Women's Headshot Preparation Timeline

Success in headshot photography is 50% client preparation and 50% our photography. At your session, we will do everything humanly possible to make sure you love your headshot, but your preparation is critical to getting a great final photo.

If you’re feeling unsure about how to prep for your photo shoot, here’s a list of some key ways to prepare for your session.

The Week Before:

Plan Your Day: While planning your day a week ahead of time can be difficult, make sure that you don’t have any appointments or other scheduling conflicts in the minutes leading up to your session. You want to be focused during your shoot.

If you’re getting your hair done, we highly recommend you don’t try to cut corners by getting it done the night before and sleeping on it. You should have a same-day appointment for hair and makeup. Our hair and makeup artist, Anjel Webster, can do your hair and makeup in our studio at the beginning of your session.

Candidly Evaluate Your Clothing Options: The #1 (by a significant margin) reason people need to come back for more photos is that they brought the wrong clothing to the first session. Less than 1% of our sessions lead to a re-shoot, but in those cases it’s almost one of two reasons (the second is addressed below). But, the most common reason is that the client brought the wrong clothing to the session (example: client wearing glasses they realized they didn’t actually like, client wore a shirt or suit that doesn’t fit them any more, client wore clothing with loud and distracting patterns etc).

So, to avoid needing to return to the studio, make SURE that your clothing both fits you + photographs well. If you’re unsure, just email us a photo of your outfit to brian@signatureheadshotsorlando.com – we’re happy to help!

Here are some more tips on What to Wear for Professional Headshots.

The Day Before:

Get 8 Hours of Sleep: As much as possible, try to get some rest in the days leading up to your shoot. Our retouching process will help with dark circles under eyes, but prioritizing sleep the night before your shoot is the most effective method for looking rested! Besides, you'll also be happier and more energetic, and this will show through in your headshots.

Know Thyself: Look back at past photos of yourself that you’ve liked. Were you wearing a specific color? Did you have a specific hairstyle? Was the photo taken from a specific angle? Do you have a favorite side? Make sure to plan appropriately and/or communicate your preferences to the photographer.

If you get red eyes, dry lips, or acne when doing any activities like hiking, surfing, skiing, swimming in a pool, or cooking with certain foods – then refrain from those activities before your shoot.

Ask Yourself “Is Tomorrow THE Day?”: Besides clothing, the #2 reason clients ask for a reshoot is that there was some sort of other external factor that impacted their mood/confidence on the day of their shoot. Whether it’s due to lack of sleep, acne breakouts, bad hair days, stress at work/home, or just simply being in a bad mood (it can happen!) – you usually shouldn’t try to push through your session if you just don’t feel good.

We have an extraordinarily generous reschedule policy for exactly this reason. Studio Sessions can be rescheduled for free via email directly at Brian@SignatureHeadshotsOrlando.com.

Note: This  does not apply to on-location group sessions.

The Morning Of:

Dress For the Job You Want: Stick with solid colored tops. They’re more flattering and less distracting. Jackets and collared shirts are highly recommended. Depending on your industry, you may be tempted to wear casual attire. But, based on our experience, we recommend you dress up for your professional photos.

Try to avoid any large pieces of jewelry or excessive makeup. Avoid logos or badges on either your shirt and your jacket – or you risk looking like an advertisement.

In general, you want solid-color and high-contrast outfits. For example, white shirt and dark blue blazer, white shirt and black blazer, or light blue shirt and black blazer etc. Colors look GREAT in our headshots, and we always encourage clients to bring either a colored jacket, shirt, or accessory. Also, you can never go wrong with a single layered black top. This always looks very clean and fashionable.

Make sure your clothes are ironed and/or without wrinkles. If you have a lint roller, use it. We also have them on-hand at our studio.

NOTE: If you’re taking headshots to be put on your employer’s website, make SURE to check with them on the proper attire. It doesn’t happen often, but sometimes customers will need to come and re-shoot because they wore a suit (when they should have been dressed casual) or were under-dressed. Every employer is different, and what you should wear depends on what they’d like to convey on the website – so make sure to ask.

5-Minutes Before:

Check Your Hair: A little water goes a long way. Make sure you don’t have hair sprouting in all directions. Our editing team can easily remove single strands of hair, but clumps of hair are much more difficult.

Check For Shine: In a photo shoot, the flash on the studio lighting reflects off any sweaty or oily spots, making portions of your face look shiny. We have professional blotting papers on hand to reduce shine.

If you have a dry face, do NOT apply lotion to your face within 4 hours before your shoot…If you need to, do this in the week before your shoot.

If you’re not wearing makeup, simply splash some cold water on your face and pat dry with a paper towel. Avoid glossy or shiny makeup – which is reflective when combined with studio flash.

Check Your Glasses: Dirty glasses stick out like a sore thumb. Try not to wear glasses that have “transition lenses”, as they will look like sunglasses in your photo. If you can, make sure your glasses are glare resistant, or lighting will interfere with the quality of your portrait.

Listen to Your Photographer: We will be giving you some advice at the beginning of your session. Specifically, we’re going to tell you to look at your hair and/or makeup one last time, and we’re going to tell you to use  blotting papers on your nose, cheeks, and forehead before our shoot. Some people have a tendency to ignore that request, but please make sure to look in the mirror. It’s hard for any photographer to know exactly how you like to wear your hair, makeup, or jewelry – so take a close look. We only have your best interests in mind. You’d be surprised how many people say they’re “good to go”, and then look at the first set of photos and realize they didn’t like their hair or they really should have used the blot pads.

Relax: You’re going to look great! Stress and anxiety will show up in photos, so get yourself in a good mood. Listen to your favorite song and do a little dance at your desk before your session.