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Headshot Wardrobe
Lost on what to wear for your headshots? Here’s a quick guide to help make the selection process easier.
Congratulations you booked a headshot session, now comes the fun part, planning what to wear to help make that winning image. First off, I’m going to define my idea of what a headshot is. It’s an image that captures your personality, has clean elements (backdrop and wardrobe), and crops from about mid chest up to just a little above the hair line. But don’t confuse the simple parameters as this being something that is as easy as standing in front of the dmv camera to get your driver’s license image. Plus how many of us actually like our driver’s license image? I suppose if we did, it’d be our headshot photo of choice across all our social platforms :)!
Okay, let’s talk wardrobe! The focus of your headshot should be on your winning face and personality, and the outfit is there to work with that…not distract. What could distract? In general, clothes that are loose fitting, are bright in color, or have large patterns. Avoiding clothing that meet the above criteria will help to keep the focus on you and not your clothing. Have a look at the below gallery to see some examples and I’ll deep dive into why to avoid these items of clothing. I included shots on different color backgrounds to also show how the background selection can affect the wardrobe choice as well.
Loose clothing might feel good, but it hides your form and while some of us may shy away from that, the purpose of the headshot is to present our best self forward to the world. A well fitting shirt or top will draw clean lines that won’t hide you from the world, but help make you pop!
Color plays an important role in your wardrobe selection and here’s why. If the color is too bright or doesn’t work well with one’s skin tone, it can easily distract or take center stage. A little bit of color is great as it helps to provide that pop, but that’s all you want..a pop and all eyes on your amazing face. Overly bright or neon like colors, will easily draw the attention away from you and that’s no good.
Last but not least, patterns. Patterns are fun to get lost in and again not something you want the viewers of your headshot to do when looking at your image. The one instance where a pattern can work, is if it is a tight one that almost makes it look solid. Ultimately your best choice will be a solid colored top.
I hope this quick guide has helped to ease the process of selecting what to wear for your headshot session. Let me know your thoughts and other tips in the comments below.
5 Tips For Fall Family Session Success
Looking to update your family photos this year? Here are some simple tips that can help you accomplish that!
Fall is here and this is generally the time of year families start to think about having updated family photos taken. As well, get that key photo to be used on the holiday cards. Whether you are a small family or a large one, these simple tips and ideas should help get you started in capturing something fun and memorable for this year.
Have a Plan
Coordinating a good shoot takes some planning. “But I want things to be spontaneous”, you say. You can still be spontaneous and in the moment, a plan just helps to at least get you going. Get an idea of the location, clothing, accessories figured out and then go about having fun creating your photos.
Wardrobe
Do you want to be more casual or dressed up? Either way, for a more timeless look, keep to solid colored outfits. Stripes, plaids and patterns generally distract the attention away from you, the subject. There are times where you can break the rules, play around and don’t get too stressed out over it. You want the outfits to match who you are as individuals and as a family.
Location
Shooting on location can be tricky. You want to look for a location that is not too busy and visually pleasing. Again, like clothing, the focus should be on you and not entirely on the elements of the background. When shooting outside, aim to be on location in the early morning (7-10am) or early evening (5-8pm), to avoid having overly harsh sunlight shining on you and your subjects. If you can’t avoid it, aim to find a spot that has some shade to work under.
Camera and Gear
More than likely you’ll be shooting this with a camera phone or a consumer level camera. Don’t forget to have it on hand! Make sure batteries are charged, memory cards are ready, a tripod and a remote if you have one. I highly recommend the tripod and a remote way of triggering the camera, otherwise get good at setting a timer and running back and forth :). That latter part of running back and forth, basically make sure to get everyone else in position and ready, mark where you will be in the photo, set the timer and get yourself into your spot.
Have Fun!
Families with children and fur-babies that might not take direction well, try to relax! They are who they are and children really know when us parents/adults want something done and time their rebellion perfectly. The plan got you all together and ready for the photo session. Having fun will help you and everyone enjoy the process and capture something wonderful for the holiday season.
I hope you found these tips helpful. Of course if you’d rather not have to think too much about planning and capturing your family photos, I of course would be happy to help do all the heavy lifting, so you all can just have fun. If you have any questions or comments I’d love to hear them.