Wear what makes you feel good. headshot sessions are all about bringing your professional side out, so if you put something on and you feel uncomfortable, move on to the next option. Consider it sort of like searching for the perfect wedding attire. when you put it on and can't help but spin in front of the mirror or think, "Heck yes, I look fabulous!" then that is the attire you should wear on shoot day.

Make Sure You’re comfortable. On that note, we’ll be sitting, standing, and posing for a couple hours, so make sure that whatever you wear you feel comfortable moving around in. This can make a huge difference in how the shoot goes and how the images turn out!

Opt for attire that flatters your figure but is still comfortable. remember, the goal is to be professional, comfortable, stylish, and still be yourself.

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.

For guys, unless you have a strong preference, try not to wear an undershirt with your dress shirt. If you do, wear a white undershirt – not a black or grey undershirt.

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. 

Make sure your clothes are ironed and/or without wrinkles. If you have a lint roller, use it the night before. 

Do not wear glasses with “blue light reflectors” or “transition lenses”, those will ruin your photos. There’s not much we can do about that in the editing process either. Regular glasses are totally OK though.

NOTE: If you’re taking headshot 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.

Shave: If you have facial hair, either cleanly shave or maintain a trimmed beard. Anything in the middle looks sloppy. When in doubt, shave. However, do not shave immediately before your shoot – as razor bumps and discoloration will become more apparent.

Stick with Simple Jewelry

The best professional headshots enhance your natural features without distracting from them. For this reason, simple jewelry is a better choice for professional headshots – especially if your headshot will be cropped closely to your face (as most are). 

So long as you have the right hair and makeup for your headshot session, jewelry should just be a “finishing touch.” For necklaces, make sure the pendant is visible above the crop of the photo. For earrings, stick with simple metallic or gemstone studs, and wear dangling earrings with caution. Hoop earrings and anything that dangles tends to be caught in hair and gets lost in the photo.