What to Wear for Your Headshot

A short guide to help you plan. Bring more than you think you need. We will choose together on the day.

You do not need a new outfit. Most people plan for a week and then wear the thing they already felt good in. That is usually the right answer.

If you are nervous about this part, that is normal, and it is my job, not yours. Here is everything you need, shortest version first.

A woman with short, curly dark hair smiling at the camera, wearing an orange sleeveless top and layered silver necklaces against a plain gray background.

Start Here

Three things do most of the work.

  1. Fit. Close to the body, not tight. Baggy adds weight on camera. Tight creates pull lines across the chest and buttons.

  2. Solid color. Patterns compete with your face. Solids keep attention where it belongs.

  3. Pressed. Wrinkles are the one thing we cannot fix quickly. Steam everything and bring it on hangers, not folded in a bag.

Get those right and you are ahead of almost everyone who walks in.

A woman with long dark hair and a white dress sitting on a beige couch, smiling, with one leg crossed over the other, and wearing tan high-heeled sandals. The background features a wooden table with a small potted plant, a large green plant, and a wall art piece depicting an ocean scene.
An older man with gray hair wearing a white dress shirt and a black blazer, standing against a dark background, with one hand clasped over the other.
A woman wearing a white blazer and matching trousers, with a black top underneath, standing against a dark background. She has shoulder-length hair with light brown highlights, and is accessorized with a butterfly necklace, earrings, and a bracelet. She is smiling softly and has her right hand resting on her blazer.

How Many Looks to Bring

Express session: 2 looks
Signature session: 3 to 4 looks

Bring one extra either way. It is easier to set something aside than to wish you had packed it.

Build them like this:

Formal. Darker and structured. A blazer, suit jacket, or crisp button-up. This is your authority shot.

Approachable. Lighter and softer, still polished. A knit top, open collar, or fine sweater. This is the one you will use on social media.

You. Your color, your texture, the piece you actually feel good in. This is often the shot clients love most.

If you booked the Express session, bring the first two.

Color

Wear: navy, charcoal, deep green, burgundy, plum, warm gray, cream.

Skip: neon and hot brights, which reflect color onto your skin. Also satin and sequins, which bounce light back and create bright spots.

A small bonus. If you have options, warm neutrals and deep blues brighten blue or gray eyes. Plum and olive brighten green eyes. Navy and emerald make brown eyes read lighter. Hazel eyes shifts with whatever is near it, so olive, bronze, and burgundy all work.

Not sure? Bring two and we will test both in camera. You will see the difference before we commit.

A smiling woman with long gray hair, wearing a sleeveless blue top and layered silver necklaces, against a dark gray background.

The Small Things

  • Long or three-quarter sleeves. Short sleeves read casual in a close crop.

  • Bring a layer. A jacket or cardigan adds structure and gives you a second look in seconds.

  • Vary your necklines. A crew, a v-neck, and an open collar frame your face three different ways.

  • Coordinating bottoms and shoes. Many shots are three-quarter length or seated.

  • Clean, trimmed nails. Hands show up more than you expect.

  • Simple jewelry. Nothing that swings.

If you wear a suit: skip the undershirt, since it shows through and adds bulk. Make sure your collar is stiff enough to hold its shape. A soft collar collapses on camera.

If you wear a dress or blouse: seamless or skin-tone undergarments disappear under clothing. Visible lines are the most common retouching request. Bring a strapless option if anything you packed is off-the-shoulder.

Comparison of two men's shirts collar styles; the left side shows a shirt with an unbuttoned collar, the right side shows a shirt with a properly buttoned collar.
Close-up of a person wearing a white collared shirt and a dark suit, with the left side showing an unbuttoned shirt collar and the right side showing a neatly buttoned shirt collar with a suit jacket.

If You Wear Glasses

Ask your optician for a spare frame with the lenses removed. It kills glare completely and usually costs nothing. If that is not an option, bring your least reflective pair, and skip transition or tinted lenses, which darken under studio light and hide your eyes.

Bring the case either way. We will shoot a few frames both ways.

A young woman with glasses and long, wavy brown hair smiling, holding a golf ball in her left hand, and gripping a golf club with her right arm, wearing a black jacket with white stripes on the sleeves, against a plain gray background.

Hair and Makeup

Signature session: professional hair and makeup is included. My artist works on site before we shoot.

Express session: available as an add-on.

It is worth it. Photography makeup is built differently from daily wear, and it holds under lights for the full session. It is also one less thing to manage on a morning when you already have enough to think about.

A woman with curly brown hair, blue eyes, and fair skin smiling at the camera, wearing a tan hoodie with a zipper, with a beach sunset photograph on the wall behind her.
A woman with long, wavy brown hair and blue eyes looking at the camera, wearing a tan zip-up top, seated indoors with a beach sunset photo on the wall behind her.

Your Two-Week Countdown

Two weeks out. Haircut or color now, not the week of. A fresh cut needs time to settle.

One week out. No facials, peels, injectables, spray tans, or new skincare. Nothing your skin has not met before.

Two days out. If you have a beard, shape it now rather than the morning of.

The night before. Press and pack everything on hangers. Lay out your jewelry, shoes, and undergarments. Go light on salt and alcohol.

The morning of. Come a few minutes early so you are not walking in rushed.

Signature session: arrive with clean, dry hair and a clean, moisturized face. No makeup. My artist handles everything here. Bring a signature lip color if you want it in a few frames.

Express session: arrive with hair finished. Keep makeup matte, with no SPF or shimmer in your foundation, since both reflect light. Skip shiny hair product, which catches studio light. Shave the morning of, or the night before if your skin gets irritated.

Leave at Home

  • Logos and visible branding

  • Busy patterns, thin stripes, small checks

  • Shiny or reflective fabric

  • Neon brights

  • Anything wrinkled

  • Anything you have never worn and are not sure about

Still Deciding?

Send me photos of your options before your session. I would rather spend ten minutes helping you choose than have you standing in front of your closet at 11pm.

Then let it go. Once you are here, the wardrobe part is finished. My only job is to show you what everyone else already sees.

Book Your Session