Professional Headshot Examples: What Works (And What Doesn't) in 2026

Your headshot is doing work before you say a word. On LinkedIn, on your company's About page, on the conference speaker list. People form opinions in under a second. A good headshot doesn't just look nice. It communicates competence, approachability, and credibility. For more details, see our what's trending in professional headshots.

Here are real professional headshot examples across industries, what makes each one work, and how to get yours right without spending $400 at a photography studio.

What does a good professional headshot look like?

A good professional headshot shows you from the head to upper shoulders with sharp focus on your eyes, clean neutral background, flattering lighting (natural window light or soft studio), and a natural expression that balances confidence with approachability. You should be dressed appropriately for your industry and the image should look like the real you, not an overly retouched version.

The best headshots share fundamentals: good lighting that doesn't distort, a clean background that doesn't distract, eyes in sharp focus, appropriate framing, and a genuine expression. Industry context matters, but these basics apply everywhere.

What are the most common headshot mistakes?

The most common mistakes are using cropped selfies or group photos, outdated images from 3+ years ago, over-retouching that makes you unrecognizable, low resolution or pixelated files, harsh lighting or distracting backgrounds, and applying filters or effects. These errors undermine professionalism and make you harder to trust before a conversation even starts.

Other frequent problems include wrong framing (too tight or too wide), inappropriate attire for your industry, unnatural forced expressions, and visible watermarks or logos. Each mistake signals inattention to detail, which clients notice instantly.

What Makes a Professional Headshot Actually Good?

Before the examples, the fundamentals. Every strong headshot shares a few things:

Lighting that flatters without distorting. Natural light from a window or soft studio lighting. Harsh overhead fluorescents will age you ten years. Ring lights create an unnatural catchlight in the eyes that screams "I took this at my desk."

A clean background. Solid colors, simple gradients, or slightly blurred office environments. Not your kitchen. Not a bar. Not a selfie crop where someone's arm is still visible at the edge.

Sharp focus on the eyes. The eyes are where people look first. If they're soft, the whole image feels amateur.

Appropriate framing. Head and top of shoulders. Not a full body shot cropped down. Not so tight that your forehead is cut off.

A natural expression. Not a forced corporate smile. Not a stone face. Something between. The face you'd make greeting someone you respect but haven't met yet.

Professional Headshot Examples by Industry

1. Corporate / Finance

The expectation here is polished and traditional. Dark suit, solid tie (for men), neutral blouse or blazer (for women). Background is typically solid gray or navy.

What works: Clean lines, minimal jewelry, hair styled neatly. The expression leans confident and composed rather than warm and approachable. You're managing someone's money. They want to see steadiness. For industry-specific guidance, see our breakdown of financial advisor headshots and what wealth management clients actually judge.

Common mistake: Over-retouching. Skin that looks airbrushed to plastic loses the trust factor immediately.

2. Tech / Startups

More relaxed than finance, but not casual. A button-down without a tie, a clean crew neck, a blazer over a simple top. Backgrounds can be more environmental. An office with natural light, a blurred workspace.

What works: A genuine smile. Tech culture values approachability. The person who looks like they'd be easy to work with on a Slack thread. Slightly more creative angles are acceptable here.

Common mistake: Being too casual. A hoodie and messy hair might work for your Twitter avatar. For your LinkedIn, it reads as not taking the platform seriously.

3. Creative / Design / Marketing

This is where you get the most freedom. Colored backgrounds, environmental shots, slightly off-center framing. Personal style matters here because it signals creative confidence.

What works: Bold color choices in wardrobe or background. A pose that feels natural rather than staged. Personality should come through. If you're a designer, your headshot can reflect your aesthetic sensibility.

Common mistake: Going so creative that it stops reading as professional. A headshot where you're wearing sunglasses or looking away from camera might work for a band promo. Not for a design director's LinkedIn.

4. Legal / Law

Conservative, authoritative, trustworthy. Dark suits are standard. Backgrounds are solid or feature bookshelves (yes, it's a cliche, but it works because the association is immediate).

What works: Direct eye contact, closed-mouth smile or neutral expression. Symmetrical framing. The image should communicate: "I will take your problem seriously."

Common mistake: Looking too stern. There's a line between authoritative and unapproachable. A slight warmth in the eyes goes a long way.

5. Healthcare

Lab coat or professional attire, depending on role. Nurses face unique considerations around scrubs vs. business wear. Clean, bright backgrounds. The expression should communicate both competence and empathy. Patients want to see someone who knows what they're doing and also cares.

What works: Warm but composed smile. Clean, well-lit shot. If wearing a lab coat, it should look crisp, not wrinkled.

Common mistake: Clinical coldness. A headshot that looks like a hospital ID badge photo isn't doing you any favors on a practice website.

6. Real Estate

Realtors live and die by personal branding. The headshot appears on yard signs, business cards, websites, and listing flyers. It needs to project trustworthiness and local expertise.

What works: Bright, warm lighting. A genuine smile. You're inviting someone to make the biggest purchase of their life with you. Professional but approachable wardrobe.

Common mistake: Glamour-shot aesthetics. Heavy makeup, dramatic lighting, or heavily filtered images erode trust. People want to recognize you when you show up at the open house.

7. Actors / Performers

Actor headshots are a different category entirely. They're not about looking professional. They're about looking castable. A good actor headshot captures range and authenticity.

What works: Natural light, minimal retouching, a range of expressions across a set. The best actor headshots make a casting director feel something.

Common mistake: Over-styling. If the headshot looks like a magazine cover, it doesn't look like a person a director can imagine in a role.

8. Teachers / Professors

Educator headshots bridge the gap between corporate polish and personal approachability. Parents, students, and conference organizers all form impressions from that faculty page photo. The best teacher headshots convey warmth and competence without feeling overly corporate.

What works: Solid jewel-tone colors, natural expressions, clean backgrounds that work across school directories and LinkedIn profiles alike.

Common mistake: Going too formal. A power-suit portrait looks out of place on a K-12 school website, and overly casual photos undermine authority on a university department page.

9. Engineers / Tech Workers

Tech headshots reject the corporate mold. The hoodie-to-blazer spectrum is wider here than any other industry, and the right choice depends entirely on your role and company stage.

What works: Clean, well-fitted casual or business casual. Match your actual work environment. A startup CTO and a FAANG engineering director need very different photos.

Common mistake: Defaulting to either extreme. Overdressing in a suit when your whole team wears hoodies, or submitting a webcam screenshot for a VP-level role.

DIY vs. Studio vs. AI: Getting Your Headshot

Professional Photographer

The traditional route. $150-$500 for a session, more in major cities. You get professional lighting, direction, and retouching. The downside: scheduling, travel, cost, and the fact that many people freeze up in front of a camera with a stranger behind it.

Best for: Actors who need a specific look, executives who need maximum polish, anyone with the budget and time.

DIY at Home

Phone cameras are good enough now that you can get a decent headshot at home if you know the basics: window light, clean background, phone at eye level (not below. Nobody needs that angle), and a timer or a friend to tap the shutter.

Best for: Freelancers and consultants on a budget, quick updates, anyone comfortable directing themselves.

AI Headshot Generators

The newest option, and the one that's changed the math for most people. Upload a few selfies, and AI generates studio-quality headshots in minutes. No scheduling, no travel, no awkward posing.

Narkis.ai trains a custom AI model on your face using your selfies, then generates photorealistic headshots in any style. Corporate, creative, casual, or industry-specific. Training takes about 3 minutes. The results are indistinguishable from studio photography, and you get 200 photos for $27.

Best for: Anyone who needs professional headshots fast. People who hate being in front of a camera. Teams that need consistent headshots without coordinating a group photo session. Anyone who wants to test different styles before committing to a look.

What to Avoid in Any Professional Headshot

• Selfie crops. If it started as a selfie, it looks like a selfie. The angle, the arm proximity, the distortion. It all reads immediately.
• Group photo crops. You can always tell. The framing is wrong, the lighting wasn't meant for a single subject, and there's usually a phantom shoulder.
• Filters. No dog ears. No beauty smoothing. No dramatic color grading. These aren't professional. They're distracting.
• Outdated photos. If your headshot is more than 3 years old, or you've significantly changed your appearance, update it. People should recognize you.
• Low resolution. If it's pixelated on LinkedIn's small thumbnail, it's going to look worse everywhere else.

The Bottom Line

A professional headshot isn't vanity. It's a tool. It works for you 24/7, across every platform where your face appears. The examples above show that the specifics vary by industry, but the fundamentals don't: good lighting, clean composition, natural expression, and an image that matches who you actually are.

The barrier to getting one has never been lower. Whether you book a photographer, set up by a window with your phone, or generate AI headshots with Narkis, the only bad option is not having one at all.