Everyone Needs a Professional Headshot
A professional headshot is something that (almost) every adult needs. In today’s image-driven world, a headshot photo is the modern equivalent to the calling card. The need for a classic, well lit, head and shoulders portrait crops up in so many different places, from the more obvious (LinkedIn or other job hunt profiles, business websites and social media accounts) to the less common (volunteer profiles, board profiles, author photos in blog or magazine article writing). A good headshot creates an important first impression. You want your image to be current, technically on-point, and your look to project the message you are actually trying to convey. What are you trying to tell the viewer about yourself?
Unless you’ve had a headshot portrait session in the last couple of years, chances are you need one now. Most professional photographers need only about 15 or 20 minutes to create a basic studio portrait. (A more robust portfolio of branding images for a business takes more time.) The cost typically ranges from $175-$300 in the Greater Toronto Area for an image with digital delivery.
How to Prepare for a Headshot Photo Session
Now you know you need a headshot session, how do you prepare? The most important items to consider :
- Location
- Wardrobe
- Hair and Make-up
Location
There are essentially two choices – studio or “on location” (e.g. your office). A studio session will typically have a blank neutral background somewhere in the range from white to dark grey. This is the most classic, “use anywhere” style. A location-based portrait is more often used by entrepreneurs to reflect their business identity. If the image is being used on your business website, a setting can be helpful information to your viewer. However, if you’ve been asked for an image that will be displayed alongside other individuals (e.g. for a series of volunteer profiles), a blank background may be preferable.
Wardrobe
Wardrobe choice is all about the story you want to tell with your image. This is not a one-size-fits-all decision. Consider these extremes – a corporate lawyer likely doesn’t want to be wearing sweats, just as a fitness instructor shouldn’t be wearing a suit (unless you’re trying to make a radical career change!) Dress for how you want to be seen.
Your wardrobe should be representative of the type of outfit you’ll be wearing when you meet clients, maybe half a step above that. Try to avoid big, bold prints, anything with high contrast – you want people to be paying attention to your face, not your shirt. Bring along a different layer to your session that you can pop over the top, or a quick accessory to add like a scarf. This will give you a little more variety of proof images to choose from.
Hair and Make-up
This is mostly a personal choice. Your make-up look should be similar to your client meeting look or a half step above. This is not a glamour shoot. You don’t want a “night on the town” look. Your client should feel comfortable recognizing you when they meet you in person relative to what they’ve seen in your photo. It’s a bit disconcerting to meet someone and they look nothing like the photo on their website! The goal of a good headshot is to build connection and familiarity.
Do you need to have your hair and make-up professionally done? Probably not. With the logic of being similar to your normal client meeting look, unless you have pro-make-up done every day, you likely don’t need it for your headshot. That said, some people do feel more confident on a “good hair day” that might follow a routine salon visit, so you may want to book your photo session around a scheduled colour touch-up or trim appointment.
That’s it. A headshot session doesn’t need to be a big ordeal. The decisions are simple. The session is short. That doesn’t mean it’s not important. A professional headshot is essential for “adulting” in the 21st century. To see more of my headshot portfolio, click through here. If you have questions or realize you need to book a headshot session, please get in touch by sending me a message, or calling me at 905.464.0648.
