How to best prepare for a photo session should be enjoyable, simple, and yet with thoughtful planning. It is not rocket science, but if you don't pay attention to certain details it will affect your appearance. Let's start by going over things you may already know, but sometimes, we tend to forget due to the excitement of getting our own professionally-taken photos.
Avoid Changing Your Look Shortly Before the Photo Session
Although one of the best times to get your new professionally done headshots is when you change your look (hair and color), doing it shortly before the photo session is not the best idea, especially for women. You may not like it and may run into a time constraint to reverse the effect or work out any errors by the stylist. It is best to do it with advance time so that you get more used to your new look and make changes if necessary.
Get Your Beauty Sleep
Get a good night's sleep for a few days before the photoshoot, or at the very least the night before. But don't oversleep either; don't try to make up for lack of sleep the night before. Sleeping too much may result in puffy or baggy eyes; lack of or poor sleep will probably have the same effects plus even the abominable dark circles under the eyes.
Eat Healthily, Drink Water and Avoid Alcohol
There are numerous health benefits of eating a healthy diet and drinking enough water, but for the effects of photography, keeping these two things in check will have a positive impact on your appearance and how you feel during the session. We are talking about the beauty benefits for the skin and hair as well as having a happy stomach during the session. Hydrate and eat well.
Last but not least, avoid drinking too much alcohol or nothing at all the night before as it may very well swell your hands, fingers, and eyes (plus possibly an inevitable headache). Alcohol may also dehydrate you and affect the quality of your sleep.
Choose Clothing Carefully and with a Purpose
To avoid stressing out about what to bring to your photoshoot, here are a few general tips to keep in mind when choosing your pieces of clothing for your photo session:
- Choose your clothing based on the intention of the photo session.
- If it is a headshot photo session, think about the reason for renewing your headshots. Keep in mind your title, your workplace, your functions, and don't forget your style. Your new headshot/portrait must communicate a message and your role.
- If your headshot/portrait is exclusively for work, you will probably want to maintain and follow its business dress code as a guideline to choose your clothing.
- In general, avoid strong, detailed, or busy patterns, too contrasting or distracting colors or colors that do not become you or you dislike.
- Jewel tones such as sapphire blue, emerald green, royal purple, ruby red, and white, neutrals, black, dark red, and blue are nice colors that always photograph well with all skin tones, eyes, and hair colors.
- Simple necklines draw attention to your face. Use necklines that don’t show too much of the skin such as shirt collar styles, round, square jewel, crew, boat, high neck, and other necklines that are not too trendy. Avoid using plunging V necks, halter, strapless, or spaghetti unless under a perfectly polished jacket or sweater.
- Use a good-looking necktie but not too trendy or loud.
- Men can also wear button-down shirts under a perfectly ironed/steamed jacket for a more corporate/executive look.
- Try to avoid seasonal, trendy, or prints with text.
- Make sure your clothes fit your frame well even if it is a relaxed style cut.
- Make sure your clothes are clean and ironed or steamed. Wrinkles and pronounced creases are distracting and take away the attention from you.
If you are doubtful about what to bring, no worries. Bring whatever you can, as much as you can, and we will figure it out here at the studio.
Accessories and Jewelry
I always tell my kids that their best accessory is their smile. The same is true for your photoshoot unless it is a fashion/commercial shoot. Accessories or jewelry should not overpower by any means your facial expression or smile. So, keep your accessories and jewelry to a minimum, classy and inconspicuous, especially so, for a corporate headshot or portrait.
Hair, Facial Hair, Nails, and Make-up
I do realize most women feel comfortable with how they do their own makeup when they do. But, I still recommend getting your makeup done by a makeup artist. She will know how much or how little to do your makeup depending on the type of headshot you want.
Men don't need to worry much about makeup but they need to pay attention to their hair and facial hair. For men, it is a good idea to refresh their haircut a few days before the shoot just in case you need to go back to the barbershop for any last-minute fixes. If you have facial hair, make sure it is nicely groomed and clean.
Getting a manicure before is important in a photo shoot because hands are visible all the time. Unmanicured nails look bad and can ruin a headshot or a nice closeup pose. We recommend you choose a neutral, natural, or color that matches or combines with your clothing palette.
I hope these tips will help you best prepare for your upcoming photo shoot. It should be fun and stress-free! Should you have any additional questions on how to best prepare for your photo session, please feel free to email me, text, or call me at 571-295-8060.
Adriana