Corporate Headshots | FAQ
How should I prepare for the shoot?
A headshot is so much more than ‘just a photo’, and has significant implications to how major influencers in your career see you - from recruiters to potential colleagues to clients - especially in today’s digital world, where your on-line profile is very often people’s first point of contact with you.
So, for you to get the most out of your shoot, the more information you can give me in advance, the better, to ensure that I have a clear understanding of your business sector and the image that you are aiming to communicate in that context. I’ve included space on your booking form for you to do that, but please also feel free to give me a call anytime prior to the shoot to tell me a bit more about you and your business.
It’s no exaggeration to say that first port of call could also be the last if your headshot is sending out the wrong messages. If you’re in any doubt about that, please take a moment to read this blog post about the dangers of getting it wrong.
What should I wear?
The simplest and best advice is to wear what you would normally wear if you were going to meet a new client. Obviously that will differ from sector to sector but, whatever your business, I always recommend that it’s a good idea to include more formal and more casual looks in the shoot so you have some flexibility for different platforms and different audiences.
Single / block colours tend to work best, either fairly neutral (black, white, grey, beige, brown) or mid-tone / pastel (blues, reds, oranges, greens etc.). It’s usually best to avoid bright patterns and logos on clothing as they can date very quickly as well as being quite distracting, quite apart from the fact that we want the focus to be on your face, not on what you’re wearing!
Having said that, if you’re someone who naturally stands out from the crowd, why not celebrate that? There are still some do’s and dont’s in terms of clothing that works best on camera if you do have a distinctive look, but we can talk that through when you give me your brief; in the meantime, you might find this article useful - it summarises my top tips for getting a great LinkedIn profile pic, but most of the principles apply across all types of business headshot.
What about hair & make-up?
If you’re planning to get your hair cut, please don’t get it cut on the same day as the shoot, just in case it doesn’t go quite to plan! It’s always best to allow at least a couple of days to allow it to settle.
Should you require professional hair and make-up I have some great local contacts and am happy to provide you with a couple of quotes and recommendations. However, I also believe that headshots should be as natural as possible, so for the vast majority of shoots, there’s no need to deviate from your day to day cosmetics - again, it’s best to keep things as simple as possible.
If you have a tendency towards shiny skin, I provide carbon skin blotters that reduce shine without affecting your make-up, and for women, a bit of concealer or foundation is also a good idea to compensate for any glare from the studio lights.
Should I wear my glasses?
Normally I’d suggest it’s a good idea to shoot with and without glasses for the sake of variety, but it’s really up to you. If you normally wear glasses and people are used to seeing you in them, wear them. If you only wear them for computer work / reading and don’t often wear them when meeting people, make the decision beforehand whether or not to wear them for the shoot. If you aren’t going to wear them, make sure you take them off at least half an hour before the session so you don’t have red marks either side of your nose.
And make sure you give them a really good clean. It’s surprising how much dust / fingerprints / eyelash hair etc. can show up in your shots; this can be removed with retouching, but it can be quite time-consuming and incur an extra charge, so try to make sure the lenses are spotless and if your frames pick up fingerprints or grease marks, give them a clean as well.
How do I pay?
A 50% deposit is required to confirm your booking date (or you can pay in full if that’s easier for you), and any advance payment is fully refundable up to three days before the shoot if you decide to cancel for any reason. But I also understand that from time to time things crop up that are beyond our control, so session fees are transferable to another session date if you need to rearrange for another time at shorter notice.
You can pay in whichever way is easiest for you - cash, cheque, card and on-line transfers are all fine. If you require an invoice and receipt for your records, please try and let me know in advance so that I can have them ready for you at the session.
Will you re-touch the headshots that I choose?
Much like my advice on hair and make-up, I always recommend that your final headshots should be as natural-looking as possible. So whilst I will use Photoshop to do some re-touching, I'll use it sparingly.
Within all the package prices, I'll correct anything that's temporary, such as skin blemishes and redness, or just a bit untidy, such as flyaway hairs, but if there are any cosmetic issues that you particularly want to address, such as teeth whitening, under-eye circles and lines etc. I'm generally happy to do that for a minimal extra fee, as long we're still in the ballpark of cosmetic tweaks rather than cosmetic surgery!
How many images do I receive and where do I access them?
I don't believe in just sending you all of the images that we create during the shoot; in a typical headshot session, I'll often take at least 200-300 shots, and I think sending them all at once can just feel a little overwhelming. But I'm also aware that the images that I think work best may not always be my clients' favourites, so at the end of the shoot we'll normally sit down together to do a first edit of the images to ensure I haven't missed anything that you might like in the final selection.
After that, I'll upload my recommended shortlist of images to a password-protected gallery on my website, which allows you to download your favourites direct to your desktop or mobile device, as well as ordering prints, if you need them, that get delivered direct to any address you specify.
