How to turn an everyday male headshot into a billboard-ready, fashion photograph using lighting patterns and high-end retouching

Headshots are often seen as and perceived as girly and glamorous: Hours of makeup followed by hours of hair, and in the end there aren’t really any shots that she loves. When it comes to photographing male headshots, simplicity is key. The goal of a photographer is to balance the light. When taking male headshots, the simple application of standard lighting patterns can make the difference between not or HOT! If you combine these lighting patterns with some post production high-end retouching, your male headshot steps it up a level, becoming billboard ready!

With any headshot, good auxiliary lighting is key. For all the male headshots below, I used an Einstein strobe with a beauty dish and a diffuser cover. By using a beauty dish, we get the beautiful circular outlined catch light in the eyes!

Loop Lighting

Named after the shadow loop underneath and to the side of the nose, Loop lighting is one of the most typical lighting patterns because it achieves a flattering look while at the same time creating depth. To take this photo a step above and beyond, I did some high end retouching to help even out the complexion and shadows on the skin, creating even better contrast with the glasses. Eyewear photographers, watch out! For more examples of high end retouching check out my buddy Gerardo Sumano, who is an expert at high end fashion photography and retouching!

Rembrandt Lighting

Rembrandt lighting is lighting that features a triangle underneath the eye on the short side of the light.

Split Lighting

Split lighting is where one side of the face is lit while the other is dark.