The first thing I hear from nearly every single person that reaches out about a headshot session is how much they hate having their photo taken. Listen, I get it. I also hate being alone in front of the camera and I absolutely recognize how awkward it feels to have all the attention on you. But you know what? Headshot sessions can and should be fun, empowering and unique to you. After those first few moments of worry and self doubt, we move into a wonderful world of self confidence, excitement and joy! Below are a few tips to keep in mind when planning and preparing for your own headshot session!
Tip #1: Choose Attire that Makes You Feel Confident + Fits Your Brand!
Everyone is always curious how to pick out the right kind of attire. A good place to start for those of you looking for headshots for your business is to consider your branding colors. What color scheme do you use to market and promote your business and how can we tie those colors into your headshots? This doesn’t have to mean your entire outfit is coordinated to your branding colors, but adding in little pops of those colors through accessories likes scarves or blazers or even by utilizing small props like plants, blankets or mugs can help give your business a cohesive look!
After you’ve considered this piece, the next best step is to find a few options that really make you feel confident. It’s no secret that we all have specific parts of our bodies we may not want to highlight and finding clothes that make you feel your absolute best puts us on the path to success from the beginning. From there, I am able to help pinpoint the outfits, accessories and poses that make you shine during our time together!
Lastly, I encourage people to choose outfits that aren’t overly busy by avoiding extremely small or incredibly large patterns. While I love patterns and colors, this can sometimes take away from the greater goal of focusing on you, your personality and how you want people to see you!
Tip #2: Choose a Location that Fits You + Your Brand!
Choosing a great location is essential to creating the kinds of images you’ll be proud to share. The location should fit your brand, speak to your personality and reflect the kinds of emotions you want to convey to customers. Sometimes this is easy and we just hold your session at your office, but if that isn’t an option – there are plenty of other locations to choose from! The PNW is home to SO many lovely outdoor locations (here are some of my favorites!), I’ve done many sessions in homes, around town or by renting out studio spaces. If you’re unsure of what best fits you, reach out and we can brainstorm together!
Tip #3: Get Everyone Involved + Have Fun with it!
Many clients have a need for a series of images that include both individual headshots as well as team portraits and lifestyle branding photos that can be used for social media. In this case, I always recommend the group brainstorm words that describe their team dynamic and we come up with unique ways to create images that show off those characteristics. When working with this real estate team, we wanted to highlight their playful, fun and energetic personalities.
Tip #4: Include Parts of Your Work + Process!
It is ALWAYS a good idea to give people a little insight into what your life is like and utilizing items from your work is a great way to do this. This can be done by holding the session in your studio or typical work space or recreating your work in a space that fits your brand and utilizing props. Below you can see a session that took place in the artist’s studio, but as in the real estate photos above you can see we used props like mugs, paint swatches, computers and phones to set the scene for their work.
Tip #5: Trust Me!!!!
Last, but certainly not least, one of the best ways to relax during your headshot session is just to put your trust in the photographer. You hired someone else to do this for you for a reason and you should have chosen someone that had a style and personality that resonated with you. Trust that they are going to do everything they can to find the angles, poses and shots that make you look your absolute best. Just sit back, relax, and be yourself <3
Find lots of samples of different headshot sessions on the blog including Cori of Hey Let’s Make Stuff!, Joel of Simler Sound, Mary of Marygold Tales, Shayla of Re-Earth Wellness and Chelsea of Magnolia Marks. If you’re looking for a fresh approach to your own headshots, reach out today!
