What are the best tips for choosing a headshot background?

Discover the best backgrounds that will make you stand out in this guide.

When it comes to professional headshots, the background you choose can have a big impact on the overall look and feel of the photo. Whether you’re taking a headshot for your LinkedIn profile or for your company’s website, it’s important to choose a background that will make you stand out and look professional. In this guide, we’ll explore some of the best backgrounds to consider for your headshot. Whether you’re considering professional headshot services or DIY headshot choosing the right background is an important element to consider.

What are the best backgrounds for professional headshots?

There are many options for headshot backgrounds.

The ones we focus on for this guide are:

• studio
• outdoor
• on-site
• creating backgrounds to match exsisting headshots

Pro tip: Know what your headshot will be used for before you decide on the look you want.

Studio Headshot Backgrounds

Studio background options can provide exactly what you are looking for with a clean professional classic look or leave you wanting more elements like the outdoor or office environment.

In our studio we photograph with a white background for most of our headshots. Depending on the client’s needs, we can desaturate the background, add a gradient, or change the color completely. We offer a wide range of studio backgrounds: office set up (pictured below), white backdrop, gray backdrop, burnt orange backdrop and a black textured wall backdrop. View our studio background examples for more.

Studio backgrounds can provide a solid-color for your professional headshots. For corporate photos the most commonly used color are shades of gray. Shades of gray are clean, classic and suitable for most industries.

View our Studio Headshots Gallery

Outdoor Headshot Backgrounds

The best part about making headshots outdoors are the textures, landscapes, architecture, colors and city environments that nature and man has provided. Some clients want a mix of architecture and foliage while others want garden elements or the textures of a city.

We photograph our clients in public parks, outdoor spaces near offices or public buildings, city streets, bodies of water, public and private landscaping areas and any other natural environment that utilities the outdoors.

When we photograph on site we usually use natural light as our light source. Visit Two Types of Light for more.

View our Outdoor Headshots Gallery

New headshot for new hire Aminata with the Portland Housing Developement Center. We use the city streets in front of the main office for each new hire to provide consistant headshots that give an urban feel. The outdoor backdrop aligns with the client’s target community.

We photographed Josie at an outdoor location in St. Johns in Portland, Oregon. The background of her headshots were more environmental and added to her brand with the changing colors, textures and even wildlife!

On-Site Headshot Backgrounds

Client’s offices, private spaces and indoor environments provide the foundation for on-site, or also known as on-location headshots.

These headshots are using exisiting spaces or backdrops for the background of the headshot. Sometimes the client wants their office environment to be the color palette and texture of the background while others provide a white wall to take the classic white backdrop background for their headshots.

Pro Tip: Photographing on-site can be more efficient for companies with larger teams or teams with limited available time. 

For our client Jenni Leasia’s design firm we photographed on-location at their office using the color and textures of their designed space. We utilitized the natural light coming from the large windows on one part of the space. This provides a cusom lighting and background combo for the client.

For PEC’s new company headshots we photographed on site with a single light strobe set up as the main source of light in addition to the natural light fill supplied from the outdoor setting through the windows. We used the client’s headquarters and office space as the two locations for the team headshots.

View Our On-Site Headshots Gallery

Matching Existing Headshot Backgrounds

To match the headshots we made for the WPI Builds at their Portland office we used the same lighting set up and a neutral gray or white background on-site at their Eugene office.

We used a conference room wall to make these headshots and the same two light set up we used in the Portland office. The light source was a 3 ft octabank modifier on a Profoto B10 strobe head, our second Profoto B10 strobe head was used to light the background. We had the same modifier bounce cards in the same place to match the headshots we already made. Once the client made the selections we mad the background colors all match.

For additional questions about headshots and photography sessions, visit our FAQ or view our guide to preparing for your headshot session.

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Adding New Hire Headshots to Your Team

Having updated or new hire headshots that match allows for the headshots on the website to look consistent as if they were all photographed at the same time. This allows for companies to onboard without the stress of making an old headshot work.

Some Tips on getting Headshots that Match

Ways to use the same background

• Plan to use the same location as previous headshots either in-studio or outdoors.
• Have all headshots have the same textures or colored backgrounds.

Ways to use the same lighting

• Use the same type of light source, either natural light or strobe flash photography. Visit our post about the two types of light.
• Have the light source coming from the same direction as the previous headshots.

Things to consider

• Coach employees on poses and facial expressions if your company brand is specific.
• Coach employees on what to wear. In some cases, companies will require professional attire or casual, this will depend on the brand and services of each client.
• Here are Erica J Mitchell Photographer we offer a 10% off to returning clients.

Other way to ensure new headshots match the rest of your company photos

One option we offer is for the client to order solid colored backgrounds retouched to each headshot. If there is already an established background, for example medium gray, the next new hires will get the same background color.

Are some previous headshots cropped funny or too warm or too cool toned compared to the other headshots? We offer to color match previous headshots to match new ones!

For additional questions about headshots and photography sessions, visit our FAQ or view our guide to preparing for your headshot session.

Case Studies

View our client case studies below

• GridStor (in-studio using natural light)
• Housing Development Center (outdoors)
• Klosh Group (outdoors)
• Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center (in-studio with flash)

GridStor

For GridStor, we used the Natural Light Studio with window light as the main source of light since the beginning when they were only 4 employees, now over 30!

Matching their new hire headshots to their existing team is paramont in the professional presentation of their company. We use the same light source, angle of light, background, camera lens, crop and delivery to provide headshots that match on their website.

This set up provides us consistent headshots for GridStor every time allowing for future sessions of new hires to blend seamlessly. The result are well balance headshot photos the illuminate each person that projects confidence, professionalism and friendliness.

“We strategically site battery storage projects to place electricity from renewable resources, like wind and solar, near where demand is greatest. This helps build a more resilient grid in the face of threats posed by climate change and severe weather.” Website

Housing Development Center

We used the same location located on East Burnside to create the team headshots for Portland’s Housing Development Center.

For this on location session we used the urban environment of the client’s office space as the backdrop and used the available daylight coming through the buildings and street as the main source of light.

In addition to bounce and flag cards, we manipulated the light with the positioning of the subjects. The closer the subject to the shadow line of the light source the greater the diffused light that impacts the skin. By placing the subject next to a building with the direction of the light source (daylight) we were able to achieve a reduction of light to the top of the head and add dimension to the face with shadows.

Klosh Group

We used the Beaverton Library as the outdoor background for their portraits. Outdoor headshots can be tricky this time of year as the leaves are falling and the rain is more frequent. We schedule multiple dates if possible ahead of time to have options in case of less than ideal weather conditions. 

Each new hire has a horizontal headshot (by request, most headshots are photographed vertical), two 8×10 crop options and one square crop option to use in two file formats, Print and Large Web for easy use.

“Klosh Group is a consulting firm delivering owner’s representation, project, and construction management services. Providing client- and community-centric services and successful construction management results to the Pacific Northwest since 2016.” Website

Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center

We worked in our studio to provide a consistant type of setting for future hires. We used artificial strobe lighting to match previously done headshots!

The location and lighting set up was what brought all these headshots together to look cohesive and match existing headshots already on the website by a previous photographer. The headshots featured in this blog post are from four separate sessions.

View our previous work with Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center here.

“The Mission of the Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center and the mission of the Virginia Garcia Memorial Foundation are tightly connected. The health center serves the members of Washington and Yamhill county through access to high quality, culturally appropriate health care and the Foundation works to provide the enduring support for the entire organization.” Website

For companies that are growing and hiring staff, consistent looking company headshots is key to a website presentation and the professionalism of your business.

View Company Headshots to view more examples or to learn about booking team sessions.

Interested in Working Together?