Preparing for your Corporate Headshot Photography Session

The odds are that you’re here because you just booked, and I sent you here or you want to learn more before you book! Please take this information seriously, as preparation for the shoot is absolutely imperative. We’re going to go over a few different topics so you can be completely prepared. Topics include:

• Wardrobe

• Hair/Makeup

• Creative Direction

• Posing

• Getting to the studio

Wardrobe Ideas for Men

• Suit & tie w/ collared Shirt

• Suit w/ turtleneck

• Suit and an open, collared shirt

• Polo

• Collared shirt and tie

• Your work uniform

Hair/Makeup for Women

Hair/makeup for corporate headshots should appear as you’d appear to a job interview- perhaps a little lighter. It should be as minimal as possible while still feeling like yourself. Applying makeup for photos can be difficult, cameras pick up an incredible amount of detail- far beyond what our eyes are capable of seeing. For this reason, you want to avoid using an excessive amount of foundation and/or concealer, especially powder-based makeup (as it tends to sit in the cracks and pores of the skin, which is noticeable on a high-resolution camera).

• If you do use foundation/concealer, make sure that it matches your skin type perfectly. If the transition from the face to the neck/chest is off, it’s going to look very noticeable and it’s usually not possible to retouch that perfectly.

• Light mascara and a light eye shadow normally helps add a nice pop around the eyes

• Fill in your brows how you’d prefer

• Lip gloss is a great way to make the lips appear fuller and more hydrated

• Blush on the nose and cheeks typically looks nice. The lighting tends to wash this out a bit, so you might want to apply more as we shoot

• Avoid overly contouring unless it’s something that you’re skilled at

• Avoid using powder-based solutions for oily skin and reducing shine

Hair should also be natural, dry, and as frizz-free as possible. If you have any hair care products that will help keep your hair in order, please bring them. Everyone should bring their own comb. You may find that you need to comb down stray hairs or restyle your hair. For acting headshots, it’s a good idea to have pictures that show different ways that you can style your hair- for example, someone with naturally curly hair may want some shots with straight hair as well. People who booked any session that goes by the look, or the two-hour session will typically have time to make 1-2 big changes to the hair. Any quick hairstyle adjustments can be done several times over during a shoot.

If you have wigs, feel free to bring them and change your hair as much as you’d like as long as time allows. Be aware that wig lines will always show up in these photos as they can be pretty high resolution, the lines can be photoshopped out only on the photos that you get retouched.

For those with extremely dry, damaged, or thin hair- it will be noticeable and apparent in the photographs so it’s important to be aware of that beforehand. Thinner hair tends to become very frizzy and you’ll see a lot of strays, it doesn’t always style well too. It’s important to know beforehand that it will NOT photograph perfectly regardless of how much we try. Retouching and hair care products help, but again, its not a magic cure (especially with retouching as these photos are very high resolution, not even the best retouchers can perfectly fix this). For people that may be self-conscious about their hair- it may benefit them a lot to hire a professional hairstylist to help style and keep the hair under control. IT’S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO NOTE: beauty perfection is NOT what we are trying to achieve with our photos. Our goal is to create a true, authentic image of what we look like, and having thin hair is totally okay (I have very thin hair on the top of my head myself). There are going to be a lot of roles that you audition for where having thin hair adds to the character or is something that the casting director is looking for it’s extremely important to embrace it.

Hair/Makeup/Grooming for Men

In general, come as you would come for a job interview. I highly recommend getting a fresh haircut and beard trim one week before the shoot. This will allow the hair to settle and give you time to reschedule without a fee if it isn’t ideal. If you find that your skin is not great or oily, getting a makeup artist might be beneficial for you. Hair should be trimmed and neatly combed. Be sure that mustache/nose hairs are trimmed. Condition or shampoo hair if it’s oily. Getting a professional makeup artist is NOT recommended for men unless you have widespread, systemic skin issues that you’re not capable of covering up.

Creative Direction

It’s important that you think about the purpose of your images and what you expect from your images. For corporate professionals, do you want a white, black, or grey background? Would you prefer adding color? Do you want one image from multiple backgrounds? Do you have outfit options that complement the colored background you want? Do you have an office or place of work that you want in the background?

These are all questions you should be answering. If you find yourself struggling and you’re not totally sure, that’s okay. A MAJORITY of people just need photos with a grey background. This background makes you pop in a profile picture and makes it easy to cut out if you ever need to overlay your headshot onto promotional material. The beauty of having sessions with unlimited looks is that we are able to test a variety of different combinations. However, it’s extremely important that you vocalize with me what you ARE and AREN’T liking so we can continue to optimize the session and only take photos that are worth it. I can guide you towards what most people like, but that’s not necessarily what you like. We need to work together and communicate to create the best images possible.

Posing

Posing for corporate headshots is actually incredibly easy. I can help you position your body and create head tilts that are flattering. Expressions are what most people find difficult and I am somewhat limited as it’s something that requires more practice than what most people think. In general, the only type of expression that photographs well for corporate headshots is the slight/warm smile. It sounds easy but it’s something that most people struggle to do on command or with confidence. Before the shoot, please spend some time in front of the mirror practicing your “slight, warm smile”. This may sound like a tedious task but it’s extremely important. If you are able to come and see rocking photos on camera from the very beginning of the shoot, that will only help you create better emotion and momentum for even better photos for the rest of the shoot. If we struggle a bit at the beginning of the shoot because you didn’t prepare, it will take us much longer to get into a groove that allows us to take pictures at a top-level as we want too. This is not a high school senior portrait session, I’m not going to tell you to do a wide range of tacky poses and expressions. With proper preparation and with me guiding you through the process, we will take incredibly natural, high end, professional photos that make you look and feel like your best self.

Getting to the Studio and Parking

My studio is located in the Arts District at 1340 E 6th Street, Los Angeles, California 90021. Free parking can easily be found on 6th Street, Mill Steet, and Conway. If you would prefer to park right next to the building, there is a $10 flat-rate lot next to the building and a $5 flat-rate lot across the street. My studio is located on the 3rd Floor in unit 319 but please call upon arrival so I can walk you up (its a large building that’s easy to get lost in and that has a front door code).