Most clients walk into a headshot session having spent five minutes thinking about what to wear and three hours on every other detail. That's backwards. Once you're in front of the lens, the wardrobe is the only thing the lens actually sees — your face only takes up 40% of a typical headshot frame. The rest is fabric.
This guide breaks down what works and what doesn't across the three headshot use-cases we shoot most: LinkedIn and corporate, actor and casting, and personal branding. Same studio, same lighting kit, very different wardrobes.
start with the use-case, not the outfit
A "good" headshot for an actor is a bad headshot for a sales VP, and vice versa. Before you pack a bag, decide where the image is going to live. The three main categories:
- Commercial / LinkedIn / corporate — the goal is "credible, approachable, someone you'd message". See our LinkedIn headshots service for what we shoot for this brief.
- Actor / casting — the goal is range and authenticity. Casting directors want to see character, not polish. See our actor headshots page for the brief we work to.
- Personal branding — the goal is a library, not a single shot. Multiple looks for use across LinkedIn, website, decks, podcast covers. More on this in our personal branding photography page.
what to wear for a linkedin or corporate headshot
Aim for one solid colour and one layer. A plain shirt or fine-knit jumper in a flattering shade, optionally with a blazer or smart cardigan. Avoid anything with text, logos or busy patterns — the eye reads them before it reads your face.
colours that work
- Deep blues, charcoal, forest green, burgundy — flatter most skin tones, photograph clean.
- Soft pastels — pale blue, dusty pink, warm cream — work well against neutral backgrounds.
- Brand colours, if relevant — useful for team days where you want the headshots to integrate with the website's palette.
colours and patterns to avoid
- Pure white — overexposes against the cyclorama and washes out skin.
- Pure black — hard to expose properly without losing fabric detail.
- Tight patterns (stripes under 1 cm, herringbone, fine checks) — they shimmer on camera (moiré).
- Anything with a logo, including small chest embroidery.
what to wear for actor headshots
Three looks usually wins — commercial, theatrical, and one wildcard. Commercial is your warmest, most approachable look; theatrical is more characterful (period, genre, or just darker tones); wildcard is whatever range your agent has specifically asked you to demonstrate. We talk through the three looks at booking so we don't end up with three near-identical frames.
the three-look brief
- Look 1 — Commercial. Soft neutral knit or shirt. Warm tones. Casting needs to see the version of you that books deodorant adverts.
- Look 2 — Theatrical. Darker, more textured. Period-leaning, character-leaning, or just moodier. Use your hair / glasses to add range.
- Look 3 — Wildcard. Whatever character range your agent has flagged a gap on — comedic, period, lead, supporting, villain.
what to wear for personal branding photography
Personal branding shoots are about variety — you're building a library, not a single hero shot. We shoot half-day sessions with three outfit changes covering casual, smart-casual and formal/branded, so the resulting imagery flexes across LinkedIn header, Instagram grid, deck slides, podcast cover and website hero. Bring three distinct looks rather than three variations on the same one.
universal rules across every headshot type
- Iron everything. Wrinkles show up on camera in a way they don't in a mirror. Steam your clothes the morning of the shoot.
- Bring more than you think you need. A backup neutral top, a backup colour, an extra layer. Costs nothing, saves the shoot if the planned outfit doesn't work.
- Mind the neckline. V-necks elongate the face on camera, crew necks square it off, polos add weight. Pick based on face shape.
- Skip the new clothes. Brand-new garments often look stiff and have visible creases from the packaging. Wear it once before the shoot.
- Skin prep matters more than makeup. Drink water the day before, moisturise, get some sleep. We can do a lot in retouching, but we can't fake hydration.
team and corporate day-of wardrobe coordination
For team headshot days, consistency makes or breaks the resulting team page. Send everyone the same brief a week ahead: solid colours, no logos, optional brand-colour shirt, smart casual or business casual depending on company tone. We routinely shoot 15-25 people in a single day across our headshot sessions service — the difference between a polished team page and a patchwork one is almost always the brief.
booking your headshot session
Our headshot studio is in Tiptree, Essex — one hour from East London on the A12, with free parking. We shoot individual headshots from £145, team days from £900, and actor portfolios from £195. Full pricing is on our pricing page, and you can browse availability and enquire via the booking form — we reply within two working hours.
