Should men smile for headshots?

A slight, genuine smile usually outperforms the stern default, and it reads as engaged and at ease at the sizes profiles actually display. The target is the expression you'd wear meeting someone you respect, and the session captures a directed range from composed to full smile so you can match the image to where it's going.

What should a guy wear for a headshot?

Start with the colors you look best in. A fitted blazer or suit over a solid shirt is a reliable base; whether you wear a tie depends on your industry. Avoid busy patterns and logos, and bring a second look so one session covers both your formal and open-collar registers. A wardrobe guide goes out before every session, and you're welcome to text me photos beforehand.

How do I not look awkward in headshots?

Get directed. Awkward headshots come from being left alone in front of a camera, not from your face. Posture, jaw, and expression are coached frame by frame here, with on-screen review so you watch the awkwardness leave the images in real time. Most guys who think they're bad on camera have just never had anyone tell them what to do.

Should I shave or trim my beard before a headshot?

Keep whatever facial hair is normal for you, because the photo should match the person who shows up. Clean up the lines the day before, and if you're undecided about the beard, come in with it: we'll shoot a few frames, then break out the razor partway through and get the clean-shaven version too. You can't un-shave on set.

How often should men update their headshots?

Every 18 to 24 months, or after a visible change: new glasses, significant weight change, beard on or off, a career pivot. The rule isn't the calendar, it's the mirror: if people who know your photo do a double-take when they meet you, it's overdue.

Should I wear my glasses?

If you wear them every day, lean toward yes, because the photo should look like the guy who actually walks into the room. The fork is glare versus recognizability, and the easy answer is we shoot both, since it's a thirty-second change. What I'd steer you away from is going without them because you think you look better that way when you never actually take them off.

Do you photograph in studio or at my office?

Individual sessions run in the West Loop studio at 212 N. Sangamon Street, parking nearby, dressing area on site. On-location office sessions are available, and for a whole team that's a different setup with its own logistics, so head to our team and group headshots page.

CHICAGO
HEADSHOTS
forMEN

Professional headshots for men across Chicago: LinkedIn, company bios, speaking pages, and everywhere else your face is doing business before you arrive.

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Professional headshots for men in Chicago are directed studio sessions producing images for LinkedIn, company bios, press, and professional profiles. The session fee is $500 and includes wardrobe guidance, multiple looks, coached posing, and a private online gallery; individual images are $250 each, fully retouched and licensed for unlimited promotional use. 312 Elements is led by photographer Michael Schacht, who has photographed 10,000+ people over 16 years, photographing executives, founders, brokers, attorneys, and professionals across every Chicago industry.

See pricing and book a session at session pricing and booking.

Most men hate being photographed. The session is built for that.

The majority of men who walk into the studio say some version of the exact same sentence before we even start: I don't photograph well, just so you know. And I'll let you in on something that should take the pressure off: almost none of them are right. I'd put myself on that list too, honestly. Drop me in front of someone else's camera with no direction and I'll give you the same stiff, slightly pained half-smile everybody does, the one that reads like a DMV photo with better lighting. It isn't your face that's the problem. It's that nobody has ever actually told you what to do with it. So these sessions never leave you alone for a second, because being left alone is exactly where bad headshots come from. Posture, shoulders, where your weight goes, what the jaw is doing, the precise amount of smile, all of it gets coached frame by frame, and the images come up on the screen as we shoot so you watch yourself get better in real time instead of driving home and just hoping it worked. Most guys who are sure they're hopeless on camera loosen up about ten minutes in, once the first genuinely good frame lands and they realize the whole thing was just direction all along. What you leave with reads the way a first professional impression should: capable, current, and actually at ease. You on a good day, which is the only version worth printing.

The guys who usually end up in the chair

Almost nobody books a headshot at random. There's usually a reason, a thing that changed or a photo that finally got too old to keep using, and that reason quietly shapes what the picture needs to do. Here are the ones I see most, and odds are one of them is you.

The Decade-Old Photo

The headshot floating around out there is two jobs and a different haircut ago, and every time it loads next to your name you wince a little. This is the single most common reason guys book a new headshot, by a mile, and there's no shame in it, life got busy. We make a current professional portrait that matches the guy who actually shows up to the meeting, so the old photo stops quietly working against you.

The Job Hunt

You're interviewing, and recruiters and hiring managers will look you up before they ever shake your hand, usually starting with your LinkedIn headshot. The job here is simple: look sharp, current, and like someone they'd want in the room, without trying so hard that it reads as trying hard. We build a clean, confident headshot that holds up next to anybody else in the candidate pool.

Newly in Charge

You got promoted, the title leveled up, and the headshot didn't come along for the ride. There's a quiet gap now between how senior you actually are and how senior you read, and people calibrate off the photo before they ever meet you. We shoot an executive headshot that matches the new seat, without making you look like you're posing as somebody you're not.

Founder & Face of the Business

You started the thing, which means for a while you are the thing, on the website, the pitch deck, the about page. This is where headshots blur into personal branding for men: the portrait has to carry the company's credibility and still look like a real person someone would want to work with. Polished or scrappy is a genuine choice, and we make it on purpose, building a small set of branding photos instead of one generic corporate shot.

Allergic to Cameras

You genuinely dislike being photographed, you've dodged it for years, and you're only here because you finally need a usable headshot. This is honestly my favorite kind of photoshoot to run. The entire session is built around the fact that you've never really been directed, and most guys in this camp walk out a little stunned that they actually like a portrait of themselves.

Your First Headshot

Maybe you've never had a professional photoshoot at all, and the whole thing feels a little foreign. Deep breath. You don't need experience, you don't need to know your angles, and you definitely don't need to figure out what to do with your hands. That part is on me. We talk first, I direct the whole way through, and you leave with a first headshot that finally looks like you.

How sessions work

1
Context and wardrobe
A short conversation about your industry and where the images will live, followed by wardrobe guidance: what photographs well in the colors you look best in, when a tie helps versus hurts, and what to bring for a second look. Text me photos of what you're considering and I'll weigh in before you pack.
2
The session
Studio session with multiple looks and backgrounds, directed frame by frame. Images come up on screen as we shoot, so you see exactly what's working, and leave knowing the keepers are already in the set.
3
Delivery
Your private online gallery arrives about a week later, and you choose the images you want at $250 each. Every image you purchase comes fully retouched, with LinkedIn-ready square crops plus wider frames for bio pages and press, delivered in web and print resolution with an unlimited promotional-use license.

What Chicago professionals say

I've sat for professional headshots more times than I can count, and the experience is almost always the same — someone telling you to tilt your chin and give them 'confident but approachable,' as if you can manufacture a genuine expression on command. What I walked away with from those sessions always looked technically correct and completely hollow. This was different.

Robert C.

Chief Executive Officer

I was finishing my MBA and entering recruiting for management consulting — an industry where how you present yourself is scrutinized by people who have seen thousands of headshots. I didn't want the same photo that comes out of every business school's career services session. Michael understood the specific visual language those environments respond to.

Adrian C.

MBA Candidate

As the public face of an organization that works hard to avoid looking like it misuses resources, I needed headshots that were clearly professional without appearing extravagant — a narrow target. The images came out warm and accessible, appropriate for our annual report, grant proposals, and the media appearances I do.

Harrison W.

Executive Director

Read more in our full collection of client reviews.

What's included, and what images cost

A $500 session fee covering the directed shoot: multiple looks and backgrounds, with unlimited wardrobe changes and session time
Pre-session wardrobe guidance, with a steamer and dressing area at the studio
Coached posing and expression, so you're never left to guess in front of the camera
A private online proofing gallery, delivered about a week later, to choose your images from
Images purchased individually at $250 each: honestly retouched, licensed for unlimited promotional use, and delivered in web and high-resolution print files

How much do men's headshots cost in Chicago?

It's complicated. There's a photographer at every price point, from volume mini-sessions to full directed sittings, usually depending on how many final images you're buying. Honestly, it might be the wrong question. A headshot is one of the few purchases where the price tag tells you less than the booking rate, and the cheap one that doesn't get used costs more than the good one that does. Here the model is simple: a $500 session fee covers the directed shoot (multiple looks, frame-by-frame direction) and a private online gallery, and images are $250 each, honestly retouched and licensed. You pay for the session once and buy exactly the images you need. Full details are on the pricing page.

By the numbers

16+ years: photographing Chicago professionals at every career stage
10,000+ people: photographed: CEOs, brokers, founders, and the careers in between
$500: session fee, with individual images at $250 each
1 week: delivery for your private online proofing gallery

Frequently asked questions

Should men smile for headshots?: A slight, genuine smile usually outperforms the stern default, and it reads as engaged and at ease at the sizes profiles actually display. The target is the expression you'd wear meeting someone you respect, and the session captures a directed range from composed to full smile so you can match the image to where it's going.
What should a guy wear for a headshot?: Start with the colors you look best in. A fitted blazer or suit over a solid shirt is a reliable base; whether you wear a tie depends on your industry. Avoid busy patterns and logos, and bring a second look so one session covers both your formal and open-collar registers. A wardrobe guide goes out before every session, and you're welcome to text me photos beforehand.
How do I not look awkward in headshots?: Get directed. Awkward headshots come from being left alone in front of a camera, not from your face. Posture, jaw, and expression are coached frame by frame here, with on-screen review so you watch the awkwardness leave the images in real time. Most guys who think they're bad on camera have just never had anyone tell them what to do.
Should I shave or trim my beard before a headshot?: Keep whatever facial hair is normal for you, because the photo should match the person who shows up. Clean up the lines the day before, and if you're undecided about the beard, come in with it: we'll shoot a few frames, then break out the razor partway through and get the clean-shaven version too. You can't un-shave on set.
How often should men update their headshots?: Every 18 to 24 months, or after a visible change: new glasses, significant weight change, beard on or off, a career pivot. The rule isn't the calendar, it's the mirror: if people who know your photo do a double-take when they meet you, it's overdue.
Should I wear my glasses?: If you wear them every day, lean toward yes, because the photo should look like the guy who actually walks into the room. The fork is glare versus recognizability, and the easy answer is we shoot both, since it's a thirty-second change. What I'd steer you away from is going without them because you think you look better that way when you never actually take them off.
Do you photograph in studio or at my office?: Individual sessions run in the West Loop studio at 212 N. Sangamon Street, parking nearby, dressing area on site. On-location office sessions are available, and for a whole team that's a different setup with its own logistics, so head to our team and group headshots page.

Explore other Chicago headshot services

Ready for a photo that works as hard as you do?

The session fee is $500 with multiple looks and full direction, plus a private online gallery; images are $250 each. See pricing and grab a session date.