Headshot Tips

Many clients have said that they would never enjoyed taking photos of themselves and have never liked the outcome, even with some well-known photographers. This is a common story but it does not have to be. Some people feel more ease when they learn how to take good headshots and prepare for the shoot. It really is not a lot of work and can save you a lot of worry.

Make it fun!

The key to success for almost anything in life, but it’s often forgotten. Think about how you’ll be using your new headshot, how you want it to look, etc. and plan your session in advance, while making sure to enjoy the process!

When planning

• Practice smiling with a mirror, every day. Don’t just watch the pot when boiling pasta. A six-minute daily practice will help immensely.
• Do light exercise routinely. It can be a long fast walk, swimming, running with a dog, or cleaning your entire house. Heavy exercise is unnecessary and probably not very useful.
• Women: practice natural look makeup (or book a professional makeup artist).
• Book your hair salon to get your hair cut, dyed or otherwise do your routine treatment a couple of days before your headshot day.
• Share your old headshots with the photographer and tell him what you like and don’t like about them.
• If you wear glasses with a strong diopter, consider getting a glassless frame, or at least glasses with a lighter diopter, to avoid problems.
• Don’t wait until the last minute to choose outfits and get your hair done. You can try to borrow clothes if you have enough time.

Outfit choices

This section applies mostly to actors for their audition headshots. Other clients may opt for a dressier and more creative look.

The headshot is about your face and nothing else!

• Avoid unnecessary trimmings and excessive jewelry
• Avoid pure white or pure black color. If you like to try one of these tricky colors, make your other choices different and safer colors.
• To make your face stand out, consider tops in somewhat darker grey, purple, wine red, brown, green or blue.
• Avoid anything that has any visible logos, text, etc.
• Bring extra outfits so that we can choose together.

Before the shoot

• Avoid stress and sleep well the night before the appointment. Photoshop can’t remove signs of fatigue.
• Men: shave a few hours before the shoot to allow time for your skin to recover from irritation.

Other factors

• Shoot your first headshot in studio. Shooting in the studio is more comfortable and allows easier communication, but the look may be monotonous. Consider having a location shoot or a backdrop swap option during your second headshot session for variety.
• Shoot your headshot in Boston. Quality work is more affordable than in NY, but there is enough demand in Boston to keep experienced photographers in business.