Whether you’re a young attorney trying to make your mark in the legal world or an established lawyer with an illustrious career behind you, presenting professionally at all times is of the utmost importance in the legal industry.
As the professional and corporate world moves into the digital sphere, your online image is just as important as how you present yourself in person. That’s why every lawyer needs a headshot in order to maintain a professional image that keeps up with the industry. In fact, it’s common practice for professionals to have at least one high-quality image of themselves to use as a part of their branding, and this is most often a headshot.
However, taking a headshot isn’t a one-size-fits-all process, as a headshot for a lawyer needs to meet specific requirements in order to be an effective tool for online representation. The legal industry demands high standards at all times, and extra time and care are needed for a lawyer’s headshot to ensure it meets the industry requirements.
To help you out, we’ve put together this comprehensive guide to ensure your headshot is the best it can be.
Why Do Lawyers Need a Headshot?
Traditionally, headshots have been associated with people who work in the entertainment industry, so we wouldn’t blame you if you wondered why you need a headshot as a lawyer. However, as the corporate world becomes increasingly digital, your online footprint matters just as much as your word-of-mouth reputation. It’s now common practice to have an online presence as a lawyer to help clients and other people within your industry learn more about you.
Having a professional headshot is a key element of any lawyer’s online presence, whether it is for your firm’s website, an advertisement, or your LinkedIn page. It allows potential clients to see a professional representation of who you are and what you look like. This will help bring in new business and ensure your reputation is as stellar as possible.
Having a headshot as a lawyer may seem excessive at first, but you’ll quickly find that it adds an extra air of professionalism to your online presence, which will ultimately benefit you in the long run. Unfortunately, first impressions matter, so ensuring that the people around you see a professional, high-quality headshot as their first impression is a great way to get off on the right foot.
Elements of the Perfect Headshot
A headshot isn’t simply a photo—a lot of thought and detail should go into it. As a lawyer, you’re working in a field with particularly high standards, so you need a headshot that keeps up with the competition and ensures you’re representing yourself in the right way. Here are the key elements of the perfect headshot to keep in mind when you go in for your shoot.
Outfit
Your headshot should primarily be of your head and shoulders; however, that doesn’t mean your outfit doesn’t matter. Dressing to impress at all times is a key part of being a lawyer, and it should extend into your headshot. After all, this might be the first impression that potential clients have of you, so you should have a professional and well-maintained image. It goes without saying that what you wear for a headshot matters.
We recommend opting for your best suit and a collared shirt (for men) or a nice blouse and blazer (for women). As this is typical court attire and is considered the standard way to dress during work hours, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t also wear this type of outfit for your headshot. Pick neutral colors, as you don’t want anything too bright that will overpower the rest of the photo and draw attention away from the subject of the photo—you! Sticking to neutral colors such as white, black, brown, beige, and blue is the safest option and will ensure your outfit doesn’t clash.
Hair and Makeup
While models and other people who pose in front of a camera professionally need to wear a lot of makeup and opt for elaborate hairstyles, this isn’t the case for professional headshots. You want to give the viewer an accurate representation of who you are and avoid any outlandish styling choices that put your professional image at risk.
If you like to wear makeup, keep it as minimal and tidy as possible. You want to look your best and enhance your natural features, so stay away from heavy makeup. Stick to light makeup (if any), and opt for neutral and flattering colors.
Additionally, you need to put a decent amount of thought into your hairstyle. If you want to play it safe, consider getting a haircut shortly before your headshot. Also, it’s important that your hair is neat and tidy. Making sure that your hair doesn’t cover your face is key. If you have long hair, tucking it behind your ears or shoulders will prevent it from obstructing your face. If you have a fringe, trimming it or pinning it back before you take your headshot is another smart way to keep your hair off your face.
Lighting
A picture is only as good as its lighting. Inadequate lighting in your headshot means viewers (many of whom may be potential clients or employers) won’t be able to see your face clearly, which reduces the overall professionalism of the image. There’s no point in using a poorly lit headshot, as the entire point of the image is to provide a clear and professional picture of yourself. This is why lighting is one of the most important elements of a professional headshot: It provides the foundation for the quality of the image.
Ideally, the lighting should be adjusted so your face is clearly lit. You want to be able to see all of your features, and there shouldn’t be any shadows falling across your face. Furthermore, you want to avoid any shadows behind you, which means overhead lighting might be the best option.
If you’re in a professional studio or are having your image captured by a professional photographer, they should be able to guide you to ensure the lighting is adequate. If the lighting ends up being less than favorable, the photographer can always use Photoshop and other photo-editing software to remove shadows and add lighting to the image.
Background
Another important element of a headshot is the background. While this may seem irrelevant, it can make or break a headshot. There’s a high chance that the photographer you’re working with will help you pick a background, but there are a few points to keep in mind.
Ultimately, your background should be as plain as possible. This means you shouldn’t have any photos or images in the background as this can detract from the overall image. While you might want to have your firm’s or company’s logo featured in the headshot, taking the image in front of the logo isn’t a good idea as your background needs to be plain in order for the headshot to be well balanced. Instead, consider adding the logo once the headshot has been taken so it doesn’t negatively affect the overall image.
The background color is extremely important. The best option is a plain white background as this won’t throw off the coloring of your headshot or make you look washed out. However, if white isn’t your preference, you could opt for a different light, neutral color such as light blue or beige.
Facial Expression
Your facial expression is going to be the focal point of the headshot, so you need to put some thought into it.
The industry standard seems to be to maintain a neutral expression without looking too serious. As a lawyer, you want to look professional; however, you also want to appear approachable as your clients need to put a high level of trust in you. Therefore, a small smile is always a good idea to ensure that future clients and employers feel welcomed.
However, if the headshot is for purely serious matters (such as for a local courthouse or as part of the news coverage for a case you’re working on), then you might want to consider a slightly more serious expression to reflect the gravity of the intended purpose.
Don’t shy away from a beaming smile if that’s the image you want to present to your clients. If you’re a lawyer who focuses on building strong connections with clients and you want to establish the notion that you’re an approachable and friendly individual, then a bright and excited facial expression is a great option to communicate this.
Taking a Headshot at Home
If you’re short on time or cash, then taking a professional headshot at a photography studio or with a professional photographer might not be the most viable option. Professional photo shoots can cost hundreds of dollars, and even then, you aren’t guaranteed to love the results. This is why many people hesitate when it comes to taking a professional headshot as there’s a degree of risk considering the time investment, high price tag, and uncertain results.
There are, however, quicker and more cost-effective options that you can access from the comfort of your home. While the results won’t be quite as good as if you’d visited a professional photography studio, you can easily take a high-quality headshot from home. Here are some extra tips and considerations to ensure your final product is the best it can possibly be.
Emulate a Professional Setting
Just because you’re at home doesn’t mean you need to forgo all the trimmings and extra steps a professional photographer would use when taking your headshot. All of the above tips also apply to taking your headshot at home as they’re core elements of a high-quality image. However, there are extra measures you need to take on top of the above considerations to emulate a professional setting that results in a high-quality headshot.
Put a considerable amount of effort into your outfit, hair, and makeup. Avoid using bright and unflattering colors (just as you would for a professional headshot), and instead choose neutral and flattering options that bring out your natural features.
Think carefully about the background. As you won’t have access to the professional backgrounds used in studios, you should opt for a plain white background. Avoid having pictures or paintings visible, as this can be distracting and prevent the main focus of the image from being your face. The most popular at-home background tends to be a white wall that’s free from decoration as this is the closest to the background a professional would use in a studio.
The same recommendation regarding facial expression discussed above also applies to an at-home photo shoot. Consider where this headshot is going and what you’re using it for, and adjust your facial expression accordingly.
Finally, one of the most important at-home considerations for taking a headshot is the lighting. Professional photography studios and cameras have specialist lighting equipment to ensure that your face is properly lit and your features aren’t shadowed. However, this is tricky to recreate at home, so it’s worth putting some extra time and effort into lighting to ensure your at-home image looks as professional as possible.
Make sure the lighting in the room is bright and clear. You may need to play around with the light fixtures to discover the best option for your photo. If there’s natural sunlight, try to avoid it being behind you as this can lead to backlighting. Ideally, you want your face to be well lit and free from shadows, which may take some trial and error. However, it’s achievable if you’re patient. Ideally, try several options to see which one works best.
Consider Using AI
Another fantastic way to take an at-home headshot without breaking the bank is to not “take” one at all. Instead, you can use AI to generate an image. Platforms such as Portrait Pal use AI to generate a realistic and high-quality headshot—all from the comfort of your home.
All you need are multiple clear images of your face in different poses, angles, and lighting. Selfies are good for this. Then simply upload the images to the AI headshot generator and wait as the system scans your features and reproduces them into several high-quality headshots that are entirely generated via AI. Platforms like Portrait Pal use a branch of the AI model called “Stable Diffusion,” which is trained and fine-tuned to generate lifelike headshots.
You’ll be amazed at how easy the whole process is and how realistic the results are. Though it’s a fraction of the price of a professional photo shoot, the results are extremely similar.
Is an AI Headshot Better for a Lawyer?
Considering how new the technology behind AI image generators is, you may be wondering whether it’s a smart idea for a lawyer to use one to create a headshot. While you could opt for a professional or at-home image taken the traditional way, we believe that using an AI image generator is a great option for lawyers. Headshots for lawyers have to be perfect, as the industry demands a high level of professionalism, and AI can deliver perfection.
Opting for an AI-generated headshot that you produce at home gives you a great deal of control over the image so you can fine-tune the final product to your requirements. It provides a higher level of customization than you get with professional images.
If you work in the legal field and are in the market for a new headshot, we highly recommend opting for an AI-generated image.