HERE ARE SOME TIPS TO HELP YOU PREPARE FOR YOUR UPCOMING HEADSHOT SESSION.
PREPARING YOUR WARDROBE:
- Simple tops are best, and keep wardrobe options in line with your brand.
- Clothes that fit you properly, meaning not too tight. And sleeves that aren’t too long (or short.) Close or slightly float away from your body are more flattering in photos. Clothes that are too large or too tight will not be flattering in your photos.
- Bring colours that compliment your skin tones. Opt for colors that compliment and bring out your eyes, skin tone or hair are best.
- Avoid flashy / busy patterns that will distract from YOU. The main focus of these photos should be your eyes and the connection we feel with your personality.
- Jackets and uncomplicated layers such as a cardigan can create variety without stopping for full changes.
- Jewelry can distract from you, so unless it’s a vital part of your brand (and you’re confident it will stay that way until your next headshot session), you might want to skip it or wear something very simple.
- TRY ON your wardrobe items before you bring them. If you’re only doing head and shoulders headshots, there’s no need to worry about pants (I mean, you’ll need to WEAR pants to the session, of course). Check that items still fit well. Hopefully this will remind you to pack outfit specific undergarments (i.e. avoid striped undershirts/black bras under light shirts, etc.). If you are wearing a light shirt, please wear a white or nude colour bra and bring any undershirts you might need.
- *Please make sure to launder, iron, de-lint your wardrobe as needed. It’s also best to wear clean and well kept shoes for your full body shots. (This type of retouching would be considered additional.)
MORE TIPS TO PREPARE FOR YOUR HEADSHOT SESSION:
Think of this as you would preparing for an interview…
Stay hydrated and get plenty of rest in the days leading up to your session. This will help keep your skin clear and eyes bright! Don’t stress if you wake up with blemishes the day of your session (and don’t mess with them as it will generally make them worse, we will remove a blemish in post.)
Eyebrows / Nails / Facial Hair: clean up / trim / etc. as necessary. Please paint your nails if you choose a session type where your hands will be in your photos. It’s a good idea to clean up your nails before your session even if you prefer not to wear nail polish. Make sure to moisturize your hands for a few days before your session. This is for closeup shots of hands typing or if we do a pose with your hands close your face.
Hair: Bring a brush/comb and any products necessary to control static/flyaways (or to keep in place if there’s a light breeze). Please DO NOT try out a brand new haircut/style the week before your session (take it from clients who have learned this lesson the hard way) It’s best too have your hair trimmed a couple weeks before your shoot! For the men- we recommend you get your haircut 4 to 5 days prior to the shoot so it doesn’t have that “freshly cut” look.
Makeup:
If you do your makeup yourself, do your makeup how you usually wear it for an average day, or possibly a nice dinner. Do not wear heavy makeup; a close headshot will show clumps of mascara or dark lipstick. Choose light to medium eyeliners, eye shadows, and lipsticks that are only a shade or two darker than your skin tones. This brings your features out in a subtle manner without making it look like you’re wearing lots of makeup. Avoid caking on heavy (or shiny) foundation, or wearing shiny eye shadows or lip gloss: too much shine is distracting on camera and looks wet. Skin blemishes, pimples, and even wrinkles can be retouched It’s not cheating. I promise. We also work with a number of professional make-up artists and stylist who we are happy to recommend *once the province has reopened due to covid 19.
Men: a bit of lip balm or chapstick can be your best friend to avoid cracked lips (especially with these cold winters!)
Beards: If you have a beard, trim it evenly so it’s nicely groomed. If you’re going clean-shaven, get a good shave the day of your headshot. Darker colored beards tend to be accentuated in photos- trim it well so it’s not too thick.
Glasses
If you normally wear glasses and have a strong prescription, or glasses with no anti reflection coating, we do advise that you visit your opticians and either borrow a pair of blank frames or or get them to remove your lenses for the shoot. As we can have problems with reflection and refraction. We often shoot some shots with and some without glasses. You might like to bring along a couple of pairs of frames.
PLEASE BE ON TIME: Please familiarize yourself with directions to our meeting place and leave yourself time to negotiate traffic and parking. Nothing worse than arriving frazzled, except arriving late when light is changing (AND there might be a session scheduled after yours).
When you first arrive, we’ll chat about your wardrobe for a few minutes, and then you’ll have time to relax into the session.
Here’s a little cheat sheet of things that you should have on hand at your session:
- a couple extra outfit pieces if you’re not sure about your choice
- hairbrush
- hair product ie: hairspray (to keep flyaways away)
- face powder or blot sheets (shine happens!)
- the lipgloss or lipstick you’re wearing for touch-ups
- appropriate colour undergarments for your chosen outfits (nude bra for white and light tops!)
And remember to have fun and not take it too seriously! We know that’s a little difficult after all these do’s and don’ts, but we promise to make the experience as relaxing as possible. You’ve got this. 🙂