Standard corporate on grey
Corporate headshot, 105mm. A woman in her forties in a plain navy blazer against a seamless mid-grey backdrop rendered about one stop darker than her skin, so she separates cleanly without a rim light. Lit by one large softbox at forty-five degrees to camera left and slightly above, with a white reflector on the right opening the shadow to about one stop down. Head and shoulders, square to camera, warm natural half-smile. Real skin texture with visible pores and one small mole, slight asymmetry in the eyes, a collar sitting fractionally crooked. Fine grain, 4:5.
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Chef in her own kitchen
Environmental headshot, 85mm at f2. A chef in her forties in a white jacket stands in her own working kitchen, sharply focused, while the pass, the shelving and the hanging pans behind her fall into soft out-of-focus shapes that are still clearly a kitchen. Lit by the kitchen's own overhead lights plus a small softbox from camera right to lift her face. Waist up, turned slightly, looking directly at the lens. Real skin texture, a burn scar on the forearm, damp hair at the temple, jacket slightly stained. Fine grain, 3:4.
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High key on pure white
High key headshot, 105mm. A woman in her fifties in a pale blue shirt against a pure white background that is lit by its own pair of lights so it renders as clean white rather than grey, while she is lit separately by two large softboxes at forty-five degrees either side of camera. The result is bright and almost shadowless with a light wrap around the jaw. Head and shoulders, warm open expression. Real skin texture still visible despite the brightness, fine hair separating against the white, a slightly uneven fringe. Fine grain, 4:5.
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Rim light on a dark ground
Headshot on a dark background with separation, 135mm. A woman in her forties in a black polo neck against a near-black backdrop, lit by one softbox from camera right as the key, plus a narrow gridded strip light behind and to the left that lays a thin bright edge down her left shoulder, jaw and the outer strands of her hair, and nothing on the right side. Head and shoulders, chin slightly down, direct gaze. Real skin texture, a few silver hairs picked out by the rim, subtle collarbone definition. Fine grain, 4:5.
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Academic among her books
Environmental headshot, 85mm at f2.5. A woman in her sixties stands in front of her own crowded office bookshelves, which run away from the camera at a slight angle rather than square on, so the space reads as a real room. Books are out of focus but clearly books, with papers stacked horizontally on two shelves. Lit by a desk lamp out of frame at camera right plus soft window light behind the camera. Waist up, arms loose, wry expression. Real skin texture, reading glasses pushed up into grey hair, a cardigan sleeve pushed back. Fine grain, 3:4.
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Cellist with her instrument
Headshot with an instrument, 85mm, square. A cellist in her thirties sits with the neck and scroll of her cello crossing the frame diagonally beside her, the body of the instrument running out of the bottom of the picture so it never competes with her face. Lit by one large softbox from camera right and a reflector on the left. Deep warm grey backdrop. Head and shoulders, one hand on the strings, looking directly at the lens. Real skin texture, calluses on the fingertips, varnish sheen on the instrument. Fine grain, 1:1.
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Short light on a dark ground
Executive headshot, 135mm. A man in his fifties in a charcoal suit and open collar, turned three-quarters to camera, lit by one gridded softbox placed on the far side of his face, so the cheek turned away from the lens is the lit one and the nearer cheek falls into shadow. Deep charcoal background almost three stops down. Minimal fill, one small reflector below the chin. Head and shoulders, slight downward camera angle. Real skin texture, grey stubble, deep lines at the eyes, one raised vein at the temple. Fine grain, 4:5.
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Loop shadow beside the nose
Headshot lit in a classic loop pattern, 105mm. A man in his sixties in a soft grey jumper, lit by one softbox placed about thirty degrees to camera left and slightly above eye level, producing a small oval shadow beside and below the nose that stays clearly separated from the shadow on the cheek. A reflector below fills to two stops. Mid-blue seamless backdrop. Head and shoulders, slight turn, gentle expression. Real skin texture, deep laugh lines, thinning hair with individual strands catching the light. Fine grain, 4:5.
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Author portrait in monochrome
Black and white author headshot, 105mm. A man in his fifties in a worn corduroy jacket, photographed against a plain background rendered as a mid grey roughly two stops below his skin, so he separates by tone alone. Lit by one large soft source from camera left with the shadow side falling about two and a half stops down but holding full detail. Head and shoulders, one hand at the chin, thoughtful rather than smiling. Coarse visible grain in the mid tones, deep skin texture, unruly eyebrows, corduroy wale clearly resolved, 4:5.
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Four of a team, one set-up
A team headshot sheet, square, laid out as four portraits in a two by two grid with even white gutters. All four are shot with the identical set-up: 105mm, the same softbox at forty-five degrees to camera left, the same reflector, the same mid-grey backdrop, the same head and shoulders crop and the same eye height in the frame. Only the people differ, four colleagues of different ages, builds and skin tones, each with their own natural expression. Real skin texture on every face, consistent colour and grain across all four, 1:1.
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Identification photograph
Identification photograph taken to strict requirements, 85mm. A woman in her thirties faces the camera absolutely square on with a completely neutral expression, mouth closed, both ears visible, eyes open and looking straight down the lens. Lit by two matched sources either side of the camera so the face is evenly lit with no shadow on the face and no shadow cast onto the background. Plain light grey background, uniform across the whole frame. Head centred with even space either side, the crown a little below the top edge. No glasses, no head covering, no smile. Real skin texture, no retouching, 4:5.
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Neutral face, teal background
Headshot with a coloured background, 105mm. A man in his twenties in a plain white t-shirt is lit entirely with neutral daylight-balanced light from one softbox at camera left plus a reflector, so his skin renders completely naturally. Behind him, a separate gridded light with a deep teal gel lights the grey backdrop only, so the colour appears nowhere on his face, hair or shoulders. Head and shoulders, slight turn, relaxed. Real skin texture, freckles across the nose, a small ear piercing. Clean edge between subject and coloured ground, fine grain, 4:5.
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Backlit at an office window
Headshot against a bright window, 85mm. A woman in her thirties stands with a large office window directly behind her, and the exposure is set for her face so the view outside blows out to clean featureless white, which is accepted rather than corrected. A large softbox just off camera left lights her to match, and the window edge behind gives a soft halo through her hair. Head and shoulders, slight turn, warm expression. Real skin texture, fine hairs glowing against the white, a slightly rumpled collar. Fine grain, 3:4.
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Square crop for a profile picture
Headshot composed for a square profile picture, 85mm. A man in his thirties in a plain white shirt against a clean bright white background, with his head placed slightly above the centre of the frame and the crop leaving even space at both sides, so that a circular mask would still frame him correctly. Lit by two large softboxes at forty-five degrees on either side plus a lit background, giving even shadowless light. Head and shoulders, open genuine smile. Real skin texture, slight stubble shadow, one asymmetric dimple. Fine grain, 1:1.
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Actor headshot in window light
Actor headshot, 85mm. A woman in her twenties in a plain black t-shirt against a warm off-white wall, lit only by a large north-facing window at camera left, which gives soft directional light with a gentle falloff across the face. No fill, no reflector. Head and shoulders, square on, direct eye contact, expression open and deliberately unloaded rather than smiling or serious. Hair down and not styled. Real skin texture with visible pores, one small scar through an eyebrow, faint under-eye shadow left in. Shallow depth of field, fine grain, 4:5.
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Banner crop with space at right
Headshot composed for a wide banner, 85mm. A woman in her thirties in a rust-coloured knit is placed in the left third of a wide frame, turned slightly towards the right so she is looking into the large empty area of plain warm grey backdrop that fills the rest of the picture. Lit by one large softbox from camera left with a subtle fill. Head and shoulders, calm expression, direct gaze just past the lens. Real skin texture, fine flyaway hairs against the backdrop, an ear slightly higher than the other. Fine grain, 16:9.
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Open shade beside a building
Outdoor headshot in open shade, 85mm. A man in his thirties stands just inside the shadow line beside a pale rendered building, out of direct sun but facing a large sunlit wall opposite which acts as a huge soft reflector and fills his face evenly with one broad catchlight in each eye. The street behind him is thrown well out of focus. Head and shoulders, arms folded, relaxed half-smile. Real skin texture, day-old stubble, slight sunburn across the nose, hair moving in a light breeze. Shallow depth of field, fine grain, 3:4.
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Electrician on site
On-site headshot, 85mm. An electrician in his forties photographed on a half-finished building site in genuinely worn workwear: a jacket rubbed pale at the elbows, a dusty high-visibility vest, and hands with ingrained dirt around the nails. Lit by flat overcast daylight with a small reflector bringing his eyes up. Behind him, stud walls and cable drums fall out of focus. Head and shoulders, turned slightly, direct steady gaze. Real skin texture, brick dust in the stubble, a plaster on one finger. Fine grain, 4:5.
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Cropped through the hairline
Tight headshot, 135mm, cropped deliberately close so the top of the head is outside the frame and the crop passes through the hairline above the brow, with the chin near the lower edge. The eyes sit roughly a third down. A man in his thirties, lit by one large soft source from camera left with a subtle fill on the right. Plain dark olive backdrop. Direct and unsmiling. Real skin texture with visible pores and a shaving nick on the jaw, individual eyebrow hairs resolved, slight asymmetry between the eyes. Shallow depth of field on the ears, fine grain, 4:5.
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Eighty years of weather
Character headshot, 105mm, deliberately unretouched. A man in his eighties who has worked outdoors all his life, photographed against a plain dark brown ground, lit by one large soft source from camera left that rakes gently across the skin to show every line, sun spot, broken capillary and deep furrow. No smoothing of any kind, no reduction of blemishes, no whitening of the eyes. Head and shoulders, direct gaze, mouth closed. Real thinning hair with the scalp visible, ears with visible hair, clouded rings in the irises. Fine grain, 4:5.
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