How to Prepare for a Professional Headshot Session
A little preparation makes your session smoother, but you do not need to practice being a model. Use this straightforward checklist and let guided coaching handle the rest.
One Week Before Your Session
Confirm where the images will be used and what you want them to communicate. Do you need a friendly LinkedIn photo, a formal executive portrait, an approachable realtor headshot, an acting image, or a consistent company profile? Sharing that goal helps determine lighting, expression, framing, background, and wardrobe.
Try on clothing early enough to replace anything that no longer fits comfortably. Schedule haircuts far enough in advance that the style has time to settle. Avoid experimenting with a dramatic new haircut, skincare treatment, or tanning product immediately before the session.
The Day Before
Prepare and steam your clothing, gather accessories, clean your glasses, and pack touchup items. Drink water and aim for a normal night of sleep. You do not need to panic about a blemish or temporary skin issue; natural retouching can address short-term distractions while preserving real skin texture.
Men should trim or shape facial hair intentionally. Women and makeup wearers should choose a polished version of their normal look unless the session concept calls for something more dramatic. Professional hair and makeup can be helpful when you want an elevated experience or need the images for a high-visibility campaign.
The Morning of Your Headshot
Eat something, hydrate, and avoid arriving rushed. Wear or bring clothing that will not leave deep marks on the skin. Clean lenses, remove lint, and check collars before leaving. Arriving a few minutes early gives you time to settle in rather than carrying traffic stress into the first photographs.
You Do Not Need to Practice Poses
Most people are not naturally comfortable in front of a camera, and that is completely normal. Expression and posing coaching are part of a professional session. Small adjustments to posture, shoulders, jawline, eye position, and even how you breathe can transform how confident and approachable an image feels.
Instead of rehearsing a fixed smile, think about the audience for the photograph and the quality you want to project: welcoming, capable, energetic, trustworthy, creative, calm, or powerful. I’ll guide the physical details while you focus on being present.
What to Bring
Bring multiple wardrobe options (if applicable), essential grooming items, glasses, anything that’s YOU. Corporate clients should share background requirements (color if applicable), crop dimensions, file naming needs, and examples of existing team photographs before the shoot (if a style needs to be matched). If this is your first time, or if this is a whole new branding effort, I’d love for my style to be your new standard!
Things to Bring With You
Two to five outfit options
Clean glasses
Hairbrush or comb
Makeup for touchups
Jewelry options
Tie or jacket
Lint roller
Water
After the Session
Choose images based on expression and connection first. Minor wardrobe wrinkles, stray hairs, and temporary skin distractions can be refined. Select photographs that look like you and communicate clearly at small sizes, because many viewers will first see your headshot as a LinkedIn thumbnail or team-directory image.
Ready for a Headshot That Represents You?
See how a coached professional headshot session works and review current St. Louis and St. Peters options. View professional headshot photography in St. Louis and St. Peters.
Checkout my previous article: What to Wear for Professional Headshots: A St. Louis Style Guide