5 questions I ask clients before a Headshot Session

1. Have you ever had your headshot taken before, if so what did you like or dislike about it?

This is one of the most important questions to ask a headshot photography client, it provides a window into your previous experience. Was it a good experience? Were you really happy with your photo but simply need an update? What was it about how you looked that you’re happy with, is it that you look comfortable and approachable? Do you look like your best self, if so why?

It might sound like a simple initial question but as you can see there’s quite a bit of follow up. Some of us have a preferred angle, we want a killer smile with teeth or prefer a closed smile headshot because smiling with teeth isn’t something that feels natural to us. We all want a natural expression is what we want but getting there takes a collaborative effort with your photographer so that you can enjoy the process and achieve amazing results.

If you haven’t had your headshot taken before, then how do you imagine your headshot should look? How to look passionate at what you do, a pleasure to work with but still reliable and professional.

2. What is your profession?

What do you do for a living? Who are you trying to reach and impress with your headshot? By stating your profession, I can get a clearer picture of your target audience and make sure we’re tailoring the shoot with them in mind.

Is your current profession something you want to continue doing but in a new role or company or are you looking for a change? This question really helps direct the type of headshot session you could have, what the general industry standard is for headshots, whether you want to fit in with this or go against the grain.

3. Where will your headshot image be used?

This is another important question that helps identify the purpose of your headshot. If it's a professional photo for LinkedIn then you’ll want to consider how to make a great first-impression you want to make on a potential future employer, hirer manager or recruiter. According to LinkedIn your headshot “should always be fresh, show character and be professional rather than personal.” So if you’ve got that cropped photo of you from a wedding or any event for that matter unless it’s relevant to the work that you do then it’s probably a good idea to get a fantastic profile photo sorted.

Some of the elements that contribute to a great LinkedIn Profile headshot include the type of clothing you might want to consider (sleeveless is best avoided), your body language, cropping and composition.

4. Which background colour would you like to go with?

So we’ve described some of the not so fun aspects of professional headshots, but what if you want to add some creativity into your image and want a headshot with a bit of personality.

You’re here to put your best foot forward and open yourself to new job opportunities that align with your career objectives.

Standing out against the crowd has never been so important, you want a headshot that makes people pause. One of the easiest ways to do this is with your background colour choice. There’s a lot of psychology to colour symbolism and a quick google of colour meaning brings some interesting results:

• Red

  Excitement, energy, passion, love, desire, speed, strength, power, heat, aggression, danger, fire.

• Pink

  Symbolizes love and romance, caring, tenderness, acceptance and calm.

• Beige

  Symbolizes calm and simplicity.

• Yellow

  Signifies joy, happiness, imagination, hope.

• Dark Blue

  Symbolizes integrity, knowledge, power, and seriousness.

• Blue

  Peace, tranquility, cold, calm, stability, harmony, unity, trust, truth, confidence, conservatism, security, cleanliness, order, loyalty.

• Purple

  Royalty, nobility, spirituality, ceremony, wisdom.

• Orange

  Energy, balance, enthusiasm, warmth, attention.

• Green

  Nature, environment, healthy, good luck, renewal, youth.

• Brown

  Earth, stability, hearth, home, outdoors, reliability, comfort, endurance, simplicity, and comfort.

• Grey

  Security, reliability, intelligence, modesty, conservative, practical.

• White

  Reverence, purity, simplicity, cleanliness, peace, humility, precision.

• Black

  Power, sophistication, formality, elegance, wealth, mystery, depth, anonymity.

As you can see the colour options are limitless. Even within each colour you can pick your favourite tone, just send through an example and it can be colour matched.

5. What are you planning to wear?

Deciding what to wear is surprisingly one of the hardest decisions, every day can involve many outfit changes before stepping out the door, especially in a city like Melbourne, so it goes without saying that deciding what to wear is something that needs preparation and thought.

What to wear checklist:

• Dress code: casual, smart casual or business professional attire?

• What colours compliment your skin tone, eye & hair colour?

• Does the clothing colour contrast nicely against the background (we don’t want you to blend into the background).

• If there’s a logo is it part of your branding otherwise it’s better to do without.

• Are you wearing patterns? Unfortunately, cameras and patterns don’t make great friends, it’s distracting to the eye and can cause some digital errors with this wavy effect called Moiré.

• Lastly, is your clothing neatly pressed and lint free?

I hope reading this blog post about the thought process behind the top five questions I ask a client before a headshot session helps remove some of the initial guesswork into what this process involves. But if in doubt please don’t hesitate to reach out and ask any questions about an On Brand Melbourne Headshot Session!