One of the biggest questions I receive from clients having their headshot done with me is:
what do I wear?
And that is a very solid and important question to ask!
What you wear will affect your image, big time.
I always recommend people wear something that makes them feel confident.
Whether that’s your favorite t-shirt or a fancy ball gown, if you feel good in it, that confidence is going to show in your images.
It also depends on what your headshot will be used for:
Is it for LinkedIn and for business purposes?
You may want to lean into business or business casual looks, like a blazer with a shirt & tie or a blouse.
Will you be using your headshots to get acting jobs?
Dress for the part or character you are hoping to play!
Need a headshot for a podcast or You Tube Channel?
Make sure the clothing you wear fits for the genre you’re involved in.
If you lean more towards finance, wear a business casual look that works for that audience;
In Tech: pull out those Patagonia fleeces or a flannel button down;
Talking about solving Cold Cases and Unsolved Murders?
Dress for the personality you present online.
Whether that’s dark layers or bright t-shirts.
The important thing about the clothing is that it shouldn’t over shadow you.
The first thing you want people to notice when they view your headshot is your eyes.
You want to make eye contact with your viewer so they’ll want to stick around and find out more about you.
You want your clothing choices to accentuate you, show you off in your best light.
But not scream for attention.
If you have a bold and vibrant personality and it makes sense to wear bold and bright colors, do it!
If you prefer understated or dark layers, because that’s who you are, wear that.
One thing you do not want to do is wear clothing you would never ever wear in reality.
You want to avoid any inauthenticity in your images.
Clothing can help build trust in an image. It can show your audience a little bit more about who you are.
People like to know who they are working with, so don’t be afraid to bring items into your session that are truly YOU.
You’ll never go wrong being honest about who you are to your ideal audience. They will love it!
Trust is the most important thing when it comes to any image you put out there of yourself. If your images show a young 20-something yet you’re actually a gorgeous 40-something – you’re gonna want to show case the 40 year old, not the past 20 year old.
Getting older is a beautiful privilege. Many will not get to experience aging.
Try to embrace it.
I know, I KNOW! I’m coming up on 50 (what!?) and it’s not easy. But it’s also quite nice.
I’ve earned every single one of my wrinkles and scars and imperfections.
They’re mine, from a life that I have spent LIVING.
Celebrate that!
A few no-nos when it comes to clothing for your headshot session: items with logos, unless that logo speaks to who you are, who you work for, or what you do. Logos, in headshots, can be distracting.
Watch those wrinkles! While retouching can eliminate some wrinkles, if you’re relying on the retoucher to digitally iron your clothing, it’s going to get costly!
Bring a steamer (or let me know, I can have one available on-set during your headshot session).
Ill-fitting clothing is a big deal. Yes, a qualified retoucher can and will digitally alter your clothing.
But, again, that is going to cost you.
It’d be less expensive to bring your items to get altered properly before your session.
Or purchase/rent items that properly fit.
A proper fit will also lend itself to you feeling confident and not “thinking” about your outfits.
When your mind starts to wander thinking about how the jacket it too lose or tight, or the dress pants are too long, those thoughts are going to show in your images. Trust me, you do not want that.
Color wise, again, I say go with colors that work with your skin tone. Go with colors that may work with your brand or website colors. There are no wrong colors – ever. But there are ways to use colors properly.
There is color theory and symbolism and it does work. Color is important and can help you say so may things without saying one word.
Check this site out for some color symbolism and meanings.
Remember that white items can be slightly distracting. Often we might want to calm that white down with a layer (blazer, cardigan, scarf, vest).
Black is amazing and simple and classic, but watch your black clothing! If you’re wearing black on black, make sure your blacks match well. Watch that the black isn’t too faded or you’ll end up with a washed-out gray look.
Clothing for headshots does not have to be boring and you certainly do not need to wear what everyone else is wearing.
Unless your company or organization requires a certain look (and that’s ok!), then I say,
“The sky is the limit!”.
When you book with the studio we go over all the details about types of clothing to bring, colors that will work for your session, and a whole mess of other items. We’ll go over every detail so that on the day of the photoshoot you don’t have to worry about a thing.
Except stepping in front of the lens – and I promise you – I will make that part as super calming and relaxing as possible.
Have more questions about professional headshots? Please feel free to reach out and ask!
Looking forward to creating with you soon!
Stacey
