Your Products.
Bring along your business products. Do you sell oils, a handmade product, are you a personal fitness coach? Bring along whatever it is that you’re trying to sell to your clients. Let them see YOU using the products you love. This will allow your clients and future clients to trust you because they will see you loving your product!
Your Phone.
Yes, we use our phones, a lot! Having images of you on your phone can be so useful when you make posts about shopping for products, or a post about checking your email. These simple images can be used in so many ways!
Your favorite drink.
A drink is a perfect prop - we can use it for pictures, plus take a drink when we take a break! ;) Brining a long anything you enjoy drinking. Your favorite coffee mug, your water bottle, even bring a your after hours drink. We can have so much fun with a wine glass or a bottle of beer! This will also show your clients another side of you.
Your Computer.
Bring along your laptop, iPad and/or a notebook. Using these as a prop will make a great post for you about working, duh! You can use these to post about what your working on, how hard you’ve been working and to let everyone know you’re working hard for them!
What to wear?
I suggest bringing a few outfits so you can have a good variety to use.
Wear your branding colors so you match your website.
Wear your logo, your merchandise, and what you wear for work.
Bring a hat, glasses or scarf to dress up an outfit.
Stay away from flesh-tones, like light yellow, nude, or light tan. Clothes that contrast against your skin tend to look better.
Look for jewel tones: navy, maroon/burgundy/ruby, mustard, emerald. These look good on just about everyone!
Skip logos and busy patterns. We want to focus on you!
Don’t worry too much about pants and shoes; the image will not capture anything below your hips – likely nothing lower than your waist.
Practice posing in what you’re wearing. No, seriously. You could rock the cutest outfit of all time, but if the only pose you’re comfortable with involves crossing your arms and that blazer is too snug to make it work, you won’t be a happy camper!
Practice in the mirror! Again – I’m totally serious here! True life: if I force a smile for the camera, I literally look dead inside. But when I think about something funny and let myself laugh a little, I look like me! I would never have realized that if I hadn’t spent some time in front of the mirror figuring it out. Be a little vain! Your headshot will thank you.
Wear what accentuates your best features, and conceal what you’re not comfortable with. I don’t like drawing extra attention to my upper arms, so you can bet I won’t be going strapless!
A few more tips for the ladies…
Scoop or v-necks work best to elongate the neck.
Simple jewelry is best. Statement necklaces can work if they aren’t too busy, and earrings aren’t competing for attention.
Chunky fabrics can make you look heavier, but too thin fabric can show lines through it, so watch the weight of what you are wearing. Textured fabrics tend to photograph well.
Even if you don’t wear makeup, it is recommended for your headshot since we will likely be using some studio lighting. A few things to think about:
Curling your eyelashes can make a big difference.
Don’t forget about your lips! Even if you don’t regularly wear lipstick, a neutral shade can really help your lips pop a little.
A little blush and bronzer is great, but if you’re not used to contouring, don’t take this as an opportunity to copy Kim Kardashian. Keep it simple!
and these are for the men!
You have it much easier than your female counterparts.
If you’re clueless on what to wear, you can’t go wrong with a solid colored button down, rolled at the sleeves, with dark jeans or neutral colored pants.
Facial hair is fine, but make sure to trim it up so you don’t accidentally rock a 5 o’clock shadow.
If you typically wear undershirts, make sure they aren’t visible under your top shirt (v-necks are easier to hide).
Opt for a tailored look over something that may come across as too relaxed. Tuck in your shirt, grab a nice belt, and make sure your clothing is more fitted than loose.