Shoot Professional Headshots on a Moving Bus or Train

Grab the Right Seat Before You Board

Your shoot starts before the bus pulls out. Walk to the back. The last row of seats, facing forward, is your gold mine. You get a stable wall behind you, not a jiggling aisle. More crucially, you see every window on both sides of the vehicle for the entire trip, giving you options as light changes. If you can't get the back, aim for a window seat directly over the wheels. That’s the pivot point; you’ll experience less side-to-side sway than in the middle of the bus or train car. I once shot a lawyer’s headshot from a middle seat on a commuter train—every time we hit a switch, his shoulders became a blur. Never again.

Set Your Camera for a Moving Window

Forget auto mode. Here are your numbers. Set your shutter speed to at least 1/500th of a second. The world is whizzing by; you need to freeze both your subject’s micro-expressions and the streaking background. Open your aperture wide—f/2.8 or f/4 is perfect. This isolates your subject and lets in more light for that fast shutter. Let your ISO float on auto, but cap it at 1600 to avoid grain. Use single-point autofocus, not zone or tracking. Place that focus point squarely on your subject’s nearest eye and hold it there. A quick trick: set your camera to continuous high-speed drive mode. You’re not spraying and praying; you’re capturing a series of micro-expressions between bumps.

Angle Your Body to Catch Steady Light

Don’t just face the window. Turn your subject’s shoulders at a 45-degree angle to it. This creates dimension on their face—one side brighter, one softly shaded—instead of flat, direct light. Now, watch the scenery. You want a consistent background, not a chaotic mix of trees, buildings, and fences. Open sky or a long, uniform wall makes the best backdrop. When you see one approaching, get ready. Tell your subject, "Okay, great light in three seconds... and go." Shoot in bursts of three or four frames as you pass that clean background. The light will be steady for those two seconds, and your fast shutter will keep it sharp.

Avoid the Glare and Shadow Trap

Windows are terrible mirrors. Your subject’s reflection will haunt the shot if you’re not careful. Have them press their head gently against the glass. This eliminates the gap where the interior of the vehicle reflects. Wear dark, solid-colored clothing—a black sweater kills reflections better than a patterned blouse. Next, watch for harsh shadows. The sun can slice across the face as you turn corners. If a sharp shadow cuts across the eyes or nose, simply have your subject tilt their chin up or down an inch. That tiny adjustment often moves the shadow off critical features. I keep a black scarf in my bag; draping it over the seat back beside the window can block interior reflections the glass can’t.

Review and Select Your Sharpest Frames

On the ride back, zoom in. Don’t just glance at thumbnails. Pinch-to-zoom on the eyes on your camera’s LCD. Is the eyelash sharp? Is the catch-light in the eye a clean shape, or a smeared blur? Delete anything where the focus is on the ear or the window frame. You’re looking for two things: technical sharpness and genuine expression. You might get 300 shots in a 20-minute ride. Your goal is to find the 15 where the light was right, the background was clean, and your subject’s smile reached their eyes just as you hit a smooth patch of track. Those are the keepers.

Shooting in motion forces you to work with what you’re given—a fleeting patch of light, a three-second window of clean background. It teaches you to see faster and react precisely. Next time you’re commuting, try it with a friend. You’ll learn more about light and timing in that one trip than in three studio sessions.