How to dress for headshot portraits depends largely on how the images will be used. Accordingly, most people already know how to be dressed. That said, try to dress comfortably, if you can. Since headshots focus primarily on the head and shoulders region, you can get away with wearing shorts or blue jeans. The pictures will never know the difference. Feeling relaxed and comfortable, during your sitting, can yield better facial results.

The colors to wear depends on the look you are going for. I do not like to tell people how to dress, because there are always exceptions to every rule. But, if you want my personal opinion, for business headshots the safest bet is to go with solid colors, over shirts and blazers that have designs or patterns to them. The latter is fine if you are an artist, an actor or somebody that wants to show character, but in the corporate and general business world stick with solid colors. Whenever I have photographed somebody both ways, they usually always agree the solid colors worked out better.

I caution against the use of bright green, orange or any color that may overwhelm viewer attention away from the face. You may also want to avoid colors that approximate the tone of your skin, such as beige, tan, peach and yellow. Again, these are just things to consider. What does not work for some people, may work for others. When it doubt, bring a second shirt or set of clothes. We can divide the shoot up, one for each new look.

For men, another reason I recommend a solid colored shirt is that I can usually smooth or iron them out with Photoshop, during the editing process. If there are stripes or some sort of pattern to your shirt, it will be very difficult, if not impossible for me to correct. Read more about the types of editing included with your headshots.

For businessmen, collared shirts, without buttons, generally photograph better than those with buttons. That said, if you only have buttoned collars, you should be fine.

Beware, if the shirt you are wearing when your are driving is the same one you plan to be photographed in, it may become creased. Seat belts are the law and that is a good thing, but maybe you want arrive in a different shirt. Then change into the dress shirt when you get here. It is up to you!

For women, sleeveless blouses can sometimes be an issue. I say this because I have had several customers who came to regret that choice. Remember, even though we are taking headshots, part of the upper arms will still show. As a result, the upper arms can stand out and appear more promiment then you would like. It is up to you! If you want to try it, we can certainly do that, but you may want to bring another shirt just in case. Blouses with short sleeves generally work out okay.

A bathroom, with a large mirror, is available adjacent to the photo room. This room will be yours, exclusively, for the duration of your stay. If you would like to try more than one look, you are welcome to bring a change of clothes. You can hang your clothes on my curtain rod.

Come as you are or bring make-up if you like. If you are fortunate enough to have hair on your head, be sure to bring a brush or comb. As immaculate as it may be, I often have to make adjustments to it, as we go along.

Get the red out. If you suffer from allergies or tired looking eyes, consider using eye drops before you arrive for your shoot. That said, I can simply edit the red out too, using what I like to call digital visine. I simply select the whites of your eyes in Photo Shop and remove the red.

There are two types of eye glasses, the ones that are glare-free and the ones that are not. Unfortunately, if you have the ones that are not glare-free, your photo shoot may be limited to a few rigid poses. To combat this, consider bringing a set of glassless frames if you have them, or unscrew the lenses from a spare set.

FOR GUYS: If your appointment is in the afternoon, and you are one of those guys that can grow a full 'Rip van Winkle' overnight or tends to develop a shadow around four o'clock in the afternoon, unless that is the look you are going for, you may want to consider bringing a shaving kit, or shaving before you get here. As a photographer, who has used Photo Shop for almost twenty years, I can work wonders. However, getting rid of that shadow is not one of them.

By all means, bring props, like a guitar, crochet needles, a pen, whatever goes with the image you want to project.