Helpful Professional Headshot Tips!
Your Guide to a Successful Headshot Session!
Wardrobe Tips for Professional Headshots:
Corporate headshots communicate your brand – they often contribute to the first impression you make on other professionals or potential clients. When you have these headshots taken, they need to look professional. After all, they will probably be used on advertising materials, a company website, and perhaps even your social media profiles. It is essential to choose a professional photographer with plenty of experience taking corporate headshots, ensuring you get the professional headshots you desire. Of course, it’s not all up to your photographer. Your wardrobe choices will affect the quality of your headshots. If you are not sure what to wear to your headshot photography session, here are a few helpful wardrobe tips to remember.
Tips for Choosing the Perfect Clothing:
When choosing the perfect clothing for your corporate headshots, both men and women will benefit from the following tips:
Avoid wearing clothing with complex patterns, such as checks or stripes.
Choose solid colors if possible, since they have a timeless look.
Avoid horizontal lines on clothing.
Avoid multiple patterns on different articles of clothing.
Be sure to wear something that makes you feel confident.
If you have a tough time deciding what to wear, bring a couple outfits with you to your photo shoot. Your headshop photographer can offer you advice.
Men: What Should You Wear?
Business Casual or Executive Professional
One of the best wardrobe choices for men is a business suit. A business suit adds to the professional look of your headshot. For a timeless headshot that will look just as good a year from now, choose timeless colors for your suit, such as navy or grey. For a more casual look, you can skip the blazer, wearing a crisp shirt and tie. This offers a friendly, casual look while keeping the headshot professional. When choosing a tie, avoid ties with over-the-top patterns. A tie with a simple pattern will look best in your headshot.
Overall, consider choosing clothing that you would actually wear to work for the professional, on-the-job look you want from corporate headshots.
Women: What Should You Wear?
If you’re having a tough time deciding what to wear for your corporate headshots, once again it’s a good idea to consider the clothing you wear to work. Classic business suits are always a great choice for women. A blouse with pants or a skirt will also work. Avoid trendy clothing. You don’t want to choose an outfit that is out of style in six months. Your headshots are a big investment, so you want them to have a classic look that continues to look professional a couple years from now. It’s also a good idea to choose fall or winter styles instead of summer clothing. It’s usually best to choose something conservative for your photos, but this doesn’t mean you can’t let your unique sense of style shine through in your photos.
How to Prepare for Your
Professional Headshot Session:
Whether you’re having actor headshots or corporate headshots taken, it’s important to be well prepared. A little preparation on your part can help you make sure your professional headshots look great. Keep the following tips and ideas in mind as you prepare.
Pay Attention to Your Hair: A great outfit isn’t enough – you also need to pay attention to your hair. If your hair looks bad, your headshots will all look bad. Since headshots are often used for a year or more, you don’t want to be stuck with headshots that show messy hair. It’s a good idea to wear your hair in the way you normally do. Just make sure it’s neat. You may even want to consider having a hairdresser do your hair for you to ensure it looks perfect.
Nails for headshot photographs: Unfortunately, many people forget to groom their nails, and in many headshots, the hands are visible. It’s important to have clean, well-manicured nails. If you’ll be wearing nail polish, make sure you use colors that will coordinate with your clothing.
Should You Wear Glasses in Your Headshot? If you regularly wear glasses, it’s a good idea to wear them for your photo shoot because you want to be recognizable. However, glare is always a problem when you’re having photographs taken with glasses. If you wear glasses most of the time, you will want to wear them in your headshot photo. To eliminate glare or reflections, you can either bring empty frame or we will have you remove them for a few photos so we can easily remove the glare.
Suntans for headshot photographs: Do not overdo the sun for a headshot photo. It looks great, but in moderation. Sunburn can be an expensive problem. It causes facial shine, red noses and cheeks, strap marks, hat lines and peeling, which are fixable but at an additional cost. It's best to stay out of the sun prior to your session and wear a little makeup. Don't overdo the bronzer, as that can give you an orange tint as well.
Some other Do's and DONT'S
Do:
Take one or two changes of clothing so you can experiment with contrasting colors before we begin. You only need the top half of the outfit for “head and shoulder” type headshots.
Ask me what color background we are using and what prime color would compliment it.
Tell me (before you arrive) the image you are trying to convey. What type business are you in? What is yourcorporate or business culture? Look at other photos of those in your company for samples to compare. If you are "not" a corporate type, let me know what type of look you want to portray. Maybe send me samples of stuff you like.
Dark clothes attract less attention and put the attention on your face and eyes.
Guys: if you have a heavy beard, shave right before arrival.
Guys: Do bring something additional if you are adding a "casual" look (vs. just taking off a suit jacket and tie and trying to make your white shirt look casual.) Take along a button down, golf shirt, or something similar on a hanger so it is indeed "casual" but still fresh.
Be yourself! It's okay to have fun! Just be yourself.
Brush your teeth before the shoot!
Don’t:
Don’t get a new hair cut just before the shoot. Give it a week.
Don't wear something that might "clash" with background (know background color in advance.)
Don’t wear white unless you wear it underneath something.
Don't wear jewelry that would distract from your face or that looks dated.
Don’t overdress. Don't wear "big" jewelry, big scarves, big hair.
Don't wear loud stripes or checks. Avoid herringbone. No short sleeve shirts please.
Don't wear a turtleneck (unless it is a very good look for you.) In general a v-neck style will be more attractive.
Don't wear a jacket you cannot button, or you have to stretch to be able to button. It will not look good and you will not feel good about it. Bring something that fits properly.
Don't over-do your makeup. And I don't mean the "style" of your makeup, I mean in the thickness and amount of application on your skin.
Don’t be afraid to ASK me / CALL me about any of these BEFORE you arrive.
A professional headshot is a crucial element of your personal brand and professional identity. By preparing thoughtfully and working with a skilled photographer, you can ensure that your headshot effectively represents who you are and what you bring to the table. Embrace the process and trust that the final result will be a valuable asset in advancing your career.
Ready to book your session?
Contact us today to schedule your professional headshot and make a lasting impression!
Rachael Venema Photography, serving the greater Des Moines area, offers exceptional full-service family & branding photography.