What should I wear for my business headshot?

What to wear for a smart professional business headshot

When choosing clothing for your professional business headshot: think about what you’d wear if you were meeting the people you want to view your image.

For a lot of people that means – classic. A favourite suit that fits you well. Ties look best when their tone lands between the suit and the shirt– so a light shirt, a dark suit, and a tie in a shade somewhere between them.

If you don’t usually wear a suit – just make sure it’s ironed and fits you well. Often collars (shirts or polo shirts) are flattering. I’d avoid a plain white shirt and stay away from anything with bold, distracting patterns, stripes, slogans and anything that’s really reflective or shiny (silk ties.)

Headshot clothing advice for Women

Wear something that you normally wear to work – something for that important meeting. Not something for the Christmas party. Something that fits you well.

V-necks accentuate the neckline and generally look best for women. Just don’t choose something with too low of a neckline: no cleavage. And as a general rule, I’d avoid turtlenecks: they tend to make people look like they have no neck.

Try to stay away from short sleeves or tank tops: executive headshots tend to look better without bare arms, but if you’d like to try showing arms in a sleeveless blouse or shift dress, bring a blazer or sweater to put over it as an additional option.

For jewellery, go for something small, classic, and not very reflective or flashy. Earrings shouldn’t dangle more than an inch from your earlobe. Simpler is always better.

Makeup: This is a professional shot of you at work. So think about that when you’re applying your make up. A natural look always works best. What you’d wear for a big night out, probably won’t work for a corporate headshot. Keep it simple and make sure it feels good for you. If you normally wear a strong lipstick, then that’s fine, but don’t go for a bold look if you don’t normally look like that.

Hair: I’d suggest bringing a hairbrush to the shoot – just in case! It might be that we’ll trial hair up or down – bring a brush to make sure your hair looking it’s best.