Head and shoulders portrait ideas: the LinkedIn and headshot standard

01What the collarbone-up crop actually contains

Head and shoulders runs from the upper chest at the collarbone line up to the top of the head, with the head sitting in the upper third and the shoulders anchoring the lower edge. The crop conventionally includes 80 to 100 percent of the head, both shoulders to the deltoid line, and the upper chest down to roughly the second button on a dress shirt or the visible collarbone on an open-neck top. The frame stops above the chest pocket on a suit jacket, which distinguishes head-and-shoulders from the waist-up format.

LinkedIn's profile photo display is square 1:1 at native resolution, which is why corporate photographers deliver LinkedIn-targeted output as 1:1. The 4:5 vertical aspect is the editorial alternative used for printed actor headshots, magazine bylines, and the New Yorker contributor portraits where additional vertical space holds environmental tone above the head. Horizontal 16:9 is rarely used at this crop because there is too little image to spread across the horizontal extent without cropping the shoulders.

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02Lens, distance, and the standard working setup

Working head-and-shoulders uses an 85mm to 135mm lens on full-frame at 1.5 to 2 metres of standing distance. The longer focal length flattens facial features without exaggerating the nose-to-ear ratio that wider lenses introduce. At 1.5 metres the photographer can give detailed direction without raising voice; at 2 metres the additional working distance forgives small subject movement.

Peter Hurley, the New York portrait photographer who founded the Hurley Headshot Crew training programme, shoots almost exclusively at 100mm to 150mm. His studio uses a 5-foot octabox keylight at 45 degrees, a 4-foot softbox fill, and a high-key seamless white background. The longer focal length gives his work the facial flattening it is known for, and the narrow depth of field at f/4 to f/5.6 separates the figure from the white background.

Martin Schoeller's New Yorker contributor portraits and his long-running Close Up book project use a different setup: an 80mm Hasselblad medium-format equivalent at roughly 1 metre, with twin softbox keylights flanking the camera at equal power to flatten facial dimension and emphasise texture. Schoeller's flat-light convention is editorial rather than corporate.

Aperture sits at f/4 to f/8. The shallower end produces the soft separation that LinkedIn-targeted work expects; the deeper end keeps facial detail crisp from eye to ear, which matters for actor casting where every facial feature must be readable.

03The aspect ratio decision and pose vocabulary

The single largest decision is square 1:1 versus 4:5 vertical, made before the shutter fires because cropping in post sacrifices resolution. Square 1:1 is the LinkedIn standard, which displays profile photos in a circular crop inset within a square; the head sits centred in the frame with comfortable margin on all four sides. The 4:5 vertical is the editorial and actor-casting standard. The American casting market accepts 4:5 or 8x10 print headshots, delivering more vertical space above the head and below the shoulders. The 5:7 vertical, an older convention from print headshot days, survives in some American casting submissions but is being replaced by 4:5.

Pose vocabulary is concentrated in the head, jaw, and shoulder rotation because nothing else is in the frame:

• Shoulders rotated 30 degrees off-axis to camera, head turned back so the eye line is square to the lens. This is the Hurley standard. Creates dimensional depth without the boxy feel of square shoulders.
• Both shoulders square to camera with chin level. Reads as direct and authoritative. Used for LinkedIn corporate output where approachability is secondary to confidence.
• Shoulders square, chin slightly forward and down (the Hurley jaw direction). Defines the jawline and prevents double-chin compression. The single most common direction Hurley teaches.
• Shoulders rotated, head turned back over the leading shoulder by 5 to 10 degrees. The classic editorial actor headshot posture.

Eye direction is mostly direct to camera. Looking off-camera at a 30-degree angle reads as candid editorial; looking down with the chin slightly raised then bringing the eyes back up to the lens reads as alert. Hurley's squinch is the controlled lower-eyelid tension that reads as engaged rather than wide-eyed. Joe Edelman, the New York fashion and corporate photographer who runs ongoing posing workshops, has documented similar micro-direction patterns across thousands of subjects.

04Wardrobe at the collarbone crop

Decisions are concentrated in the neckline and upper chest because that is all the frame contains. Solid colour reads cleanest. Busy pattern at this crop becomes visual noise; small-pattern shirts that read as solid at distance are acceptable but anything with a discernible motif is too much.

Necklines carry register information. A spread or point collar with a tie reads as formal corporate. An open-collar shirt without tie reads as contemporary corporate. A crew-neck T-shirt reads as casual or creative-industry. A V-neck reads as informal but considered. A turtleneck reads as creative-industry or academic. The choice should align with the role the subject is presenting: a software founder probably wants the open-collar contemporary read; a financial advisor probably wants the tie-and-spread-collar formal read.

Visible jewellery should be limited to one piece. A watch is not visible at head-and-shoulders. A necklace is in the frame and should be either deliberately featured or removed entirely. Earrings should be small or unobtrusive unless the editorial concept calls for them. Hair frames the face at this crop and is more important than at any wider format; working stylists often retouch flyaway hairs in post because the crop reveals every strand.

05Lighting that flatters the head and shoulders

Three working studio standards:

• Single-light Rembrandt or short-light setup with a 3 by 4 foot softbox at 45 degrees, a white reflector on the opposite side at half value, clean background. The traditional dimensional setup, used for editorial and corporate output where facial structure should read.
• Twin softbox flat lighting (the Schoeller Close Up convention) with two equal-power softboxes flanking the camera at 30 degrees, plus a black or grey backdrop. Flattens facial dimension and emphasises texture.
• Clamshell beauty lighting with a beauty dish above the camera, a reflector or fill below, plus a hair light from the rear. The flattering setup used for actor headshots and women's executive portraits.

The Hurley standard uses a beauty dish above the camera at a 45-degree downward angle with a strip box fill below, both at full power, against a high-key white seamless. The setup gives a clean catchlight, soft skin tone, and the studio-light feel that defines his portfolio.

06Working day rates and the format ladder

Photographers in this pool typically credential through the PPA headshot section and ASMP, with editorial coverage of byline portraits and contributor photos running through Vogue, The New York Times, and National Geographic. Sessions run from $200 at the entry-level LinkedIn-targeted register up to $1500 and beyond at the editorial and actor register. A basic LinkedIn headshot session delivers 1 to 3 retouched final images from a 30 to 60 minute studio session; an editorial or actor session delivers 5 to 15 retouched final images from a 2 to 3 hour session with multiple looks.

Peter Hurley's published session rate in 2024 was $1500 per session for his New York studio, including 1 retouched final image and digital delivery of additional selects. LinkedIn-only headshot photographers in major American cities run $250 to $500 for an equivalent single-image session. Editorial actor headshots in Los Angeles average $400 to $800 for a multi-look session with retouching. Hair and makeup adds $200 to $500 for women, $100 to $300 for men. Studio rental for a head-and-shoulders setup runs $100 to $300 per day, less than three-quarter or full-body because the smaller crop needs less working distance.

For the next-wider crop see the waist-up portrait ideas reference. For the wider three-quarter American crop see the three-quarter portrait ideas reference. For the tighter macro crop used in editorial close-up work see the close-up portrait ideas reference.

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