How to prepare for your headshot session
Most people arrive to their portrait session scarred to death. Its not that bad. I’m not taking out your teeth.
We hang out, chat, drink some coffee/tea and have a laugh. I will occasionally ask you to contort your body into a strange position but its to bring out the best poses in you for the camera.
I’m not just an photographer , I’m also an expression coach.
I promise you that if you come to our session prepared ,confident, and ready to take direction, you will leave with a great portrait.
Persona
The main thing to prepare is yourself!
What is the persona you are trying to portray in the image? Are you wanting to give the idea of confidence with approachability, authority or warmth. You personal brand or business will dictate how you would like to appear in the portrait and will honestly make it easier to create the photo you are wanting.. Have a think about it so that it is clear in your mind and easy to convey to me as the photographer at the start of the session.
Clothing
Clothing should be a reflection of you and your personality. Bring a couple of outfit choices along to the shoot. There is always time to change up a shirt or jacket to give you more options for the final image selection. Also bring some layering options like a scarf or jacket.
Wear the cloths that you makes you look good. The more comfortable you are the better the images will turn out.
If you don’t have anything you like, go and buy something. Leave the tags on it. We can work around it and you can return them later. Wear something that fits you well. Make sure that it’s not wrinkled and keep your pets away from your clothes. Pets are cute. A hairy shirt is not.
Jewellery is best kept minimal, and bare arms or short sleeves are sometimes not advisable for corporate photos. Sleeveless tops and bare arms may highlight the difference in tone and colour of your arms and face and can show your armpits in certain poses that may look just plane weird. It’s all good if it falls in line with the tone you’d like to convey for your branding.
Earth tones and gemstones tend to make for the fantastic color pallets. I’m a huge fan of the color grey. It just works! Short sleeve/sleeveless shirts can be problematic. If you’ve got the arms for it, go for it, if you don’t love your arms, you’re probably not going to love the picture of you in the shirt.
Stay away from crazy patterns! We don’t want your clothes to distract from you! Layering always works for both men and women. Also, off the shoulder tops for women are always a favourite!
Your clothing should be ironed, particularly men's shirts, which also look best if new or nearly new.
A vivid colored top also helps to make the head-shot stand out from the rest and “pop”. It is also a great idea to have this colour match your eyes.
For actors, you can wear shorts, jeans , T shirts or a dress shirt to give you a casual look however you may be shooting with a specific role or character in mind so bring a choice of clothing that will lend itself to that character.
Hair
Hair, especially for women, is one of the most important things to prepare for a great portrait outcome. Recently styled/cut hair is great, but may hold better if done the day prior, and given a final touch up on the day of the shoot. Flyaways can be distracting. If your hair suffers from dryness, it's best if you can put in product to reduce them.
If you are going for a completely different style or cut with a different hairdresser then its a good idea to do it a week or so before just in case they fluff it up.Its easy to reschedule and get a re-cut than not feeling 100% about it.
For men a recent haircut and freshly shaven is a must. If you are wanting some different looks, you can grow stubble a few days before (remember to trim and style it before your shoot) We can shoot you with the shadow look and then shave it off for a cleaner look.
Makeup & skin
Makeup is important, however don’t overdo it. Keep to natural skin tones with a bit of eye makeup to bring attention to the eyes, but avoid too heavy or brightly coloured eye shadow. You may choose to have professional makeup applied for the shoot. We can organise a makeup artist for you or alternatively have it applied beforehand at a salon.
For men no makeup is generally required unless it is part of your daily routine. Any skin issues are best resolved in the retouching.
With Lipstick, a tinted gloss is normally a good way to start, it gives a little shine and colour whilst being subtle.
A nude lippie that works with your skin tone and outfit are also great additions. You can also try a coloured lipstick for a more dramatic and sassy look.
I’d avoid the darker or purple lipsticks unless that is your style and you can pull it off.
Shaving
'This is a personal choice and really depends on how you usually look. Stubble it up if you normally have a shadow or shave if that’s how you look best. You can shave during the session if you are the kind of person that grows a 5-oclock shadow by 10am. Use a new razor as you can cut yourself or aggravated the skin with blunt tools. For guys we normally want to make the jaw look nice and strong, so baby face clean leaves no detail to hold some shadow.
If you’re always clean shaven then don’t grow a beard for the shoot!
Glasses
Glasses do vary according to the size, coatings, tints, and shape. Some glasses do flare from lighting and may need to be removed before shooting.
Most importantly is to make sure they are clean! Any spots or fingerprints will stand out int he final shot.
If you can do without the glasses that would be bonus, however if it is part of your look then we can work it in. You gotta look like you ;)
Rest & water
Get loads of sleep the night before and drink lots of water. This is a no-brainier. Tired eyes and dehydrated skin make you look tired and dehydrated. (seems silly but people forget)
Also avoid alcohol the night before because it will dehydrate you.
