-case guide to refresh timing.
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How to prepare for a headshot session
Most people show up having spent three hours picking an outfit and zero minutes sleeping. Here's the 24-hour prep that makes a real difference.
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How to choose a headshot photographer
Most people pick the photographer with the prettiest website. The website doesn't take the photo. Here's what actually decides whether your headshot works.
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Why headshots matter for professionals
A recruiter scans your LinkedIn in three seconds. A patient picks a doctor on Healthgrades in five. Your photo is doing the introduction before you walk in.
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The vocabulary across our blog
Three concepts that come up across our headshot-photography articles.
A tightly framed portrait focused on the face, shoulders, and expression. Used for LinkedIn profiles, company about pages, press kits, and any context where a single image stands in for the person.
Post-production work that cleans up skin, color, stray hair, wardrobe wrinkles, and background imperfections without changing the subject's identity. Every selected image from a JA Headshots session includes professional retouching at no extra cost.
The deliberate shaping of how a professional presents themselves in public-facing channels. A headshot is the visual anchor of a personal brand; the same person can read confident, approachable, or commanding depending on how the portrait is shot, lit, and edited.