How to Prepare for a Headshot Session: Your Complete Checklist

How well-prepared you are on the day of your headshot session has a direct impact on the quality of the final images. A session where you've thought about your outfits, had a good night's sleep, and know what to expect will produce noticeably better results than one where you arrive rushed and uncertain. This is your complete preparation checklist — the week before, the day before, and the morning of your session.

One week before: the planning stage

• ◆Choose and test your outfits: Select 2–3 outfit options and try them on in front of a mirror. Check: are the shoulders fitted? Is there anything that bunches, wrinkles, or looks dated? Hold your phone in front of you at arm's length and look at each outfit — this rough approximation shows how colours and fits will photograph. Put aside anything with busy patterns, large logos, or very bright neons. Pack your final choices a few days before the session.
• ◆Book a haircut if needed: If your hair is due a trim or style refresh, the ideal timing is 5–7 days before your session — recent enough to look fresh, long enough for any newness to settle. Same day or day-before haircuts can sometimes look too freshly cut and slightly stiff.
• ◆Confirm your call time and location: Re-read your booking confirmation and confirm exactly where you're going and when. If it's an on-site session at your office, confirm with your photographer what space they need (a room with window light, or wall space for a portable backdrop). If it's a studio session, check parking or public transport options.
• ◆Think about your intended use: Where will these images be used? LinkedIn? Company website? Speaker bio? Conference programme? Book jacket? The intended use should inform which outfits you bring and what 'register' of expression to work towards — more formal for senior corporate contexts, warmer and more relaxed for creative or personal brand use. Brief your photographer on this when you arrive.

The day before: practical preparation

• ◆Pack everything the night before: Don't leave this to the morning. Pack your outfits (hang them on hangers rather than folding if possible, to avoid creases), shoes, any accessories you want to try, and your grooming kit. Check that any garments you haven't worn recently are clean and don't need ironing.
• ◆Skin preparation: Get a good night's sleep — visible tiredness around the eyes is harder to retouch out than most people assume. Avoid alcohol the night before if possible (it causes visible facial puffiness and redness). Stay hydrated. If you have any temporary skin concerns (active breakouts, etc.), they can be addressed in retouching, but less is always better than more.
• ◆For men: shaving decisions: Decide whether you're clean-shaven, stubble, or bearded for the session — and maintain consistency with your usual professional presentation. If you're going clean-shaven, shave the morning of the session (not the night before, when regrowth appears). If you have defined stubble or a beard, make sure it's trimmed and clean.
• ◆For women: makeup planning: If you wear makeup professionally, plan to arrive for your session already made up (or book a makeup artist for beforehand). Daytime makeup that reads confidently in person — slightly more defined than your typical everyday look — usually works best. The common mistake is wearing lighter makeup than usual thinking 'the photographer will sort it' — in fact, light makeup often looks washed out under studio or bright window light.
• ◆Check travel time: Look up your route the night before. Add a buffer — arriving even 10 minutes early reduces stress, and reduced stress is visible in your expression.

What to bring to your headshot session

During the session: how to get the best results

• ◆Tell the photographer if you're nervous: Being uncomfortable in front of the camera is the norm, not the exception — a good headshot photographer is used to it and has specific techniques for helping clients relax. Simply saying 'I always look stiff in photos' tells them to invest the first few minutes in making you comfortable before shooting in earnest.
• ◆Follow direction precisely: Professional headshot direction involves very small adjustments: 'chin slightly forward and down,' 'turn your shoulders 10 degrees to the right,' 'look just slightly to the left of my lens.' These adjustments might feel odd from the inside but produce photographs that are significantly more flattering than natural unguided posing. Trust the direction.
• ◆Don't try too hard with your expression: The most common mistake in headshot sessions is trying to produce a photogenic expression rather than a natural one. A photographer working with you over 20–30 minutes and talking to you in between shots will capture natural expressions that a consciously held 'camera face' will never achieve. When in doubt, breathe out, relax your jaw, and let the photographer work.
• ◆Ask to see test frames: Most headshot photographers will show you some early test frames to confirm the look before continuing. Use this to flag anything that bothers you — a specific wrinkle in a shirt, something about a background element, a lighting quality you want adjusted. Early in the session is exactly the right time to raise this.
• ◆Engage with the photographer: Having a conversation between shots — about your work, your clients, your field — naturally produces more animated, relaxed expressions than sitting silent and waiting for the shutter. Talk. Laugh if something is funny. The best frames often come immediately after a moment of genuine reaction.

After the session

• ◆Delivery timeline: Professional headshot editing typically takes 3–7 business days. Ask your photographer in advance so you can plan any urgent use (a profile update, a press release, a speaking bio).
• ◆Selecting your images: When you receive your images, shortlist based on expression first — expression is the hardest thing to fix in post-production and the most important element of a successful headshot. Technical elements (background, crop, framing) are secondary. Evaluate thumbnails at small size, the way they actually appear on LinkedIn.
• ◆File formats: Ensure you receive both high-resolution print versions (3000px+ on the long edge) and web-optimised versions (800–1000px). Using a low-resolution file on LinkedIn results in noticeable quality loss after the platform's additional compression.
• ◆Credit your photographer: If you're a professional who will use the images publicly and credits are appropriate (speaker bios, book jackets, author pages), a photographer credit is appreciated and often a contractual term.

Ready to book your headshot session? Cambridge headshot sessions and London headshot sessions are available with Yana Skakun Photography — individual, team, and personal brand formats. See professional headshots for full details.