Medical Residency Application Photos — Get a Great ERAS Headshot

Every September, medical students across the country submit residency applications through ERAS. The application requires a photo, and that photo gets seen by every program you apply to. It’s not the most important part of your application — your scores, evaluations, and letters matter much more — but it’s a part you can completely control. So you might as well get it right.

I’ve been photographing medical students for residency applications for years, and the doctors I shot in 2018, 2020, and 2022 are now established in their specialties. Most of my ERAS clients come from Johns Hopkins and University of Maryland, with a steady contingent from George Washington and other DC-area programs.

What ERAS requires (and why most photos fail)

The ERAS technical requirements are straightforward: a recent professional headshot, color, with the subject facing forward, in business attire, against a neutral background. The image needs to be properly sized and formatted.

What ERAS doesn’t tell you is what makes a good ERAS photo. Most of the photos that get submitted are some combination of: too dark, awkwardly cropped, weirdly lit, with a stiff or anxious expression, or from a friend’s phone in a hallway. None of that helps. The best ERAS photos look like they could be the doctor’s photo on a hospital website three years from now — confident, warm, professional, alive.

That’s the bar to hit, and it’s not hard to clear with the right photographer.

What you get

A standard ERAS session covers:

• The ERAS-formatted photo, sized and cropped to the application’s exact requirements
• Several alternate frames in case you want to use a different one for personal statements, social media, or future use
• A retouched final image you keep
• All the proofs from the session

I’ll direct expressions actively. Most med students arrive nervous about being photographed (often more nervous than they’d be about the actual application interview, which is funny when you think about it). Part of the job is getting you to relax in the first ten minutes so the rest of the session produces photos that look like the calm, capable doctor you actually are.

Sessions and booking

ERAS sessions run 45 minutes and produce an ERAS-formatted final image plus alternate frames you can use for personal statement, departmental use, or future career needs. For current pricing, see the Sessions section on the homepage — the Mini Session tier covers ERAS shoots.

If you have a specific request — extended session, photos for personal statement plus graduation alongside the ERAS shoot, or a class group rate for multiple students booking together — please email [email protected] to discuss. Yes, I can work something out for med school class groups.

After your match, many of these clients come back for Hopkins graduation portraits — separate session, but I’m happy to coordinate.

When to book

ERAS opens September of the application year, so the smart move is booking your photo session in late summer — typically July through early September. By the time the application opens, your photo is already retouched and formatted and you can submit immediately. Booking in late summer, when there’s still time to reshoot if needed, beats scrambling the week before submission.

I’m in the Baltimore area July through September each year and book ERAS sessions during that window. Check the calendar or send me a note.

Why work with me on this

Twenty years of portrait photography. Many years of working specifically with Hopkins and University of Maryland medical students. I know the formatting requirements cold. More importantly, I know how to make a nervous 26-year-old look like the kind of resident program directors want to interview.

A few examples from the blog: Hopkins residency photos, Hopkins graduation portraits (the same young doctors three or four years later, after their training).