Best Backdrop Colours to Use for your Next Professional Headshot

Written By Daniela Hernandez

When selecting the best backdrop colour for your headshot, start by asking yourself these two questions:

  1. What do you want the headshots to communicate?

  2. Where will the headshot photos be used? (LinkedIn, corporate website, acting portfolio, personal brand, etc.).

Once you’ve established the goal and purpose of the photos, you can continue reading and see if my personal backdrop colour recommendations, based on my experience as a professional photographer in Edmonton, Alberta, resonate with what you’re looking for.

One of the Best Choice of Backdrop Colours is Light Grey

Headshot photography Edmonton by Edmonton headshot photographer. Best headshot photos for Linkedin, businesses, brand photography.

Here is an example of a headshot using a light grey backdrop. The light grey backdrops are my most popular backdrops for standard professional photos.


Light grey is very versatile, professional, and it will not overpower the subject.

In my opinion, it is one of the best backdrops to use for LinkedIn, business websites, and corporate profiles, especially if you’re looking for a minimal, sophisticated clean look. In colour psychology, it is associated with balance, sophistication, neutrality and simplicity.


Another Classic Option for Backdrop Colours is White

A white backdrop adds a lot of positive space to an image, making the image feel light, airy, and easy to look at.

White is a very neutral colour that generally will not clash with the subject or with what the person is wearing. It is a great colour to use especially if you work in healthcare, beauty, tech, creative industries, etc. It truly is a blank canvas that makes the headshot feel bright, fresh, and minimalist.


If you’re Looking for Colour, I Recommend Using Blue as your Headshot Backdrop Colour

Best headshot photography in Edmonton by Edmonton Headshot Photographer. The headshot is perfect for LinkedIn, business websites, branding photoshoots in Edmonton, etc.

A blue backdrop can be used for your headshots. Inn this case to make it slightly more artistic, we lit a white backdrop using a blue light and allowed for some of that coloured light to spill on the subject.

Blue is the perfect colour to use if you want the photo to look clean and professional, but you don’t want neutral greys or whites in the background.

Blue is also associated with calmness, intelligence, and stability, all of which are great qualities to be associated with in a professional headshot. When we look at colour theory, we also notice that blue is orange’s complimentary colour. This means that having a blue background will naturally bring out the oranges in the skin tones, as opposed to the reds or yellows hues we tend to avoid. Bringing out the subtle orange colours in a person’s skin tone can make the person look more vibrant and glowy, all of which are desirable traits.

Daniela Hernandez