Most headshots you see are cropped in a portrait orientation—(vertical). That’s the traditional style. However technology and uses for headshots have changed. That’s why we changed to a landscape—horizontal- style of shooting. We get asked from time to time why we do this. Here are just a few reasons.

Landscape Offers More Cropping Option

Since modern digital cameras have grown in pixel size and quality it makes sense for us to shoot in a loose horizontal style giving lots of room for cropping as well as cropping choices. For example many newer cameras have an output of 6700x4400 pixels—an average email signature photo is 50x50 pixel—this gives enormous cropping room! In this way we can quickly crop a vertical or a square image for our clients needs. Sometimes a website needs horizontal or square and often profile images tend to be better if squarer in format. In this way should your image sizing needs change down the road you can avoid having to do a new headshot session and simply call us and ask for a larger size.

Horizontal offers more Design Options

Photographers take the images but they often end up in the hands of graphic designers. Giving them more options just makes the end product look better. With modern editing tools you can easily replace a background—this give even more options for say a realtor who wants a photo in front of a property they’re selling. Also if we are photographing a large amount of headshots for one firm we can keep the background looking exactly the same—even if a few employees get theirs taken on another day.

We try to plan with our clients in advance, to tailor their images to their needs. ready to plan your headshot session? Click here for more information on how to schedule your session.