Black and white headshots

January 2026

Brian Wakeling

Brotography

PedroPulidoPhotography

Helen Moore

Where the art is

deepdivinity

I love how much personality is in this head shot - Mr Glee looks like a great bloke!
Such a genuine smile is nice to see in a portrait like this so well done for getting that out of him.
I like the side lighting. It is not too harsh which might distract if there were overly harsh shadows. Instead the shadows are soft and detail has been left in which is great.

ForMats

Great natural head shot. The shallow depth of field is perfect (and exactly how I like to shoot my head shots) as it really draws you into the eyes.
Love the relaxed look, messy hair and slight smile. His personality really comes across in the picture which is important.

Expert

winner

@MatthewDCrosby

Great photo.
The whole image is very intense. The models stare is enhanced from the lighting, the contrast, and the framing. 
I love how he just fades into the background especially the dark beard. The more I stare into his eyes the more intimidated I feel!!

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1,016 Images entered

conaljones

Tim Phillips

Brief

See more contest details

**This contest is open to photographers ranked between 251 and 1000 in this week’s <a href="https://www.photocrowd.com/photographer-community/">Leaderboard</a>.** If you have an aspiring actor as a friend, there’s every chance you’ve been asked to shoot a black and white headshot. A focus on the face, stripped of colour, and presumably seen to be offering a kind of objective rendering of the person’s likeness, against which each can be judged against the other? Black and white headshots can still be bursting with creativity though. The expression, the direction of the head, and the eyes, the backdrop, the hair, there are still a lot of variables to play with, and the act of shooting someone’s headshot can be a great interaction between sitter and snapper.