what is headshots?

means that the portrait photo is cropped somewhere in the middle torso – so that the focus is on your face.

To take photoshoots for headshots you can either use:

Flash Lighting:

Camera settings (flash lighting)
Tripod: optional
Use transmitter on hotshoe
White balance: daylight (5000K)
ISO: 100
Exposure: Manual 1/125 shutter-speed > f/16 aperture
– check settings before shooting
Focal length: 105mm portrait lens

or, Continuous Lighting:

Camera settings (continuous lighting)
Tripod: recommended to avoid camera shake
Manual exposure mode
White balance: tungsten light (3200K)
ISO: 400-1600 – depending on how many light sources
Exposure: Manual 1/60-1/125 shutter-speed > f/4-f/8 aperture
– check settings before shooting
Focal length: 50mm portrait lens

The deadpan aesthetic

The term “Deadpan” first appeared in print in 1927 in Vanity Fair Magazine, which combined the terms “dead” and “pan,” a colloquial term for a face, to create a noun. It was introduced as an adjective by the New York Times in 1928 to characterise Buster Keaton’s artwork. A deadpan aesthetic is a technically flawless shot with a straightforward, center-focused composition that captures a person, a landscape, or a still life. The background is typically neglected, neutral, and sterile, or it has a single primary topic (a face, a mound of clay, a mining tower, etc.); this does not apply to conceptions that are more sociologically oriented.

Passport Photos

The UK government has a specific list on what passports must include, this can be found on the UK government website.

FACE:

• eyes must be open and clearly visible, with no flash reflections and no ‘red eye’
• facial expression must be neutral (neither frowning nor smiling), with the mouth closed
• photos must show both edges of the face clearly
• photos must show a full front view of face and shoulders, squared to the camera 
• the face and shoulder image must be centred in the photo; the subject must not be looking over one shoulder (portrait style), or tilting their head to one side or backwards or forwards
• there must be no hair across the eyes
• hats or head coverings are not permitted except when worn for religious reasons and only if the full facial features are clearly visible
• photos with shadows on the face are unacceptable
• photos must reflect/represent natural skin tone

BACKGROUND:

Photos must have a background which:

• has no shadows
• has uniform lighting, with no shadows or flash reflection on the face and head
• shows a plain, uniform, light grey or cream background (5% to 10% grey is recommended)