What To Wear For A Headshot?

Rockville Headshot Photography

What to wear for a headshot is a question I get with almost every headshot client. The Answer? It depends. It depends on what kind of professional headshot you want to take. What do you want your headshot to say about you? How do you normally dress to work or to meet with clients? You don’t want there to be a surprise when your clients finally get to see you in person. There are a few guidelines I like to stick to when thinking about what to wear.

Logos And Patterns

Generally, you want to stay away from shirts that have wild patterns or logos. They are distracting from what’s most important in your headshot: your face! Logos tend to date pictures as well. This can make it difficult to get some mileage out of your headshots. I recommend wearing shirts with solid colors that are not too close to your skin tone. The small patterns on houndstooth and check pattern shirts and sports coats are fine; they generally don’t distract in a photo. Keep your shits simple; get that splash of color with your tie. For female clients, you can follow the same guidelines; consider bringing a cardigan or jacket to layer with.

Feel Amazing!

Whatever you decide to bring, make sure you bring something that you feel amazing in! If you feel like a million bucks, your expression will reflect that, and that is, after all, what we want in any headshot: a killer expression with confidence and approachability. Don’t try and squeeze into last year’s suit or dress. If you’re uncomfortable in your session, you'll look miserable. So, make sure what you want to bring fits you really well!

Jewelry And Makeup

Keep these things to a minimum. Large earrings or bulky necklaces can be distracting from your face, so keep jewelry conservative. Makeup, less is more here, for sure. My camera is pretty high definition, and it shows every detail, so keep makeup light. If you don’t want to stress over getting your hair and make-up done at home, we can arrange to have a stylist here at your headshot session.

Board Shorts And FlipFlops

As far as the bottom half goes, go nuts! I’ve had CEOs come in board shorts and flip-flops with a suit jacket and tie-up top. Now, that being said, if you feel like a million bucks in a full suit and dress shoes, then come on in that way.

Reminder For Men

Please have your shirts ironed, pressed, and ready to go before your session. You would not believe the number of times I’ve had make clients come in with a backpack and say, “I brought 4 or 5 shirts here”. I know my retoucher needs to work, but that’s just torture. So, have all that worked out beforehand; your session will go much smoother!

Okay, here are some quick tips on what to wear. If you have questions or are ready to come in and get a headshot you’re edited to use, click below and reach out.