7 Headshot Tips for
a Great Session.

A great headshot isn't just about showing up and smiling. The difference between a good result and a great one usually comes down to a few specific things you can control. Here are seven tips from photographers who've shot thousands of sessions.

1. Get your haircut 5–7 days before

Not the day before. A fresh cut always looks slightly too tight and too clean on camera — it reads as "I just got a haircut" rather than "this is how I look." Give it nearly a week to settle into its natural shape. The exception: if you're going for a very close crop, 2–3 days is fine.

2. Bring two outfit options

Even if you plan on wearing one thing, bring a backup. Something that looks great in your bathroom mirror can behave differently under studio lighting — colours shift, patterns vibrate, fabrics wrinkle in unexpected places. A second option takes 30 seconds to swap into and gives you insurance.

For colours: navy, charcoal, deep green, and burgundy all photograph exceptionally well. Pure white washes out against light backdrops. Busy patterns (small checks, tight stripes) create a visual effect called moiré on camera. Solid or very subtle textures are safest.

3. Arrive settled, not rushed

The first 5–10 shots of any session are almost always stiffer than what comes later. If you've just run from the subway, that tension is in your face and your posture. Arrive 5 minutes early, take a few slow breaths, and give yourself a moment to land. The physical state you walk in with shows up in the first frames.

4. Think about your expression, not your smile

The most common direction photographers give is "smile more." The most common result is a forced smile that looks exactly like a forced smile. Instead, think about your expression as a whole: what do you want people to feel when they look at this photo? Confidence? Warmth? Authority? Approachability?

A genuine-looking expression comes from behind the eyes, not from the mouth. Think of something that genuinely makes you feel the way you want to project — a person you like, a moment of confidence — and let it happen naturally rather than performing a smile.

5. Angle your body, not just your face

Straight-on to camera is rarely the most flattering angle. A slight turn — shoulders at a 30–45 degree angle to the camera, with your face turned back toward the lens — creates depth, slims the frame, and looks more natural than a full frontal shot. Your photographer will direct this, but knowing it in advance means you can lean into the adjustment rather than resisting it.

6. Don't over-retouch

Professional retouching removes temporary blemishes, smooths harsh shadows, and corrects colour. It shouldn't change the structure of your face, remove the lines that make you look like yourself, or make you look 10 years younger. Over-retouched headshots backfire when you meet someone in person — the gap between your photo and your appearance erodes trust immediately.

At SpeedyHeadshots, our retouching philosophy is: make you look like yourself on your best day, not like someone else.

7. Trust the process

Most people feel awkward in front of a camera, especially in the first few minutes. That's completely normal. Your photographer has seen this hundreds of times and knows how to move past it. The best thing you can do is follow direction, stay present, and resist the urge to manage every shot by asking to see the screen constantly.

The shots where you stopped thinking about being photographed are almost always the best ones. Let the photographer do their job.