How to Take a Great Headshot at Home

In today’s world, many of us need a professional headshot at home—for LinkedIn, company websites, press kits, or just social media. But taking a truly great headshot at home isn’t just pointing your phone and hoping for the best. In this post, I’ll guide you step by step on how to take a standout headshot at home, incorporating insights from photography standards, industry experts, and best practices. (Also, check out our internal tool page for more studio-style headshot workflows: FastHeadshot Studio.)

Why a Strong Headshot Matters

Your headshot is often the first impression people have of you online. Adobe calls headshots and business portraits “how we say hello” in a visual sense. (adobe.com) According to Adobe’s Corporate Headshot blog, a professional headshot conveys “competence, confidence, and personality” and helps build trust. (adobe.com) LinkedIn’s own blog also emphasizes that your photo should look like you, be high resolution, and have your face occupy about 60% of the frame. (LinkedIn)

Professional Photographers of America (PPA), the largest nonprofit photography association, advocates for strong standards in portrait photography and offers educational resources to raise the level of craft among photographers. (ppa.com) When you follow good technical and aesthetic practices, your home headshot can rival studio results.

To satisfy SEO, I’ll aim to keep “headshot at home” density around 3–4% (i.e. 3–4 times per ~1,000 words) without awkward repetition.

Pre-shoot Planning & Setup

Before you hit the shutter, some preparation ensures your headshot at home looks professional rather than amateurish.

1. Choose clean, simple background

Avoid cluttered or distracting elements behind you. Adobe recommends a simple solid-color or subtle background so your facial expression stands out. (adobe.com) A plain neutral wall, a sheet, or a backdrop works well. If possible, create some separation between you and the background (move yourself a foot or two away) to allow slight background blur (bokeh).

2. Use flattering, soft lighting

Lighting is everything. Harsh overhead lighting or direct sun often causes unflattering shadows. Many experts suggest using soft, diffused light, ideally from a window or a continuous light source, to gently wrap light across your face. In fact, LinkedIn’s “What Makes a Good Social Media Headshot” blog recommends avoiding direct flash and opting for soft natural light. (LinkedIn)

If you have a continuous LED panel, ring light, or softbox, position it at about 45° to your face (either left or right) and slightly above eye level. Some photographers use a reflector or bounce card on the opposite side to fill in shadows. (See lighting setup examples above.)

3. Position your camera correctly

• The camera lens should be at about chin level or slightly higher to avoid distortion. Adobe recommends placing the camera about two to three feet (60–90 cm) from the subject and pointing it straight on. (adobe.com)
• Don’t tilt the camera up too much (which elongates the face), nor too far down (which emphasizes forehead).
• Use a tripod, or steady surface, and a remote shutter or self-timer to remove any shake.

4. Use a good lens or smartphone setup

If you have a DSLR or mirrorless camera, a short portrait lens (e.g. 50 mm, 85 mm equivalent) is ideal. If you’re using a smartphone, use the rear camera (not the selfie lens) if possible, and disable any “beauty filters” or AI smoothing. Many smartphone-headshot guides caution that selfies often distort features.

Posing, Expression & Composition

Capturing a natural, confident expression is as crucial as technical setup.

5. Frame thoughtfully

Your face and shoulders should dominate the frame. Avoid cutting off the top of the head too closely. As LinkedIn suggests, aim for your face to take up ~60% of the image. (LinkedIn) Experiment with both vertical and square crops; remember LinkedIn’s minimum is 400×400 px, though uploading a larger square image gives you flexibility. (helpx.adobe.com)

6. Relax your face & micro-expressions

A stiff pose looks flat. Try small micro-adjustments—a slight lean forward, drop your chin a millimeter, widen your eyes just a bit, bring a hint of a smile. Think of something that makes you smile naturally (or ask someone to talk to you) to trigger the right expression.

7. Angle your body subtly

Rather than facing straight ahead, try angling your shoulders slightly (10–20°) toward the camera, while keeping your head turned to the lens. This can add depth and avoid a flat/“passport photo” look.

8. Mind your wardrobe and grooming

Keep clothes simple, solid tones (avoid busy patterns), and ensure contrast with your background. Ensure your hair, accessories, and collar are neatly arranged. Minimal makeup (or grooming) helps—avoid shiny skin by blotting with tissue before shooting.

Taking & Reviewing Shots

9. Shoot many frames, vary slightly

Change small variables across frames: move the light slightly, tilt your head a bit, adjust distance, try both smile and neutral. More variation increases your odds of getting a perfect headshot at home.

10. Use your internal tool workflow

As you shoot, you can simulate a workflow similar to a pro studio by treating your home shoot as a mini studio session. For example, you might preview images, apply quick color balance or exposure tweaks, and fence out rejects. For advanced users, see our FastHeadshot Studio page for how to incorporate standard studio practices into your home setup: FastHeadshot Studio.

11. Check for sharpness and detail

Zoom in on your eyes and hair. The eyes must be tack-sharp. If you're slightly out of focus in critical zones, discard the shot—even if the pose is good.

Post-Processing & Export

Once you have the best shots, polish them carefully—don’t over-edit.

12. Follow photography competition / professional guidelines

PPA’s International Photographic Competition (IPC) competition rules allow only basic color, brightness adjustments, dodging and burning, and cropping. Highly manipulative edits (e.g. liquify) are restricted. (ppa.com) While for your personal use you have more freedom, following these restraint guidelines helps maintain realism and authenticity.

13. Use Lightroom / Photoshop wisely

Adobe encourages headshot edits that enhance but do not alter identity. (adobe.com) Adjust exposure, contrast, color balance, skin tones, remove minor blemishes or stray hairs—but avoid heavy smoothing or unnatural filters.

14. Export with correct specs

If you’re using your headshot for LinkedIn, Adobe’s Lightroom guide suggests cropping to a square aspect ratio and exporting at least a 400×400 px file. (helpx.adobe.com) Maintain a high quality (e.g. JPEG quality 80–90) and ensure the file size stays reasonable for web upload.

Troubleshooting & Advanced Tips

• Low light or late hours: use continuous lighting or add an LED fill—just position it off to a side rather than straight on.
• Uneven complexion / shadows: use a white card or reflector to bounce light in from below to lighten under-eye shadows.
• Background too distracting: blur more (open aperture) or reposition subject further from background.
• Apparent distortion: if your phone lens is ultra-wide, step further back and crop later instead of having angled lens distortion.

Once you master one setup, you can vary headshot styles (e.g. with different light ratios, rim lights, or colored backdrops). But for most professionals, a clean, crisp headshot at home using one or two light sources is more than sufficient.

Example Workflow at a Glance

1. Choose neutral background
2. Set up soft, side-lit light
3. Position camera at chin level, ~60–90 cm away
4. Take 20–50 frames with subtle changes
5. Screen for sharpest, most natural frames
6. Perform basic edits in Lightroom (exposure, color, clarity, spot removal)
7. Export square and standard crop versions
8. Use for LinkedIn, website, press, etc.

If you want a more studio-like experience or batch-processing headshots, visit FastHeadshot Studio workflow to see how you can scale up even in a home environment.

By following these technique-driven steps, your headshot at home can look polished, professional, and engaging—without paying for a studio session.