Outfit Ideas For Your Headshot
Outfit Advice For Your Professional Headshot
What Should You Wear For A Professional Headshot Photoshoot?
It’s one of the most asked questions for professional headshot photographers. What to wear – it’s a tricky one, and something that you can spend hours on, tossing up options, pulling things in and out of your wardrobe, wondering if shoes really matter?
I’m here to give you my advice and my opinion. And ultimately, that’s what all of this is – opinion.
I’m going to go into more detail below, but for those doing a quick scan, let me start with one major piece of advice:
** Be true to yourself, and don't dress like a completely different person. Start with items that you'd wear to an important meeting, interview, presentation or networking event **
General "What To Wear" Advice:
There’s fairly general, all-round advice that I can give across the board, but it doesn’t always work for everyone. So when you read what I, or anyone else, has to stay, remember to take it with a grain of salt.
1 – Block colours are always safe. They tend to photograph best, keeping things simple, and keeping focus on you and your expression.
2 – Consider necklines. Bring a selection of necklines – eg: something structured with a collar, something rounded and flat, a v-neck. Different necklines can make such a difference.
3 – Think about how your clothes move & are structured. Photography freezes motion, and sometimes the clothes we love and think will look great, don’t turn out how we think they will. Often this is the result of the absence of movement. For photography, I find fitted items tend to photograph a little better. Flowy items, when frozen, don’t always turn out as flattering.
4 – Bring options to your photoshoot. Light, dark, a splash of colour is always good to have. Sometimes different tones and colours pair well with various backgrounds, lighting and moods.
Don't Be Afraid Of Colour
A typical corporate headshot tends to play it safe with neutral backgrounds and business professional attire.
There’s nothing wrong with this, but I also love the idea to explore a pop of colour.
Bring along your neutral options, but don’t shy away from having a relaxed and colourful option too. It might make you stand out.
Tip: I love to pair colours together. Match your eyes with your top (eg: blue eyes, blue top). The triple effect is when we can also match your outfit to the background.
Key: Stay True To Your Personal Style.
A photographer can tell you that you should only wear specific colours and styles. But that’s not really fair if you don’t fit into that box.
When you look at your professional headshots or personal branding portraits, you want to feel like yourself and look recognisable.
A portrait is capturing you at this moment in time, and there should be honesty within that.
If you wear lots of patterns, bold colours, funky earrings – then you should feel free to wear them. Sometimes we find it’s better to refine choices within your wardobe, so bring along plenty of options to go through (or discuss and plan it prior).
Ultimately, pair your personal style with your persona at work. Your style blended with your work persona is the key.
Should You Wear A Tie For Your Headshot?
Over the past 5 or 6 years (pretty much, since Covid hit us), I have noticed a fairly steady decline in the wearing of ties. The workplace and fashion trends are moving to a more open collar style, less rigid, and breaking down the barriers.
But this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t wear one – there are other factors to consider:
- Think about your industry, and whether wearing a tie is the norm. I find law, real estate and a bit of the finance sector still tend to wear ties. Particularly for executives and board members.
- Consider your personal style – do you usually wear a tie? If you do, then embrace it.
- Would you be wearing one if meeting with a high end client?
If you’re torn on whether to wear a tie, bring one (just in case). It’s better to capture a couple of images wearing a tie, and having those images as an option, than to take no headshots wearing one and regret it later.
Working With A Professional Stylist
I recently photographed Tom, whose wife is a professional stylist. Naturally, she styled Tom for his photoshoot.
The purpose of Tom’s photos were to appeal to a very specific audience, and the look was to be fairly formal, yet modern.
Melissa, from Styled By Sally in Melbourne, did a great job of dressing Tom. When working with clients, she finds ways to help them be true to themselves, while discovering new ways to express themselves through clothes.
If you’re really stuck on clothing, booking in a professional stylist before your photoshoot is a great idea.
Last Advice: Plan Ahead
Plan your outfits in advance, go shopping if you really need to, and stick to styles that you feel really great in (don’t get to photoshoot day to find your favourite top is in the wash!).
Remember, when getting a professional headshot taken, your photographer is there to guide and support you. Bring options along if you feel unsure, and they can help with choosing the best items.
Sometimes the outfit you are most excited about doesn’t photograph as well, and that’s okay. Having a plan B is the key!
Published by
Comments are closed.