What Is Facial Expression Coaching for Professional Headshots?
What Is Facial Expression Coaching for Professional Headshots?
Most people assume a great headshot comes down to lighting, wardrobe, or finding the right angle. Those things matter, but they aren’t what determine whether someone looks confident, approachable, and authentic in a professional photo. What actually makes the difference is facial expression coaching.
What Facial Expression Coaching Really Means
Facial expression coaching is the process of guiding someone into a natural, confident presence on camera, rather than asking them to pose or force a smile. At Chicago High-End Headshots, this coaching is guided by our proprietary C.A.P. Expression Method™, which focuses on three visual pillars:
Confidence – how certainty shows up in the eyes and facial tension
Approachability – how open and grounded someone feels at first glance
Presence – how calm, capable, and attentive someone appears
Rather than telling clients what to do with their face, the method helps them embody these traits so they register naturally on camera.
This isn’t acting. It’s alignment.
Why Most Professionals Struggle in Headshots
Highly capable professionals often struggle in photos because they are:
Self-aware, not insecure
Used to thinking, not performing
Trying to “get it right”
Without guidance, that effort shows up as:
Tight expressions
Over-smiling or blank faces
Eyes that feel uncertain or disconnected
The camera captures tension instead of presence.
How Facial Expression Coaching Changes the Outcome
When coaching is present, several things shift almost immediately:
The eyes settle … Confidence lives in the eyes. Coaching prevents expressions that read strained, overly wide, or disengaged.
The face relaxes naturally … As tension drops, expressions become believable — not posed.
Presence replaces posing … Clients stop “holding a look” and start showing up.
Approachability feels genuine … Not friendly-for-the-camera — but open, grounded, and trustworthy.
This is often the moment clients say: “That actually looks like me, on a really good day.”
Why This Matters for Professionals and Leaders
Your headshot is often the first interaction someone has with you. Before reading credentials, people subconsciously ask:
Do I trust this person?
Do they feel confident?
Do they feel approachable?
Do they feel authentic?
Facial expression coaching directly influences those answers. For many professionals, this image becomes part of their bio, website, or leadership profile; which is why a guided approach is built into every individual headshot session at our studio.
What a Coached Headshot Session Feels Like
Instead of silence and snapping photos:
You’re guided moment by moment
You receive real-time feedback
You see images as you go and adjust naturally
The session feels collaborative, not performative
What Happens During a Coached Professional Headshot Session
Is Facial Expression Coaching for Everyone?
It’s especially valuable for:
Executives and senior leaders
Professionals who dislike being photographed
People who want their image to align with who they truly are
Anyone whose headshot represents more than a profile picture
Final Thought
A great headshot doesn’t come from looking perfect. It comes from looking present, confident, and genuinely yourself. That’s what facial expression coaching, and the C.A.P. Expression Method™ is designed to do.
Learn what a coached headshot experience feels like … step by step.
David McNaney is the founder and lead photographer at Chicago High-End Headshots, where he helps professionals show up as their most confident, competent, and authentic selves through expression coaching and modern, high-end imagery.
But beyond the camera, David is a husband, father, and mental health advocate. He believes in showing up fully for his clients, his family, and anyone who might need a little extra belief in themselves. Whether he’s guiding a client through a vulnerable on-camera moment or supporting his daughters in their bold, compassionate journeys, David is driven by a quiet mission: coaching people into a more empowered version of how they see themselves, and how they’re seen.
He’s not just building a photography business. He’s trying to make a small, meaningful dent in the universe; for good.
