The Corporate Headshot

 After canceling the last session for fear of embarrassment, I’m taking my corporate headshot. This will be my professional image for the next few years. Clients, higher-ups, and even rivals may come across this picture. I’m nervous. In my nervousness, I took to the internet for helpful tips and examples of good pictures. 

Corporette recommends: “To start, we would recommend first looking at the existing pictures for your firm. Particularly, flip to the female partners — what are they wearing? Our guess is that they’re wearing a classic suit and pearls. In light of the debate about how to wear shirt collars, we would recommend wearing a collar-less shirt (just our humble opinion), and the best pair of pearls you own.”

Read more here: http://corporette.com/2009/06/29/reader-mail-what-to-wear-for-a-corporate-photograph/

Clarabridge provided a list of headshot tips. Here’s my favorite: “Exercise that morning.  Waking up early and going for even a quick run will do great things for your complexion, alertness, and metabolism throughout the day.”

Read more here: http://www.beclarabridge.com/blog/7-tips-looking-great-your-next-headshot

Real Simple compiled a list of great tips:  “Engage the photographer in a conversation about some topic you both may find of interest... If your mind is focused on something other than the photo, you'll appear less rigid. ”

Read more here: http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/life-strategies/look-great-every-photo

Main concerns are hair, makeup, outfit, position, and lighting. I may not get much of a say in lighting. Based on pictures of other women of color from my job, the grey suit is a popular choice. 

My game plan: 1. Wake up early. 2. Exercise. 3. Actually eat breakfast. 4. Get a mini makeover 5. Try not to over think it. Though I often dabble is bright colors and patterns (in moderation of course), for this picture I'll go simple blazer and a shell. My hair will be the real balancing act. I've decided not to straighten it or wear a wig for this picture. That's not how I look at work everyday, so why would I post a picture for the world that's so different from who I am? I'll post a follow up about how it goes and any after-the-fact tips.

***UPDATE***

I stuck to my plan and my headshot turned out great! I woke up, did a mini 15-minute work out to get blood circulating, got dressed and headed to my makeup appointment. I wore a T-shirt over my outfit to avoid getting make up on my clothes, but the makeup place had smocks. I let Andrea (my artist) know that this was a corporate headshot look and that I needed to be conservative and professional. She did a great job and really listened. When the time came, I met with the photographers and took about 20 initial shots.  We talked through ones that we liked and narrowed it down to 3. I wasn't satisfied. I just couldn't commit, so we did 10 more. When I found the one, it was a group consensus. The photographers were professionals, so it was important to me to have their feedback, but it was my call. A few weeks later, I had a brand new, flawless photo up on my company's website. I liked it so much, that I used it for LinkedIn too.

• Outfit:        Button-down and blazer
• Hair:          No wig, no weave, just well-placed natural curls
• Makeup:    Subtle, warm, and professionally done
• Other:        No glasses so my face would be fully visible

How did you prepare for picture day?

***   The photos in this post are from Dave Cross at http://davecrossphotography.biz/gallery/corporate-business-headshots-portraits/ . There is no connection between these images and the text in this post. They are for the purpose of serving as visual examples of amazing headshots to help the readers.