FAQs & Tips for Business Photos
What should we wear?
- Keep it simple. Wear clothes that suit your personality or suit your brand.
- Avoid plain black or plain white unless we have discussed this for a specific look. However, a white shirt with a black jacket can be OK in some cases.
- Avoid clothes with busy patterns and logos such as checked shirts, stripes, logos or that AD/DC tour shirt.
- **Block colours work best**. Ever notice that television presenters wear block colours? The reason is it looks good on camera. If you just can't decide I suggest defaulting to darker colours such as navy blue, grey, maroon etc as everyone tends to look good in darker colours.
- ***Please make sure your clothes are clean and ironed***. Especially shirts and collars. **We do not remove wrinkles in photoshop**, it is one of the few things that can not be done very well in editing due to the texture in the fabric. When we are forced to do it, it always looks bad.
- Undergarments. This is worth thinking about. For example, do not forget a strapless bra if you are going to be wearing a cute tanktop or strapless dress. Also if you are having multiple outfit changes consider marks that a bra might leave
What about hair and makeup?
It is worth getting hair and makeup done professionally for the best results. We have 4 professional hair and makeup artists who we can call on if required.
If you wish to use your own professional hair and makeup artist, please tell them that it is for photography purposes.
If you are not inclined or do not have time to do that, a good guide would be if you were going out to a function or a job interview.
If you are planning on doing your makeup, please consider the following:
- Avoid makeup with sunscreen as this ingredient is designed to reflect light and will give your skin an undesirable oily-looking shine.
- Matte Makeup is the best choice as opposed to makeup that is mineral-based to keep that shine down. Shiny lipstick is OK.
- Bring makeup and hair care products on the day for touch-ups should they be required.
How do we choose which photographs we want?
We will show you the photographs on the day of the session on an iPad or laptop. We find this to be hugely efficient for everyone involved and allow for a fast turnaround. Most importantly everyone gets to choose a photo that they actually want and give us the ability to make changes if they are not like what they are seeing.
Can you make me look amazing in photoshop?
Yes! We will remove anything temporary like acne or a scratch. We even out skin texture, teeth colour and clean up stray hair, glare from glasses, minimise dark circles under eyes etc. Our goal is always awesome but believable. What we mean by that is, that we will retouch the photograph so that you look like your absolute best. What we do not do is shave 20 years off your age, as this is a business photography session and not a glamour shoot. I doubt it is in anyone's best interests if you look REALLY different when someone meets you in person, after having based their first impression on your photograph.
Should I get a haircut?
If you are getting a haircut, it's a REALLY good idea to do it a few days before. 1) You will not get loose hair on your clothes 2) It gives it a chance to "settle" 3) For dramatic changes like hair colour or going from long hair to short hair... it can sometimes take a few days for people to be comfortable and confident with a change like that. Your confidence will show in the photos.
What about jewellery?
Make sure it matches. Gold earrings with a silver necklace are not a great match visually. I suggest smaller pieces. Keep in mind that the focus is meant to be on your face and giant earrings may detract from that. If you are not sure, bring it along and we can work it out together.
Any other tips to look my best?
- Alcohol and lack of sleep can leave you looking puffy, red-eyed and with dark circles under your eyes.
- Drink plenty of water in the leadup.