Crossword Genius

Close up is favoured by snipers (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

headshot

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'favoured by snipers' is the definition.
I don't know anything about this answer so I cannot tell whether this works.

'close up' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'close' could be 'hot' (similar in meaning) and 'hot' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'heads' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'is' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for headshot that I've seen is " Photo showing just the face".)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.
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