Headshots
How to Prepare for Your Headshot Session
Hair & Make-Up
We highly recommend working with a professional hair and makeup artist. Although hair and makeup are not included in the session fee, we have several great artists that we can refer you to who specialize in camera-ready makeup. For men we recommend a light foundation to help take out any shine. For women, we recommend professional makeup by an experienced artist, but here are a couple of tips if you plan on doing it yourself.
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Stay away from any makeup with an SPF. These ingredients are designed to reflect certain kinds of light and can cause your skin to appear more shiny on camera instead of less.
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Go easy on the blush. This is the one area that stands out the most in photos and can be very difficult to correct in post-processing.
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Bring your makeup to the session in case you need to reapply.
What should I wear for my headshots?
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Always bring clothes that match your style and personality.
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Stay away from clothes with busy patterns. Solid colors are best. No logos.
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Try to stay away from black and white. If you are a person who relies heavily on black, think about branching out to some colors that flatter your natural coloring.
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Any color is great for tops, but remember that very bright colors can draw away from your face so pick something slightly more subdued. There are even colors of clothing that are so bright that a camera has trouble reproducing them and they look completely different in the final image.
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Bring an undershirt or camisole if you are shooting in multiple outfits. It saves time to be able to change tops quickly in the studio for more headshot looks. For men, wear an undershirt with a v-neck if possible as it is less likely to show up in the photos that way.
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In a headshot session, your lower half will not likely make it into the photos, but make sure that whatever bottoms you have are clean, pressed and match your tops. You never know what we might be able to get out of your session. If you are wearing a suit, be sure to bring the pants.
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Undergarments. Make sure to include the right undergarments for the tops you bring. You might be disappointed if you bring that super cute tank top or strapless dress but you forgot a strapless bra.
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Make sure any clothes that you bring are clean and neatly pressed. This goes double for collared shirts and suits. We do not remove wrinkles in Photoshop.
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If you want to bring jewelry, make sure that it matches. Gold earrings don’t look great with a silver necklace, etc. Bring some options that you love but keep in mind that a headshot is about your face. For entertainment, unless you are shooting specific character shots, keep jewelry to a minimum. Simple studs or hoops and simple necklaces are fine, but nothing that will take away from your expression.
We are also more than happy to communicate with you about the clothes you are planning to bring.
What else should I do to prepare for my headshot session?
The key to making sure that your session goes well is being prepared. We have put together some resources for you as well as tips on how to make sure that you completely nail your session.
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If you plan to get your haircut or colored, make sure to do it 3-5 days before your session. Please don’t do anything drastic or different with your hair right before the shoot. Hair regret is very real and is probably the number one reason that people can be unsatisfied with their images.
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Take care of your skin by drinking water, using a facial wash, and a lotion made for the unique skin of your face. It’s amazing the difference it can make in your complexion. We recommend getting a professional facial for those who really want to up their headshot game, but if you do, don’t do it the day before. About 3-5 days beforehand is ideal.
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Stay away from alcohol and do your best to get a couple of solid nights of sleep leading up to the session. Alcohol and lack of sleep can make your face puffy, give you red eyes, and cause under eye darkness to be exaggerated.