I’ve photographed enough Boston attorneys over the past ten years to notice a pattern, and it has nothing to do with wardrobe. Attorneys dress well, every time. What trips people up is that a lot of them walk into a session treating the camera like a deposition: upright, serious, almost arrogant. That instinct serves someone well in a negotiation. In front of a camera, it can work against them.
A headshot isn’t a cross-examination. Nobody’s trying to catch you in something. The photo’s whole job is to make a client or opposing counsel think “I’d want this person on my side,” and that look comes from the eyes and the set of the mouth, not from how straight or rigid someone appears in their image.
Stiffness photographs as defensiveness, not confidence
A locked, closed-off headshot doesn’t read as authoritative. It reads as unreachable. Clients scrolling a firm’s attorney bio page aren’t looking for someone untouchable — they’re looking for someone capable who’d return a phone call. The attorney headshots that work best have a directness in the eyes and a slight ease in the shoulders. That’s not the same thing as smiling. Plenty of strong attorney photos have a completely serious expression. But there’s a real difference between serious and locked, and most people can’t tell which one they’re making until they see it on a screen in front of them.
That’s the actual value of reviewing shots live during a headshot session instead of waiting for a gallery days later. A client can see, in real time, that the expression they think reads as composed is actually reading as defensive, and adjust on the spot. It rarely clicks on the first frame. It usually clicks somewhere around frame ten or fifteen, once the person stops performing “attorney” and starts just relaxing.
A firm’s team page is a consistency problem, not an individual one
The other place Boston law firms consistently miss the mark is treating headshots as a personal expense instead of a firm-wide presentation issue. A team page built from four different photographers, four different backdrops, and four different lighting setups reads as disorganized no matter how sharp any single photo is on its own. This is where an on-location team day solves something individual scheduling can’t. When every attorney is photographed under the same setup — in a conference room at the firm or in my studio — the team page reads as one firm instead of a dozen people who happen to share a floor.
What actually reads as credible downtown
Boston corporate clients — banks, law firms, financial services — want headshots that feel buttoned-up without tipping into stiff, and that’s a narrower target than it sounds. Overcorrecting toward “approachable” can undercut the authority a litigator or a senior partner actually needs in a photo. The fix isn’t splitting the difference between serious and warm. It’s shooting enough frames that a person’s real range shows up, then choosing the one where they look like themselves on a good day in front of a judge or in a deposition — not themselves trying to look like what they think “professional” is supposed to look like.
Wardrobe matters less than the instinct to perform “lawyer”
Solid, muted colors read well on camera: navy, charcoal, deep tones. Most attorneys already know that part. What’s harder to fix is the reflex to arrive already in character. The best attorney headshots I’ve taken didn’t come from the most polished person walking in the door. They came from whoever stopped performing “lawyer” for about twenty seconds and let the camera catch what was actually there on an ordinary day, not a courtroom day.
If there’s one thing worth telling a Boston attorney before a session, it’s that the chin-down, arms-crossed instinct is the thing to actively resist, not lean into. It’s the opposite of what the photo is actually for.
Happy to answer questions if you’re weighing a solo session or trying to figure out how to get a whole team photographed the same way, in the studio or on-site.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should an attorney headshot be serious or smiling?
Either can work. What matters is the difference between serious and locked — a serious expression with engaged eyes reads as credible, while a stiff, guarded one reads as unreachable. The right expression shows up when someone stops performing and relaxes.
How do I know which of my headshots reads best?
Review them live during the session rather than waiting days for a gallery. Seeing the frames in real time lets you catch an expression that feels composed but photographs as defensive, and adjust on the spot.
Should our whole firm use the same photographer?
Yes, if a consistent team page matters to you. Photos from different photographers, backdrops, and lighting setups read as disorganized side by side, no matter how strong each photo is on its own.
Can attorney headshots be done at our office instead of a studio?
Yes. An on-location team day brings the same lighting setup to a conference room at the firm, so the results match studio quality and every attorney is photographed under identical conditions.
What should attorneys wear for a headshot?
Solid, muted colors: navy, charcoal, deep tones. Busy patterns distract from the face, and the face — particularly the eyes — is what the photo is actually selling.
