Your headshot
IS BRANDING OF YOU!
Your headshot is branding of you, it shows you are professional, it shows personality & style. It’s important to think about the message you are trying to convey and dress to match. For example, a law firm might opt for wearing a suit and looking more serious, whereas a creative business owner might prefer something more casual and fun. Remember, eyes tell a story, and a smile that says “I love my job, I’m proud of this organization” will help to truly connect with your consumers and potential audience. Portraits help to humanize your business, whether it’s editorial or professional. Below is a guide for how to prepare for your next headshot session, DO’s and DON’Ts and other elements that will help give the best impression possible. Last but not least, do your homework and choose a photographer that has the style you like… HAVE FUN at your session, headshots don’t have to be stuffy, you can have a laugh and show your personality as much or as little as you/company would like.
FOR THE WOMEN …
WARDROBE & CLOTHES
- solid color tops - avoid extensive patterns, decorations… this will grab attention away from your face
avoid white tops - on top of grabbing too much attention away from your face, a white top will blend with a white background
- sleeved tops that cover the shoulders and arms are recommended, unless per example, you are a fitness instructor and needs to show more skin.
- well fitted and tailored clothes - looser clothes will often make you look larger. Good choices for woman are blouse/blazer layers, sweaters, and cardigans
- avoid low cut front - we need to include the whole cut so if it's too low we need to include more of your body than needed.
- put proper undergarments with your outfit so that the bra and the straps are not visible with your outfit
avoid see-through - check in the mirror how well the bra and your top work together
- vibrant colors will get more attention, so if you want get noticed with your headshot wear more vibrant colors
- avoid blending top with hair - if you have darker longer hair avoid darker clothes
- avoid chunky jewelry distraction - You don't want your jewelry to steal any attention from you, earrings and necklaces are fine, but our tip is to avoid large jewelry… unless… you are a blogger, a jewerly store owner, etc.
*For group portraits I recommend having the team dress in similar clothing to prevent the image from becoming too busy. Put together a theme for your group. For example, if one team member is wearing a blue button down shirt under a black blazer, other team members may wear a blue blouse with a black skirt or slacks, etc.
HAIR
- hair cut ad color lead time: if you get your hair cut and/or colored do it about a week before the session. This is when the hair looks the best and natural
- natural look - Do not opt for a hair style that you never wear
- under control curls - some curling is good but don't go too crazy with the curls, you want to make sure the headshot looks like you
- flying hair - most flying hair can be addressed with hair spray, very important!!!
- blowout - if you do a blow out do it the same day as your session
Speaking about hair… check out below images from an awesome hair/make up artist!
Hair & MAKE-UP
natural look…
- getting hair and makeup professionally done before your shoot is highly recommended - we recommend going more for a natural look
- no sunscreen - do not use any sun screen on your skin the day of your session
- go easy with powder - our cameras are extremely high solution and we have pore level details in our photos. Too much powder will actually cause problems and not look better in headshot
Last but not least
… do your homework and choose a photographer that has the style you like, it also helps if the photographer has a fun personality, this way you can warm up to each other quickly and end up with a very relaxed and original image of you!
