Preparing for your Business Head Shots

1. Clothes

A headshot is typically from the waist up, or mid-chest.  So one of the most important pieces is the shirt.  Avoid busy or bright shirts, they distract from your face.  Neutral colors and pastels are great.  Black or all black can look very somber, white tends to 'wash out'.  I recommend a suit jacket or blazer, for both men and women.  

Women:  Full sleeves or half sleeves photograph best.  Avoid sleeveless tops.  Furthermore, having a jacket to throw on will give you two very different looks (business casual and business formal). 

Men: Suit jacket will dress up any head shot, even if you are wearing a t-shirt underneath (if your company or work you are seeking is of a more relaxed business casual a t shirt and blazer is fine).  Ties can be fun pops of color of your choice, but red or burgundy ties are typically viewed as the ties of success.

2. Hair

Choose a haircut and hairstyle a week or two in advance, as freshly cut hair can look strange on camera.  I can retouch hair such as touching up roots, smoothing strays or fly-aways, fill in bald spots or receding hairlines...but I cannot fix a bad hair cut.

3.  Make-up

Professional makeup will do wonders! A true pro will know how to highlight, conceal and reveal your best assets.  Although I will do retouching in post processing, and can do anything from whitening teeth to adding eyeshadow, make up will also make you feel more confident!

4.  The Process

Most of us don't enjoy getting a head shot.  We all have specific things we don't like about ourselves in pictures, or we just feel awkward.  On that note, I make this a very stress free process. I allow you to review your images as we shoot, get a solid baseline for us to work with, and gather with your feedback the info I will need to create the portrait that you want.  Your honest feedback is crucial in helping me to achieve your desired results.