“But when you’re taking a portrait, you can use shadows to tell a deeper story — maybe one of mystery.”
The difference between a portrait and a headshot reveals the importance of lighting in portrait photography: it’s all in the storytelling approach. “When you’re taking a headshot, you want high-key lighting so you show exactly who the person is, which will inform others’ decisions to do business with them,” says Kenton. “But when you’re taking a portrait, you can use shadows to tell a deeper story — maybe one of mystery.” Portrait photography goes beyond the image of the person; it needs to evoke emotion in the viewer. As photographer Hannah Concannon puts it, you want to “catch your subject being their true self — not their Instagram or headshot self, when they’re acting for somebody else.”