What to wear for a corporate headshot, from the other side of the camera
After a few thousand directed headshots, the patterns are obvious: what photographs well, what fights the backdrop, and what people worry about that never matters. Here is the short version.
What to wear
Solid colors in the middle of the range: navy, burgundy, forest, slate, camel. Structure beats fabric cost every time; a $60 blazer that holds its shoulder line photographs better than an expensive sweater that slumps. Necklines matter more than brands, and long sleeves nearly always win. If your company is standardizing a team page, agree on a formality level, not a uniform. Identical outfits read as a catalog; a shared level of polish reads as a company.
Match the outfit to the backdrop, not the other way round
Sessions here run on white, light grey, or dark grey backdrops, and the rule is contrast. Light backdrop, mid-to-dark clothing. Dark backdrop, mid-to-light. The failure mode is camouflage: a white shirt against white, or charcoal against dark grey, turns a headshot into a portrait of a face with no body attached. When in doubt, mid-tones survive every backdrop.
Patterns, jewelry, glasses, makeup
Tight patterns (fine stripes, small checks, dense herringbone) can moire on screens, which is where headshots live now. Keep jewelry smaller than the story you want your face to tell. Glasses are fine; a directed session handles glare by angling you, not by asking you to take them off. Makeup: normal is right, matte beats shimmer under studio light, and bring powder if you tend to shine. Nothing needs to be theatrical.
How to pose (spoiler: you mostly don't)
In a directed session, posing is the photographer's job. You will be turned slightly off-square, weight shifted, chin brought out and down a touch, because straight-on-and-stiff is the LinkedIn default and it flatters nobody. Several poses get shot, you pick your favorite on screen, and the frame that wins is almost always the one taken a half-second after an instruction, not during it. Full session mechanics are on the office headshots page.
The day-of checklist
Sleep beats products. Bring the backup outfit on a hanger, not in a bag. Skip the fresh haircut the morning of; give it a few days to settle. And eat lunch first if your slot is midday, because 140 people in a day is a real schedule and hungry photographs as grumpy. Browse real results in the examples gallery to pick a backdrop before your slot.
Questions, answered
- What should I wear for a corporate headshot?
- Solid mid-tone colors, a layer with structure (jacket, blazer, or a collared shirt that holds its shape), and nothing you would tug at between meetings. Bring a second option; the camera settles wardrobe debates in one frame.
- What colors should I avoid in a headshot?
- Whatever matches the backdrop. White shirt on a white backdrop reads as a floating head; charcoal on dark grey does the same trick. Skip fine pinstripes and tight checks too, since they can shimmer on screens.
- How do I pose for a corporate headshot?
- You mostly don't. A directed session means the photographer sets your shoulders, chin, and weight, then catches the frame between instructions. The one thing to bring: breathe out right before the shutter. Held breath photographs as held breath.
- Should I get my headshot taken in the morning or afternoon?
- Whenever you are least rushed. Under studio lighting the hour barely matters, but arriving straight from a sprint of back-to-back meetings shows up around the eyes.
- How often should a corporate headshot be updated?
- When it stops looking like the person who walks into the meeting. Job changes, big style changes, or roughly every few years, whichever arrives first. Most people are at least one job behind.
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