Studio Headshot vs. Environmental Headshot for Bloomington Business Owners

Summary

John explains the difference between a studio headshot and an environmental headshot for Bloomington business owners. A studio headshot uses a solid color background, typically a flat gray, white, or black backdrop, giving a clean and standard look. An environmental headshot instead incorporates the person’s actual surroundings, such as their office or wherever they do most of their work, so the image reflects the real setting of their job. John notes the environmental approach is especially popular with young professionals because it gives viewers a better sense of what the person actually does and the space they work in, rather than just a plain background. The choice ultimately comes down to whether the client wants a clean, neutral look or a portrait with real context.

Answer

People have asked me what’s the difference between a studio headshot, like a standard flat black or flat gray or flat whatever background, and an environmental type situation. The environmental situation is just the environment. So if you wanted me to come to your office and have you sit at your desk, or wherever it is that you do most of your work, and you wanted to incorporate some of that actual surrounding, that’s the environmental aspect. Whereas a traditional standard headshot is just going to be some sort of solid color background, usually a gray or a white or something like that. The environmental approach is popular with young professionals because it gives people more of an idea of what you’re actually working inside of, as opposed to just a standard flat gray backdrop. It really comes down to whether you want a clean, neutral background or a portrait that shows some real context about what you do.