People don’t tend to make technical mistakes. They make psychological ones.
Let’s start with some obvious answers. Don’t stay up until 3am the night before. Don’t book a haircut for an hour before your shoot. Don’t forget to bring a few different outfits with you.
But in my experience, the biggest mistake people make is more psychological.
It’s remarkable how many people walk through the door already convinced that the session is going to be an uphill battle. They’ve had one bad passport photo, spent years hiding from group pictures, or simply never liked the way they look in photographs. And after a while, that mentality stops feeling like an opinion and starts feeling like a fact.
Are some people more comfortable in front of a camera than others? Of course.
But I’ve photographed enough people now to know that feeling awkward and looking awkward are different things. One disappears surprisingly quickly once somebody stops worrying about where to put their hands, whether they’re smiling too much or if they’re holding their head at the wrong angle. That’s my job, not yours.
The second mistake I wanted to write about, beyond the obvious, is trying to reinvent yourself for one photograph. I’ve mentioned this in my article about what to wear for professional headshots, but it’s worth repeating because I see it a fair bit. Someone who lives in trainers suddenly arrives in brogues. Somebody who hasn’t worn a blazer in years decides today is the day to become “corporate”. An actor starts dressing for the roles they’d like to play rather than the person they’ll actually be when they walk into the audition room.
Nine times out of ten, the photographs become stronger the moment people stop trying to be a slightly different version of themselves.
The final mistake I wanted to mention is assuming we’ll either get the photo or we won’t. Headshots don’t usually work like that. They’re a process.
We’ll try things. Some will work almost immediately. Others won’t. We’ll look at the images together, make tiny adjustments to posture, lighting or expression and gradually refine them. That’s one of the reasons I stream every photograph to a professional monitor during the session. There’s no guessing, no hoping for the best and no nasty surprises when you get home.
By the end, we’ve usually arrived somewhere that neither of us could have predicted when we started.
So if you’re wondering how to prepare, my advice is actually quite simple. Bring a couple of outfits. Get a decent night’s sleep. Turn up on time.
Then leave the rest to me. Because the people who walk away happiest from their headshot session aren’t usually the most photogenic. They’re the ones who just put some trust in the photographer, are honest and open about what they feel is and isn’t working after reviewing the photos so far on the monitor, and stop trying too hard or over-thinking during the session!
GIVE ME SOME MORE PRACTICAL ONES, PLEASE?
If everything I’ve written so far has sounded a little philosophical, here’s a couple of more practical suggestions which aren’t rocket-science but are worth paying attention to:
Bring more than one neckline. When planing outfit options, people tend to prioritise different colours – but in the context of headshots, necklines often have a bigger impact. A crew neck, an open shirt, a roll neck and a V-neck all frame your face differently. Sometimes changing nothing but the neckline can transform a portrait so bear that in mind.
Second, try and moisturise your lips. It’s a tiny thing but can make a disproportionate difference, especially for men. Dry lips catch studio lighting much more than people realise.
Try not to overdo the makeup – professional makeup is absolutely fine, but using products to try and completely change your appearance for a photoshoot is usually not advisable for either casting directors (if you’re a performer) or LinkedIn (if you’re a professional). Unless you’re a drag queen…in which case, go for it.
Do iron your clothes if possible – or transport them properly. If you’re bringing shirts or jackets on hangers, keep them on hangers. People sometimes spend ages ironing something, then fold it into a backpack… I do have a portable steamer at the studio but I wouldn’t advise that eating into our time together too much.
That’s genuinely all I can think of. You really can’t mess up too much – everything is fixable, and as I said in the first half of this article, the most important thing is just that you don’t doubt yourself or your own ability to look great in front of the camera.
People don’t look awkward because they don’t know how to pose. They look awkward because they’re worried about looking awkward.
