What Makes Our Headshot Lighting Different?

Why I'm Obsessed With Lighting

Look, I'll be honest with you. I can geek out about lighting for hours. My friends have learned to never ask me about it at parties unless they want a 45-minute explanation of inverse square law and why softboxes matter. But here's the thing—lighting is genuinely what separates a mediocre headshot from one that makes you stop scrolling.

You know that feeling when you see someone's headshot on LinkedIn and you immediately think "this person has their act together"? Nine times out of ten, that's lighting doing the heavy lifting. Not the camera, not even the photographer's ability to make you smile—it's how the light hits your face.

The Minnesota Light Problem

Here in Minneapolis, we deal with something photographers in other places don't have to talk about: our light changes dramatically throughout the year. Summer light is gorgeous and warm and makes everyone look healthy and vibrant. Come December? Everything shifts to this cold, blue cast—especially when you're shooting near windows with light bouncing in from the snow covered ground outside.

This matters more than you'd think. If your company photographs five executives in June and ten more in January, those headshots can look like they're from different companies entirely if you're relying on natural light. The color temperature is different, the quality is different, the whole vibe shifts.

That's the first reason I switched to artificial lighting years ago. Consistency isn't sexy to talk about, but your marketing team will thank you when every headshot on your website looks cohesive.

What Most Photographers Get Wrong

I see this constantly at corporate events: photographers show up with a speedlight on their camera, bounce it off a wall or ceiling, and call it good enough. Or worse, they just use whatever fluorescent lights are already in the conference room.

Here's what happens with those approaches. Overhead fluorescents create shadows under your eyes and make everyone look tired. Bounced flash gives you inconsistent results depending on the wall color and ceiling height. And both approaches mean you're basically guessing what the photo will look like until after you take it.

The other mistake? Using the exact same lighting for everyone. A 22-year-old tech startup founder needs different lighting than a 55-year-old law firm partner. Different faces, different stories, different lighting.

Why I Use Constant Lights (And You Should Care)

About three years ago, I made a switch that changed everything: I stopped using flashes and moved to constant LED lights. Let me tell you why this matters for you.

With flash, here's what happens: you get into position, I make some adjustments, you finally relax into a natural expression, and then—FLASH—the light pops and startles you. Your expression changes. Your eyes close for a split second. We have to do it again. It's like trying to catch lightning in a bottle.

With constant lights, what you see is what you get. Before I ever press the shutter, I can see exactly how you look. More importantly, YOU can see how you look on the monitor. If something's not working, we fix it right then. No surprises, no waiting to find out if we got the shot.

There's also a physiological thing happening that most people don't know about. Constant light makes your pupils constrict a bit, which means more of your iris shows. Your iris is where all the color and detail is—it's what makes your eyes interesting. Bigger iris = more expressive eyes. It's that simple.

The Peter Hurley Setup (And Why It's Worth the Trouble)

I learned my main lighting technique from Peter Hurley, who's probably photographed more Fortune 500 CEOs than anyone else alive. His approach requires three lights set at very specific angles and intensities relative to each other. I'm talking precise—like, move the light two inches and the whole thing falls apart.

Most photographers have heard of his technique. Some have even watched his tutorials. But very few actually use it because it's finicky to set up and requires all three lights to be perfectly balanced. I spent probably six months practicing before I felt like I really had it dialed in.

Why bother with all that effort? Because the results are undeniable. The light wraps around faces in this really flattering way that minimizes every problem area—double chins, uneven skin, asymmetry—without looking retouched. And your eyes? They just pop with the life and energy that comes through.

I've had clients literally tear up when they see their photos. Not because I made them look like someone else, but because they finally saw themselves the way they actually are on their best day.

The Sarah Moment

Last year at a corporate event Sarah walked up to my setup looking like she was walking to the guillotine. She told me straight up: "I hate having my photo taken. I always look terrible."

We chatted for a bit while I got her positioned. Her hands were clenched. Her eyes were looking at everything like it was all a threat, so I showed her the first test shot on my monitor to let her see what I was seeing. Her whole face changed. "Wait, is that really me?"

I took about ten shots an then brought her over to the computer to show her the initial results. She covered her mouth. "I have never—and I mean NEVER—looked that good in a picture."

Here's the thing: I hear some version of that story at least once a month. It's not magic, and it's not Photoshop. It's just knowing how to light in order to give every possible advantage to the faces in front of my camera.

What This Means for Your Headshots

When you book headshots with Excalibur Portraits—whether it's in our Minneapolis studio or at your office—we're not just showing up with a camera and a light. We're bringing a system that I've spent years refining. We're asking questions about your brand, your industry, what impression you need to make.

A biotech CEO needs different lighting than a creative director at an ad agency. A securities attorney needs a different look than a motivational speaker. We adjust our approach based on who you are and what your headshot needs to accomplish.

And because we're using constant lights with a proven technique, you'll get consistent results whether we photograph you on a sunny Tuesday in July or a gray Monday in February. Your headshots will look like they belong together, which matters more than most people realize when building a professional brand.

If you've been putting off getting new headshots because past experiences were awkward or disappointing, I get it. But I'd love to show you what professional lighting—the kind that's actually designed for headshots, not just borrowed from wedding photography or adapted from whatever lights someone had lying around—can do.

Book a session and let's make something you'll actually be excited to use.

By Dan Mutterer, Minneapolis Headshot Photographer | Excalibur Portraits