These days everyone needs a headshot, from business professionals to actors and musicians. Lots of people even look to portrait photographers to create flattering headshots for their dating apps and social media. If you’re interested in getting started taking professional photos for headshot clients, it’s important to consider how you’ll achieve the best headshot background. After all, not every headshot background is ideal for every application.
Here are nine of the best portrait photography backgrounds to consider as you plan your next headshot photo shoot.
1. Natural Backgrounds
Nature-filled backgrounds work well for a variety of purposes. Dating profiles, social media profiles, actor headshots, modeling headshots, musician portraits, and even some professional headshots work well with a natural background.
As you search for an ideal natural background for portraits, look for scenes that feel harmonious and not distracting. It’s also a good idea to create separation between your subject and the background by using a shallow depth of field.
2. Urban Photo Backgrounds
Urban backgrounds are ideal for most professional portraits and business portraits. Attorneys, accountants, physicians, politicians, and a variety of other professionals prefer to be photographed in city settings.
Just like natural backgrounds, urban backgrounds are best used with a shallow depth of field to limit distractions and help you create attractive headshots.
3. Black Background
If you prefer to shoot in a studio, you’ll likely rely on choices like solid black backgrounds, white backgrounds, and colorful backgrounds. A black background provides an element of seriousness and gravitas for your subject. Black backgrounds also limit distractions and allow the viewer to focus entirely on your portrait subject. They’re some of the easiest studio backgrounds to use, too.
The biggest challenge with a black background is ensuring your studio lighting doesn’t accidentally illuminate it and turn it into a gray background. If you’re having trouble with light spill, try moving your subject and lighting farther away from the black background.
Fortunately, black backgrounds are also the easiest to touch up in post processing with Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom.
4. Solid White Background
Solid white is a very easy color to work with for most varieties of headshots. White backgrounds offer many of the same benefits as black backgrounds but also create a sense of youthful energy for your portrait subjects.
As you shoot, pay attention to the lighting source and make sure your subject isn’t casting shadows on the background. If shadows are an issue, move the subject farther away from the background, or reposition the light source to lower the shadow out of frame.
With white backgrounds, it’s also important to keep track of your white balance. You want your background to appear as true white, not off white or yellow.
5. Gray Background
Gray is a fantastic neutral headshot background color. It fits with most skin tones, most clothing, and practically any subject. The beauty of a gray background is that it provides impact without distraction. It also works well if you want to shoot portraits for black and white conversion.
6. Colored Backgrounds
Bright colors are all the rage for actor headshots. Colors help amplify personalities and bring energy to your images. The most important consideration for colorful backgrounds is ensuring the subject’s wardrobe choices will work well with the background color.
Decide on color ahead of time with your subject, or suggest that they bring multiple outfits so you have some flexibility on the day of the shoot.
7. Textured Backgrounds
Textures make attractive backgrounds for many kinds of subjects. When you want a headshot that feels more spontaneous, a textured backdrop or wall is often a good fit. As long as your texture isn’t too intense, or you can use soft focus to your advantage, it’s hard to go wrong with a textured background.
8. Relevant Environmental Backgrounds
Many corporate clients want to be photographed in their offices to showcase their work environments. If you’re photographing in an actual office or place of business, make sure you can control the lighting to your benefit. Also, be sure to pick a location that won’t interfere with the flow of business.
9. Chroma Key Backgrounds
When you want flexibility for the future, chroma key backgrounds like green screen and blue screen are a versatile choice. This will help you to focus on lighting, posing, and flattering your subject, and then you can worry about finding the perfect background after the shoot is over.
