When is the best time to book a natural light headshot in the winter?

Natural light or Composed light, when is the best time? 

When you're booking your headshot appointment you may be concerned with client meetings, traffic, or even a hair appointment. Your main focus for work may be meeting client needs and connecting with your audience not necessarily when the sun sets. In the winter using natural light can be tricky. Daylight savings can mean sunsets are at 4:30pm and when the sun is lower in the sky just a softer light in general. While this may be an obstacle for scheduling, it doesn't mean a less impactful headshot. 

So you have to book a headshot in the dead of winter, you want to look casual and use natural light for your business portrait, so when is the best time to book? Honestly, the earlier the better. 10am to two hours before sunset is your window. This means that if the sun is predicted to set at 4:45pm you want to schedule your appointment before 2:45pm to ensure appropriate lighting. 

Both the the images below were taken in January of 2022. The left image was taken at 11:30am and the right image was taken at 4pm. Can you see the difference? The image on the left is a lot brighter, while the image on the right has harder shadows and a more dramatic look. Both make for a great portrait so it really is going to come down to what is the right vibe for your audience. If you need to schedule later in the day, additional lighting may be used to create your headshot. 

We work hard to create an image of you that engages your online audience and can help boost your social media and personal websites. Casual, classic or dramatic work can all be sorted out by the time of day you'd like to be photographed and if you want to use natural light only or have some additional light used for your appointment. 

Below are the composed light images from the same sessions. They have a different look and feel from the natural light images but are equally dramatic. Composed light images can be great for a traditional look and feel for your headshot. Which lighting style do you find most engaging? We look forward to creating a custom portrait session for your business headshot or even your dating profiles.