HEADSHOT TIPS FOR WOMEN
We photograph over 6,000 business headshots per year. It’s a true adventure to travel the world and meet so many different people. In our years of photographing people, we have formulated what does and doesn’t work in front of the camera.
To make the headshot and portrait preparation process easier, we’ve developed our signature headshot tips for women to look and feel their best.
The tips shared will help to ensure your professional headshot experience is smooth and enjoyable.
The top question we get asked by all our clients is “What should we wear for our headshot photos?” We’ve compiled a list of recommendations to help make the best outfit decisions. Let’s look at what outfit styles will look flattering in photographs versus the ones that should be avoided.
WARDROBE & CLOTHES
What should I wear for my headshot session?
Solid Color Tops – Extensive patterns and decoration will grab attention away from your face. For professional headshots, the person viewing the headshot needs to be drawn into the face and not get distracted by outfit choices.
Well-Fitted & Tailored Clothes – Clothes that fit loosely will often make you look larger. Properly tailored tops will look flattering and professional. Avoid any tops that sit too slouchy.
Avoid Low Cut Tops – When photographing headshots, we photograph halfway into the chest area. If you decide to wear a low-cut top, it could take the attention away from the most important part of the headshot: your face.
Long Sleeves are Flattering – Short sleeves like to misbehave and can sit funky on the arms unless properly steamed or ironed. Short sleeve shows skin at the edge of a headshot, which may distract from your face.
Put Proper Undergarments with your Outfit – Bra straps showing in your headshot is very unprofessional. Make sure the straps are properly tucked away and hidden.
Avoid Transparent Tops – When looking through your clothes, make sure to try the tops on. That shouldn't be your top selection if you can see your undergarments through the shirt. If you decide to stick with a see-through top, make sure to bring a blazer or your favorite top for layering.
Vibrant Colors Stand Out – Depending on your profession, wearing vibrant colors will make your headshot stand out.
Darker Tops Can be Timeless – If you decide to stick with darker colors, besides black, navy is very flattering in photos.
Avoid Tops that Blend with Hair Color – Darker clothes blend too much with dark hair. If you have pale skin, avoid tops that blend with your skin unless you plan to layer. Otherwise, it looks too washed out.
Jewelry is Distracting – Jewelry draws the attention away from the face. We do not recommend to wear any type of jewelry for your headshot. Keep it clean, simple, and timeless.
All the tips above are general rules. Outfit choices for professional headshots largely depend on the industry you are in, as these photos often serve as the first impression for potential clients or employers. For lawyers, it's crucial to convey trustworthiness, expertise, and authority. This often translates to wearing tailored suits in neutral or dark colors such as black, navy, or charcoal. A crisp white or light blue shirt, paired with a conservative tie for men, completes the look. On the other hand, real estate agents, while still needing to convey professionalism, often want to appear more approachable and relatable, as building rapport with potential buyers or sellers is key to their business. For them, business casual attire might be more appropriate. This could mean a well-fitted blazer combined with a soft-colored blouse or shirt. Some soft patterns can also work, as long as they don't distract from the face.
Regardless of the profession, it's essential that the attire chosen for a headshot aligns with the image you wish to project in your respective industry.
HAIRSTYLES FOR HEADSHOTS
How Should I Style My Hair?
How you style your hair for your headshot makes a difference. We highly recommend adding the hair styling and makeup services that we offer in our studio.
Our hair stylist will come directly to our studio and make sure you look the best for your headshots. Working with a hair stylist that works with us on a regular basis will make sure that your hair not only looks good in person but also in photos.
Over the years of photographing headshots, we've developed the following hair tips for women's headshots:
Flying Hair – Most flying hair can be addressed with hair spray. We have hair spray in our studio. Do not worry if you have staticky or too many fly-aways, they will be retouched through our signature professional detail retouch.
Haircut and color lead time – If you get your hair cut or colored, make sure to schedule your appointment about one week before the session. This is when the hair looks the best and natural.
Natural look – Whether you style your hair yourself or work with a professional, we do not recommend trying a new hairstyle on the day of your session. You want to be the best version of yourself, but people should not be surprised when they see you in person after seeing your headshot.
Hair up – If possible, tying your hair will slim down your face and your neck. This also opens your face more for your headshot to stand out.
Curling Hair – Some curling is good but don't go too crazy with the curls. Again, you want to make sure the headshot looks like you
Blowout – if you do a blowout do it the same day as your session. Please note: we do not offer blowouts in our studio
Clean Hair – if you don't do a blowout, wash your hair the day before. Avoid frizz by either applying hair products yourself or with our hair stylist before the session.
MAKEUP FOR HEADSHOTS & PORTRAITS
The Best Makeup Options for Headshots
Make-up can make it or break it for your women's professional headshots look. Overall, we recommend not over-doing it and going more for a natural look. As we mentioned before and in our other articles, it’s important to look like the best version of yourself.
Nobody's skin is perfect. Make-up is supposed to enhance your features and conceal some imperfections. After you’ve made your headshot selection, additional skin and beauty enhancements can be done but it the most natural way.
Our make-up recommendations:
Hire a Professional Makeup Artist – Even if you are really good with your own make up, hiring a professional that knows what looks the best in camera makes a big difference.
Natural & comfortable Feel – Makeup should feel natural for you, especially when you look at yourself in the mirror. We tend to lean toward more natural look and feel but it's up to you what you feel comfortable with. You don’t want your make up to be a distraction but to complement your features. We recommend choosing colors closer to your natural complexion.
Avoid Highlighters – Highlighting and contouring is an art of its own. We do not recommend highlighting your facial features because if not applied properly, it could make your face shiny.
Makeup Before your Session – If you added makeup to your session in our studio, please do not apply any products including sunscreen on your face the day of your headshot. Apply only oil-free moisturizer and an eye cream prior to your session.
Easy on the powder – Our cameras are extremely high resolution. We could zoom in and see every detail of your skin and pores. Too much powder looks unflattering in headshots. Let us do the proper retouching needed.
SKIN & BEAUTY
These skin and beauty tips are very important especially the week of your headshot. Since a headshot is all about the face real-estate, it's important to get rest, take care of your skin and stay hydrated leading up to your headshot appointment!
stay hydrated - Drink plenty we mean PLENTY of water the week of your headshot. Skin keeps our body and skin happy and hydrated. Try to avoid sugary or pop drinks.
wax a few days before - If you need to wax any hair on your face including your eyebrows, try to make an appointment the week before your headshot. Skin can be very sensitive and can stay red in the waxed areas for a few days. AVOID waxing the day before or the day of your headshot.
treat yourself to a facial - We all love and deserve to be pampered. What better way to treat yourself than to a facial to make sure your skin is beautiful and perfect. If you decide to get a facial, please make sure to get it the week before your headshot. You never know how your skin will react to products and it needs a few days to fully recover.
exfoliate - Just like getting a facial. exfoliation should be done at least a few days before your headshot to avoid redness of the skin.
moisturize - We are confident that you have your beauty routine down and know what you are doing. This is just a friendly reminder to love your skin extra the week of your headshot and use lots of moisturizer. You can even look into a moisturizer mask like Summer Fridays.
rest - You want to look rested, confident and energized in your headshot. Try to go to bed earlier the day before your headshot to make sure you at least get your 8 hours of sleep.
Preparing for your headshot could feel like a lot of work. We try to be as thorough as possible and provide you all the beauty information to get the best female business headshots. If you want to look your best, contact us to schedule your headshot session with WASIO faces.