Most of us know by now that they aren’t just for actors anymore.  Anyone with a LinkedIn Profile needs a professional headshot, and they need to be updated regularly.  But trusting your visage with anyone can be frightening.  Read on for my adventures in hosting headshot events all over the Chicagoland area, and for some personal tips for getting yourself ready to face the camera.

I do promotional events where I offer my sittings for free, then clients only pay if they want to use the headshots.  This shot was taken during a Deskpass event at Coalition Impact in River North.  It’s become one of my favorite locations for headshots and I have my different looks all ready to go.

When I pulled up to this business center in Northbrook I didn’t know where I was going to shoot, and when they showed me the conference room they had for me I certainly wasn’t inspired.  So I took a walk around the grounds and found 3 fabulous looks to offer clients when they arrived.

As much as I can I like to offer people sitting and standing options for having their portrait taken.  Often people who hate having their picture taken feel more comfortable sitting down, and other people are adamant about standing.  Either way feeling natural, confident, and comfortable is the best way to ensure a successful photo. If you feel awkward it’ll show in your photo.

If there’s something you’re concerned about physically it’s a great idea to reach out to the photographer before hand.  That way they are ready on set to show you in the best light they can.  Heather emailed me about her eyes days before the shoot, she’s visually impaired and has trouble making eye contact and focusing her eyes in the same direction.

People will ask me at the start of a session, “do I look at the camera or do I look away?”  My default is always to look at the camera.  You really need to be naturally laughing or engaged in another way to make a shot looking off camera work.  I’m certainly always ready to coax that laugh out of my subjects.

At this real estate office they’ve got the perfect room reserved for me, natural light coming from two directions.  But everything in that room is grey.  So when I saw the plants around the office I thought they’d be a great touch, and I carefully arranged them so their line leads you to the subject.

This was for a networking event I did at the Twitter office here in Chicago.  They told me I had only 5 frames for each person, 70 in total, there would be no retouching, and I had an hour and half to shoot them all.  When I was done I had actually shot 80 and still had time to spare. I even fixed hair, pulled down shirts, and gave each person individual attention within these contraints.

Most importantly you need to be you for your headshot session. If you don’t wear suits then you probably shouldn’t wear them to the shoot, and if you need a haircut then schedule that before your session.  Coming prepared to feel and look your best will help you so much during your session.  After all, I can only retouch so much on these photos.