HAIR STYLIST FOR MY HEADSHOT PHOTOGRAPHY SESSION
Hair is so important in your headshots, whether you are female or male, everyone is concerned about how their hair is coming out in their photo shoot… :-) It is absolutely normal and natural to have this concern. How your hair is styled in your headshots will definitely influence the outcome, not only of the hair itself but how it changes the physiognomy of your face. One of the nice things about digital photography is that you can immediately take a look at the outcome of your headshots and make corrections as you go.
Do you want your hair closer to your face or completely off your face? Should we use a fan for your headshots? How strong should the fan be? Maybe it’s just a slight wind to remove hair from one of your eye? Do you want hair completely off your face? Do you want a headshot with your hair slicked back, clean look almost “dancer” like, perhaps you are a dancer and that is specifically the “look” we are going for in your headshots as a professional dancer…? Or maybe that slicked back look for a male is to create more of an edgy vibe/look…
Should you book a hair stylist? Just like booking a makeup artist for your headshot session, this is a personal decision, what are you comfortable with, what is your budget? The makeup artists I work with do both hair & makeup, that helps solve the decision making in your headshot photo shoot process… This is definitely a conversation to be had with your headshot photographer in L.A.
Maybe you stop by a hair salon for a blowout on your way to your headshot photo session?
I have been asked often by men, should I get a haircut or a trim before our headshot photography session? Unless you are “due” for a trim, typically my answer is “no”, why don’t you just stay natural and leave your hair the way you normally keep your hair… The headshots will represent you as you are, you will look like your headshot, it’s that simple. If it’s a really nice headshot photography session, the trim will will not “add” anything… BTW there is no right or wrong about your decision, it always comes down to individual preferences. Perhaps from your experience you’ve always had a trim before your headshot photography session, if that works for you, then great, but it isn’t necessarily the case for everyone…
It is the same thought process for women’s headshots. If you’re happy with your hair today and your photo shoot is tomorrow, don’t do anything… It doesn’t mean that because you have a headshot session the next day that you have “to do something”… :-) It also depends what industry you are in…(?) If you are in the corporate world and there are certain standards you feel you need to meet in how your headshots represent you, then you make your decisions accordingly. If you an actress or an actor, maybe your agent made a suggestion, if you both agreed then by all means, maybe it’s time to try something new…?
As a headshot photographer in Los Angeles who has worked with more than 12,000 individuals, I have seen how hair can influence the outcome of a headshot so I totally appreciate and understand where you are coming from when you are concerned, that’s why I love to offer my clients a quick review of our headshots as we go along during the headshot photo shoot to insure they are happy with what we are doing.