Are You Ready For Your Close-up?

Incredible photos inspire terrific advertising. Point A Media’s photography brings brands to life - especially when YOU are the person being branded! The purpose of your professional photo is to put your best face forward and to be introduced and recognized. We want you to look amazing in your professional head shots and make sure you can use your photos for multiple applications. Smile! You want to appear friendly and approachable.

Getting Ready
What to Wear
Your portrait should focus on you, not your clothing. Be sure to wear solid colors (this includes ties, shirts and suits) – stripes and patterns tend to take away from the message and logos in your advertising. Don’t just think about this—try it all on. Pick something that isn’t too tight or too baggy. You want to make sure it all fits and is in great condition. If you’ve decided to buy new clothes, be sure you try those new clothes on or have them tailored before the shoot to make everything fits well and looks good.

When someone looks at your portrait their eyes move to the lightest area in the photo and that area should be your bright and smiling face. Darker clothing is slimming and timeless. Don’t date yourself with trendy colors, styles or patterns.

Create flexibility for full body shots or crops. A note on skirts, we know your legs look fabulous, but wear them at or below the knee to give us flexibility for full body shots or crops. That means you should wear matching pants with a sport coat.

Whatever you choose to wear, be sure that any wrinkles have been ironed out and that it’s free of pet hair and lint.

Keep it simple. Large “statement” jewelry pieces and accessories will pull attention away from your pretty face. We want your clients to remember your face – not that fancy brooch, necklace, ear bob or other bauble you added to the outfit.

If you normally wear glasses don’t worry about a glare. The lighting setup and photographer's positioning of your head will eliminate the glare and reflections from your glasses. If you don't want to wear glasses for your portrait, remove them 30 minutes before to avoid impressions on the bridge of your nose and beside your ears. If your glasses have Transitions lenses, remove the glasses and/or lenses for photos with UV light exposure.

Hair
Try out different styles ahead of time. This isn’t the time to relive your senior prom updo, wear your hair like you can fix it yourself. Don’t wait until the last minute to decide how you want your hair to look. Don’t get a new haircut or hair color too close to the day of the shoot. Give yourself enough time between your new look and the photo shoot in case you need to have it corrected.

Face
For healthy, hydrated looking skin, apply a moisturizer prior to foundation. Your foundation should match your skin color as closely as possible; if your neck and face do not match this will show up in the photograph. Choose natural light colors for eyeshadow. Apply eyeliner along your entire lash line and wear mascara. To avoid harsh pencil lines, consider filling brows with a soft, neutral eyeshadow that matches your hair color. Choose a blush that is close to your natural healthy glow and apply to cheek bones. Choose a lip color that is a few shades deeper than your natural and apply over a lip liner of the same color. Top with a clear gloss. Use powder. This will get rid of any oiliness and create a great matte finish. Be sure to bring powder and lipstick to the shoot to reapply as needed. Men, if your lips are dry or chapped apply a matte lip balm.

Locations
Consider shifting locations to give you a range of image styles for multiple applications.  

1. Interior office/desk
2. Exterior – face in sharp focus, greenery blurred
3. On white or light background with the background lit for flexibility to cut out/mask

Poses
Using a variety of poses gives you a chance to reset between clicks and helps you appear more relaxed and confident in your images.