What to Wear (and How to Prepare) for Your Headshot Session

Most people would rather sit through a filling than spend twenty minutes in front of a proper camera. Something about a high-resolution lens makes grown adults forget how their own face and hands normally work. The fix isn't confidence, particularly — it's preparation.

The Two Days Before

• Sleep properly. Eight hours if you can manage it — eye bags are much harder to edit out than a stray hair

• Go easy on salt and alcohol. Puffiness shows up on camera in ways it doesn't in the mirror

• Drink actual water, not just tea. Guilty as charged on this one myself

What to Wear

• Solid colours over patterns — busy prints fight your face for attention and usually win

• Jewel tones (navy, emerald, burgundy) suit almost everyone under studio light

• Fit over label — too loose reads as borrowed, too tight reads as tense

• Dress for your industry: a barrister and a graphic designer shouldn't be shopping the same rail

The Pose: It's All in the Angles

The difference between a mugshot and a headshot is almost entirely posture. Push your face slightly forward, drop your chin a fraction, and turn your body about a quarter away from the camera before bringing your face back to it. It feels ridiculous — like a pigeon spotting a chip — but it's what creates a sharp jawline instead of a flat, front-on stare.

It feels ridiculous. On camera, it looks like confidence. Trust the process, not the mirror.

Hands, Since You're Wondering

Standing: fold them loosely. Sitting: rest them on your lap or the table. That's genuinely the whole rule — nobody has ever been told their headshot's hands looked too calm.

On the Day

Turn up as you are and let me do the rest. I'll spend the first few minutes talking to you about anything other than the camera — it's usually the quickest way to get the stiffness out of your shoulders — and by the time we're properly shooting, you'll likely have forgotten it's happening. Pricing is agreed upfront, I come to you, and if you don't love the shots afterwards, we sort it out. No arguing.