A Lawyer’s headshot is the first visual representation any potential client will see. A lawyer headshot is a business portrait representing the lawyer’s professional persona. Headshots are presented on business cards, online profiles, law firm websites, and press releases.
Most attorneys require an especially high-quality headshot for use on their business cards and the websites for most law firms. The headshot needs to communicate the values that potential clients will care about most.
Why Lawyer Headshots Are Important
Potential clients seeking an attorney for any reason are looking for assurance. While it’s unwise for anyone to “judge a book by its cover”, the science demonstrates that we do exactly that. People see professional photos and judge the character of the person they see in less than a second.
These facts aren’t lost on most professionals. But lawyers, in particular, need to be abundantly well aware of them.
People expect their attorneys to possess certain virtues and qualities:
- Professionalism
- Competence
- Confidence
- Approachability
- Affability
It takes a long time to develop oneself to the point where people see these qualities in you. But people judge quickly. Their fast, initial judgements of you will boil down to the first image they see of you.
A great headshot is the first step in building a powerful reputation. It helps you make a better impression, get hired, and attract new clients.
Instant Judgements
If you think about it, you can probably relate to the judginess most people demonstrate. Have you ever met someone and immediately liked or disliked them? Did you ever get a good or bad feeling right as you saw them and introduced yourself?
Many of these judgements are passive. You can probably explain part of what gives you those feelings, but much of your judgment is on “autopilot”.
These findings don’t matter much in many social situations. But in professional fields, especially law, those fast judgments have a large impact on:
- Establishing trust
- Hiring or purchasing decisions
- Perceiving someone as “worth listening to”
If you’re still looking for a job, you should remember all of these factors when uploading your next LinkedIn profile picture. Hiring managers at law firms take your professional image at least as seriously as potential clients do. A profile with a headshot that appears to be low-effort or inappropriate will quickly be swept aside. In other words, a good headshot is a foot in the door during many crucial decisions.
Fair or not, a lawyer’s headshot is going to be judged quickly and harshly. But following the standards for headshots of practicing lawyers can turn this fact into a great personal asset.
Lawyer Headshots: A How-To Guide
Lawyer headshots follow the same photography standards of headshots for other professionals. In addition to the standard headshot guidelines, there are additional expectations for an appearance of formality and competence for people practicing law.
What Are Professional Headshots?
A professional headshot is the visual representation of one’s professional persona. Unlike casual social media posts, professional headshots attempt to communicate a strict and narrow set of ideas to viewers.
Headshots, in general, must provide a feeling of:
- Friendliness
- Openness
- Competence
- Confidence
- Pride
To these ends, the focus of a headshot is your face. Your face will be centered, with the lighting set up to ensure there are no shadows on it. Photo studios use lights, reflectors, and mirrors to ensure your face is bright and focused. At a professional studio, you’ll be prompted to keep your head upright, with a confident and friendly smile. Your eyes will be facing the camera.
Your upper torso is also included in headshots to some extent. Your attire and posture are not the main focus of a headshot but compliment your overall appearance. In professional headshots, you’re expected to be wearing attire appropriate for your work. In general, your posture should be good and upright, displaying confidence and energy.
Most professional headshots are taken against a bright, blank background. A white or bright gray background keeps the focus on you. In some cases, other backgrounds can be used if they support the virtues and qualities you’re trying to communicate. But the photographer will still keep the background out of focus so all attention is on you.
Unlike other forms of personal photography, professional headshots don’t have a foreground. There’s nothing in front of you that can distract from your face.
To further cement the focus on your face, all professional headshots have a vertical focus. You need to keep this in mind if you plan to crop your headshot into an online social media profile. But the final result should always be more vertical, as humans are vertical beings and we’re trying to focus on your human appearance!
Lawyer Headshot Guidelines
Professional headshots for lawyers meet the same requirements as those for other professionals. The main differences are:
- The standards are higher for lawyers
- There’s little room for creativity and experimentation
1. Keep It Orthodox
If you practice law, you will be trusted with things of deep personal significance to others. Depending on what you practice, clients’ entire futures are in your hands. Their finances, freedom, and trust in justice will to some extent depend on their trust in you. They aren’t looking for creativity or exquisite personality traits.
2. Formal & Conventional Attire
Professional attire is a must. A well-fitted suit and tie or a formal blouse are appropriate. Solid and cool colors with the exception of white shirts will work best. A custom-tailored bespoke suit for women or a 3-piece suit for men are ideal. In any case, trustworthiness, seriousness, and professionalism are what your attire should communicate.
3. Non-distracting Background
The background of a lawyer headshot should be simple gray or white. If you deviate from this, it should be extremely minimal and the focus should be edited to be almost entirely on your head.
Compared with other types of professional headshots, it’s best to be conservative with lawyer headshot backgrounds. The best backgrounds for other professional headshots aren’t the same as those for lawyers.
4. Posture
When it comes to posing for professional headshots, posture is another area where lawyer headshots are a bit different. You should not worry too much about a serious or dramatic pose. You can be standing up or sitting in a confident upright position. Your arms can be rested in any one of many positions, as long as the pose isn’t overly dramatic. Again, the focus should be on confidence and competence, not on an overly theatrical flair. Having your arms crossed or laying on your legs (while seated) in a confidently relaxed manner can come across excellently.
5. To Smile or Not To Smile? It Depends… But You Should Probably Smile!
The question of whether to (and how to) smile is controversial. Research on the question is slightly ambivalent, but leaning towards expressing positivity with a smile. Your smile, so long as it’s genuine (yes, people can tell!), makes you appear more approachable and sociable. These are both good qualities to have potential clients perceive in you.
In general, there’s nothing immature or inappropriate about smiling. In almost all sales and marketing contexts, a smile is a helpful feature of photography. It’s the easiest “hack” to your non-verbal communication.
The only time you shouldn’t use a headshot that includes you smiling is if the smile isn’t genuine. People are sensitive to subtle details in your facial movements. If your smile is forced and you’re not fully comfortable, people will pick up on it. The feeling of awkwardness will then cause your efforts to appear approachable to backfire.
6. Don’t Be Too Serious!
The main mistake you can make in this regard is feeling that, as a practitioner of law, you need to appear more “stern” or “serious” than others. A face that appears too stern will certainly repel most people who check out your profile, so you don’t want to look uninviting. Lawyers are humans too, and your potential employers and clients will understand that. So, if you opt not to smile, maintain a confident yet relaxed expression on your face.
7. Pay Attention to Grooming & Small Details
Lastly, remain particularly aware of your grooming! Professional headshot photography entails a brutal level of attention to detail. Any wardrobe malfunctions, bad hair days, makeup mishaps, or spots you missed while shaving are bound to be noticeable.
How To Get a Great Lawyer Headshot?
Now that you know what details to pay attention to, the main question is where to go.
Professional/Corporate Photo Studios
The best professional photo studios will have the equipment and expertise to provide an excellent headshot. It’s important to make the right decision in a photo studio if you go this route.
Many photo studios can provide great photo quality. With the right industry-standard equipment, a professional can maximize your appearance. They can take the best possible shot with the right angle, lighting, and more. Then, they can edit your headshot in a way that it remains lifelike but with any small issues corrected.
Equipment and technical skill are great, but the other part of great photography is setting and social skills. A great photo studio will be able to coach you into the best possible position and mindset for a photo. Their photographers will make you feel relaxed and comfortable, which will translate into an expression of relaxation and confidence in your headshot.
Especially good photographers are also humorous; they’ll coax that genuine smile, which is the golden layer of your photo!
The social aspect of a good photo shoot can make a huge difference in the final outcome. So, it’s best to go somewhere comfortable, quiet, and relaxing.
This may sound overwhelming, but that’s why some professional photo studios charge so much money. Every little detail contributes to your final lawyer headshot outcome. And remember, that final outcome can pay back dividends if it’s truly the best possible picture!
Corporate photo studios charge more money than alternatives and the photo shoot may take some time. But the value of the final headshots they provide to corporate clients are what makes them the elite option for professionals like lawyers.
Local Photo Studios
Other photo studios, including ones in or near your neighborhood, may suffice to produce a great lawyer headshot. They’re likely also a lot easier to find and will probably come with a lower price tag.
You can find photo studios in your area with a simple Google search, or even by just going on a drive. Many people use photography studios for different purposes, so you can ask around for recommendations. You should also check for online reviews from people purchasing professional photos from there.
Many local photo studios don’t specialize in just one type of photo. They provide headshots for work, photos for schools, passport photos, and so on. So, be aware that while they may offer a great headshot that you’ll love, they might not specialize in headshots for lawyers.
AI Generated Headshots
Generative AI has come a long way in recent years. In the last year alone, it has reached a stage where many AI-generated images aren’t easily distinguishable from real images.
Image generators can produce lifelike images with the right engine and the right prompts. But the new development in headshots is highly specialized AI headshot generators. You simply provide photos or selfies of yourself, and they generate a headshot. You can then use the AI settings to change all the details including:
- Backgrounds
- Poses
- Lighting
- Clothing
AI headshot generators use generative adversarial networks (GAN) to set two neural networks against each other. They take turns replicating the photo you’ve fed them and scrutinizing each other. This repetitive and iterative process leads to progressively more realistic recreations of a human face. It doesn’t take long though, compared to going to a photo studio, and you come away with affordable, AI-generated headshots.
If you choose to use AI for a professional headshot, there are a few things you can expect.
First, it’s many times cheaper than most formal alternatives. An AI “photoshoot” for several dozen headshots should cost between $20 and $40.
You can expect an AI headshot generator to produce a set of headshots with varying degrees of quality. This is normal, which is why they provide many options for you to choose from. You’ll need to take a moment to look closely at each headshot the AI generator produces to make the best choice. While this and the two hour wait to get your headshots take some time, it’s a far faster option than any physical photo shoot.
The other time- and cost-saving feature of AI headshots is that you don’t need great attire. Headshot generators focus on capturing your facial and upper torso structure. But they have no problem transferring your facial features and torso into AI-generated clothes. In fact, most AI headshot generators provide a list of presets for clothing, poses, and facial expressions.
The one thing to keep in mind if you use an online AI headshot generator is that it will need quality inputs to produce quality results. So, make sure you use photos or selfies with high resolution, good lighting, and a clear focus on your face. This makes the GAN iteration process better, with the final results looking very realistic.
Overall, you can expect AI headshot generators to look slightly less realistic than traditional photos. However, these apps have come a long way and are getting better by the month. Right now, they provide a fast, inexpensive, and convenient alternative to photo shoots.
Check LinkedIn or Networking Events
If you’re looking for a job or want to develop your career, you’ll likely end up browsing LinkedIn and visiting professional events. While you’re going to expos and similar events, keep your eye out for photo opportunities. Some events will have other businesses present, including professional photography services.
These opportunities can be especially convenient. On-site and prompt service from professionals known to the legal community can be one of the best options if you find yourself running into them.
Using LinkedIn, you can search for photographers close to your home or workplace. You can check those studios’ and professionals’ recommendations from your colleagues. You can also message colleagues or make a post asking for advice.
It’s also worth checking out other people’s profiles on the platform to find LinkedIn headshots you like for inspiration.
Final Thoughts
Lawyer headshots are serious tools in any attorney or lawyer’s arsenal. As your first impression, they deserve close attention and scrutiny when they’re being produced.
Getting a great lawyer headshot is much like getting any other kind of professional headshot. Most of the differences are simply accommodating the public’s image of what a good lawyer looks like.
With the 7 points we’ve covered in mind, you can step into the process with the right foot forward. With a deep breath and following a few instructions from your photographer, you can get a great headshot.
Or, with a few inputs into an AI headshot generator like PixelPose, you can quickly create multiple hyper-realistic headshots to choose from.