How to Prepare for Your First Headshot
Hi, guys…
The day has finally arrived and you’re booked for your very first headshot appointment. Very exciting! A few things though so you can make the most of your experience, and come out with the best possible headshot you can. Treat this as a guide, folks not carved in stone for every headshot session.
Solid colours. You need to be the focus of the image, not your clothing. Leave the Don Cherry jacket at home. Avoid bold patterns and colours. Be careful of too much white if you’re female. Sometimes the high key look is great, but you don’t want to lose too much detail in the whites. One option is to wear a jacket over a white blouse. Oh, and make sure the clothing fits! Nothing worse than big gaps in your clothing because of fit issues. They’re not impossible to remove in Photoshop, but the best solution is fix the issue in camera.
Keep the jewelry small, simple and avoid really reflective pieces - they’ll be distracting in the final image.
Grooming supplies - don’t assume the photographer has them. Bring a brush and hairspray as appropriate. Ideally you would have your hair and makeup done professionally before your session, but if not - be prepared. Some folks have oily skin and it will accentuate highlights on your face in a non-flattering way. You can alleviate this by bringing some blotting papers with you to soak up the oil.
Makeup. Keep it clean and simple!! Unless you’re a fashion model, this is not a fashion shoot. Keep the makeup simple and clean. It will help make you look professional in your final image. Same goes for the hair.
Get some rest before the shoot to avoid those dark circles and puffy eyes. Hydration helps too.
Above all -communication!!! If you want a particular look, you need to say so and unless it’s something outrageous, your photographer will help make it happen. The better the connection between you and the photographer, the better the image will come out. So relax and let your personality come out!
Thanks for reading, and hopefully we’ll see you again!