Let’s be honest, when you’re searching online to find a headshot photographer, you are probably going to end up comparing a couple of good candidates to figure out which one you should go with. And it’s sometimes hard to tell what the right decision should be.

In this post, I’ll go over exactly what you should compare when deciding between headshot photographers, what’s important, and what things actually don’t really matter in the end.

1. Quality of Work

The first and foremost way to compare headshot photographers is to simply analyze their photography portfolio. Now, I know how hard it is for most people to tell whether a portrait (or headshot) is good or not as we are often used to seeing fairly bad headshots. So it helps knowing what you’re looking for. Do you want a classic corporate headshot? Something a bit more casual? Or a headshot that’s really natural, friendly, and easy-going? Photographers will typically specialize in one style or another, and if you’re looking for something specific, make sure you pick a photographer who has a proven series of work that shows that they can deliver what you’re looking for. So it’s not whether the portfolio looks good or not, but it’s more about the photographer being able to match the style of headshot you are looking for.

2. Studio or Outdoor

If your preference is for a Studio headshot, make sure you only compare photographers who work in a Studio. The skillset required to shoot in a Studio and use artificial lighting is completely different from doing a natural light photo session outdoors. And that’s important to keep in mind, because most of the time people assume that a photographer can just do both if they can do one. Often, that’s not the case, which is why I recommend always going with the specialist who knows what they’re doing in that specific situation.

3. Consistency

If you’re looking at a photographer’s website, make sure to notice how consistent the work is in their portfolio. The photographer hand-picked every image on their site, so if you’re seeing even one image that is worse than the others - not in sharp focus, with a different color hue, or just not on par with the rest - it’s probably fair to say that their work isn’t going to be consistent if you hire them. This might mean that your images might end up looking completely different than what you see in their portfolio, or that the experience won’t be the same across the board. Now, everyone has off-days, but it’s a huge red flag if a photographer has chosen to display work that isn’t consistent. That says very clearly that they can’t produce consistent work and they might not be able to deliver on the quality they promise.

4. What you Get

Each photographer will structure their headshot sessions differently. You will also receive not only a completely different level of service, but also the number of images (if any) with the photoshoot. While comparing by price isn’t a great idea, comparing by what you get within a session is valuable.

For instance, one photographer’s headshot session might include a few minutes in front of the camera and a jpeg that they email you 2 weeks later. And another photographer’s headshot session might include a half an hour of directed posing and several outfit changes, with a collaborative process of sitting down together and going through the images, followed by professional retouching and image delivery within just a few days (this is my process, btw). Those two sessions are completely different, and if you feel uncomfortable in front of the camera, going through a fast-paced in-and-out session with little direction from the photographer will probably end up working out poorly.

So if you know that you would need to take time in order to feel comfortable and capture a natural expression for your headshot, you can put priority on finding a photographer whose session structure will fit that need.

5. Past Client Reviews

It’s also a great idea to take a look at past client review when considering hiring a headshot photographer. This will tell you a few things.. 1. How consistent the experience is and 2. How the photographer handles situations that don’t go well. It’s not always possible to please every client, and no business owner should be penalized for working with someone who isn’t a good fit for their service. But the way they address a situation where a client isn’t 100% happy is incredibly telling of the kind of person they are. Notice whether they try to address concerns or unhappy results, how they go about fixing the situation, or if they come off dismissive and uncaring. Things can always go wrong, and it’s important to work with someone who will treat you with compassion and understanding if they do.

How NOT to compare:

1. By Price

When you’re looking at photographers, it’s easy to simply take the price and compare them using that one number. While this seems like the easiest and most straightforward way to go, because photography is a service-based product (and because every photograph is so different from another), it’s really hard to judge whether the pricing is on par with the work. Now, a low price is always telling of a process that is brief and follows a conveyor process with getting as many clients through the door as the goal. You always want to make sure to double-check the quality and validity of any cheap photographer who seems too good to be true. In some situations, photographers may actually steal other people’s work and pass it off as their own. It’s important to trust your gut in these situations, and if something doesn’t feel right, listen to your intuition.

In many cases, however, professional headshot pricing will be very similar and might actually make the decision-process more difficult. If you’re going with someone because they are $20 cheaper, make sure you know WHY and that you’re okay with getting less as a result. Sometimes it’s not worth the price difference, which is why I always recommend making the decision based on the type of session you need and the quality of work you’ll receive.

2. Accolades, awards, or Degrees

Just because a headshot photographer has won awards, doesn’t mean that they’re actually a good fit for what you’re looking for. Now, there are some certification programs that are rigorous enough and teach a method that’s so streamlined that it’s hard for people to mess up. But for the most part, a photography degree, award, or certification isn’t going to guarantee that someone is actually a good photographer (especially since a lot of them are given based on payment, not merit).

There are plenty of self-taught photographers who are fantastic and there are equally as many award-winning certified professional photographers who are terrible at taking photos. Education and awards simply doesn’t mean as much as we would want it to, and unfortunately isn’t a great way to tell a good photographer from a bad one.

I hope you found this post helpful and hopefully it will make it a lot easier to find a good headshot photographer the next time you need one. And if you’ve ended up here because you’re currently searching for someone to take your headshots, feel free to click the button below to learn more about my process.