Setting Up a Successful Headshot Session: Part 1

Setting Up a Successful Headshot Session: Part 1

When I first began shooting headshots, it was a daunting task. Figuring out a rhythm for how a headshot session should go felt like an overwhelming problem. I slowly began to solve the problem through trial and error. It was when I began to realize that we have no control over almost anything in life that I began to find my own rhythm in this crazy photography business.

You Have No Control

It’s a terrifying concept to a lot of people, and it’s a concept exceptionally hard to embrace when we as photographers are always on a constant quest to control every aspect of a shoot. We put our lights up just so, with the model facing in the perfect way. Then a gust of wind comes up and blows her hair everywhere, and we shoot away just in case something good comes from the wind, but alas, nothing. Hair everywhere and nothing cool to show from it. Control: 0. Nature: 1. Embrace the chaos, and don’t let Mr. Murphy and his law dictate your mood, because keeping a photographer in good spirits for a shoot is critical. Once you are able to shake it off and shrug your shoulders at a problem, you can solve it and move on. If you can do this you are well on your way to making photography a career.

The Pre-Shoot Consultation

I don’t care how you do it - in person is better, but video chat or over the phone is acceptable too. Just make sure you do it. I much prefer consults to happen in person, this way you can get a real feel for how someone carries themselves which can help in determining how grounded they are in who they are, along with their confidence level. Below are some general rules or guidelines, in no particular order, along with quotes of my own words that I often say to clients during a consult. I also like to meet for consultations somewhere where I can buy them coffee or tea. I understand that not all of you work with actors, but you can certainly take these tips and apply them to corporate clients, high school seniors, and any other people you are hoping to photograph.

Rule #1

Ask them questions, and really listen and respond. Who, What, When, Where and How questions are always good icebreakers. For example:

When did you move to NYC?

Where are you from?

What made you decide to move here?

How do you enjoy it so far?

How long have you lived here?

Have a conversation first, and then go into the business stuff. This will help put people at ease after just meeting someone new.

Rule #2

Don’t be in a rush. Hurrying through a meeting is obvious and says to a client that you don’t care enough to spend more than 15 minutes with them. I’ve had pre-shoot meetings take 10 minutes, and I’ve had them take an hour. I always allot an hour for meetings, and if it doesn’t take that long, then I’m ahead of the curve. Typically, consults don’t take longer than that.

Rule #3

Be the person with the plan. Nothing screams a lack of confidence in what you do more than not having a plan of attack. For example:

We are going to need to meet at 1:30pm. We’ll probably start shooting by 2pm, and we should be done sometime around 3 or 3:30pm. Bring your four wardrobe options, cleaned and ironed, and if you don’t have an iron, come a little earlier and we’ll steam what we need. When choosing your wardrobe options, keep it to solid neutral colors, as we don’t want anything to take too much away from your face. Layers are also cool, so if you have a jacket or sweater you like, bring those too. Don’t bring anything that you don’t feel great in. Colors that tend to work well are earth tones, blues, greens, browns, reds, olive, brick red, etc. Occasionally yellows and pinks work, but I wouldn’t bring more than one option of either. Don’t feel like you need to go buy a bunch of stuff. You should wear things that you have as we want you to look as much like yourself when you walk in the casting room as possible. Within four days after the shoot, you will receive your images via DropBox or another electronic delivery service.

Rule #4

Have a backup plan if you shoot outside.

Now that I live in LA this is less of an issue for me, but when I was in NYC it was an everyday concern. While my headshot business was certainly slower in the winter, that never stopped me from shooting. I’ve photographed girls outside in tank tops in January when at a high of 25 degrees. You just have to be brutally honest, and wrap them in a coat. You only need to see, at the most, waist up if you are shooting a vertical, and shoulders up for horizontal images. So make your clients lots of tea and pop inside and outside quickly for 10 minutes or so at a time. Interestingly enough, sometimes the cold makes people focus much more than when they are warm and comfy, and shooting headshots in the snow can yield some awesome results! This is a sample email I send out before a shoot that could have inclement weather:

As you know I shoot exclusively outside. I’m going to book 2 days for you, one as a primary and one as a backup in case we run into weather issues. I also reserve the right to cancel your shoot at anytime including the day of the shoot. Due to me asking this flexibility from you, I do not require any deposit to hold the dates; payment is due in full at the end of your shoot. If you need to cancel for any reason please just let me know as soon as possible so we can reschedule your shoot. If I’m asking you to be flexible with the weather the least I can do is be flexible with your schedule.

A shot taken before she took her jacket off. This session was in early November in NYC. It was probably about 35 degrees out.

Just after she took the jacket off

Rule #5

Pay attention to body language.

If your subjects are fidgeting and not looking you in the eye, you will most likely have some confidence issues when they get in front of the camera. If they are cool, calm and relaxed, and carry themselves well, then you will probably not have too many issues.

If they are fidgety, or seem to be nervous or shy, ask them more questions. Have they ever had pictures taken before? What is it about the process that makes them nervous? How was their last headshot experience? This will help you aid in easing their fears. 

I also have a principle that I generally don’t shoot more than 2 people a day, and most of the time, just one person a day. This is mainly because I don’t want to ever feel like I’m running a headshot factory. Take your time with people. If you rush, they rush, and the experience isn’t always as pleasurable which leads to your clients not saying good things to their friends. When 95% of my headshot business is word of mouth, that’s a problem I want to avoid. I often tell people that there is a sort of general time limit, but I won’t stop until we are both happy.

Rule #6

Word of mouth is still the most powerful advertising weapon you have in the headshot business.

Certainly buying a little advertising on Google or in your local paper doesn’t hurt. Nor does printing out some postcards to leave at theaters or dance schools. You can also send cards to agents and casting directors, but I find the best advertising is to get people talking. In the first year, I charged about $150 for a headshot session to build up some clientele in my portfolio. Then I raised my rates to $350, and then to $450 and have kept them in that general ballpark ever since. However, all along the way, I have always offered discounts for reshoots and referrals. People who mentioned the name of the person that referred them got $25 off their session, and the person referring always got a decent deal on a reshoot when they needed it. Actors, and all people for that matter (but actors especially) talk. When an actor goes to an audition, often they see people they know. It’s in this conversation that one person will usually say something like, “I just got my headshots done by Dylan Patrick. Check him out!” Then, hopefully if they had a great time and enjoy the images, they say great things and help grow my business exponentially. This also applies to the pre-shoot consult. You want people to have a good experience the whole way through - to delivery of the final images. They are likely to say things like, “It was great! We met for coffee that he even bought for me, and he listened and asked questions while answering all of my questions. The shoot was awesome and I never felt rushed!”

Rule #7

Tell them how the shoot is going to go. This will get them excited. I like to reassure them again:

“I’m a really laid back guy and I love what I do. We’ll have a great time. We don’t have any strict time limits or exposure limits, and we shoot until we get what we need. Shooting outside is also a lot of fun and allows us to kick back and just take some pictures. It’s a really simple, relaxed process.”

Shooting in a studio can sometimes feel intimidating for clients, getting them outside can help ease that fear

Rule #8

If they appear stressed about the upcoming session, downplay the importance.

This is some advice I give that I really believe in:

Headshots are very important, don’t get me wrong. Think about what you want, and what you want to wear, but when you show up... let all that go! We will get the shots you need; there is no question about that. Nobody is looking at your headshot longer than you. The best headshots are the ones that make an impression within 10 seconds because that’s about how long it’s going to be looked at by a casting director when deciding whether or not to call you in. Provided you get called in and go through several rounds of callbacks, at this point your headshot may have been looked at for all of about 20 minutes total - if even that much. Your headshot needs to represent you - who you are right now - so embrace who you are right now and be grounded in that. If you are unhappy with your hair or your weight, or whatever else might bother you, you can always change those things later. Right now, in this moment, you are who you are. What casting directors want, is someone who fits all the requirements of the part, can perform, and is confident in who they are right now, plain and simple. The best way to approach this is to let it all go, sit down, and let me take your picture. In a way you have to just not care.

Rule #9

Downplay the importance of clothing. It isn’t really about what they wear; it’s the look, the expression, and showcasing them as accurately as possible that counts.

Headshot photographers will always differ on this, but here is my take on clothing. Obviously what they wear matters to a point. Generally plaids don’t work as well. I also don’t like denim jackets in a headshot. Solid neutral colors are preferred like earth tones and layers as I mentioned above. Obviously it’s important to make note if someone needs a business look, or if you want to do some specific character work. I always ask my actor clients how they are being cast and to bring options to fall in line with those characters. However, as a whole, nobody will be called in depending on the clothes they wear in a headshot.

To put it another way, if I were to hand you a stack of 200 headshots, and said you have five minutes to pick five dates for the next five nights, you would fly through them but probably wouldn’t remember what any of them were wearing. Actors are cast by their look, and physical attributes like their height, weight, hair and eye color. Casting directors may have already cast the leading lady part, and if she is 5'10", then they might need a male lead to be in the same height range. Thus they will weed out many actors just for that specification. So while clothing is important on one hand, it isn’t on another. Certainly you want to give options, and addressing this can help your clients not stress out as much about what to wear.

Rule #10

End the meeting with positive vibes. Say comforting words like, "I’m really looking forward to working with you. I know you're going to do great! If you need anything, do not hesitate to call or email me. It was a pleasure meeting you!” Shake hands, maybe offer a hug, smile and walk away excited. Kindness is contagious and always leaves a great impression with people.

The next article in this series will talk about getting people comfortable at the shoot in order to get the best out of them, along with addressing makeup and skin issues.

If you would like to know more on my process of shooting, check out the Fstoppers tutorial here.

Dylan Patrick's picture

Dylan is a headshot and portrait photographer based in Los Angeles. He began his photography career in 2010 in NYC, and rose to be one of the top headshot photographers in New York City. With Fstoppers, he launched "The Cinematic Headshot" tutorial in 2014. Along with headshots, Dylan is also an accomplished hotel and architectural photographer.

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44 Comments

Love this article. I'm trying to up my connection with clients as well as my headshots and this helped A LOT for both. Thanks, =).

So glad you enjoyed Francisco! More to come!

GREAT article.

Thank you Alex!

Dylan, you rock man! Great article, and the expressions in your shots are killer... looking forward to reading more from you!

Thank you so much Fred!

Thank you for writing this. I read everything I can about headshots (I'm trying to specialize), but it's mostly just obvious advice or a re-hash of something Peter Hurley says (although I like his work). This is something different, something much more practical and applicable. Thank your for contributing signal among all of the noise. I look forward to part II.

Thank you very much for the kind words Don, if you have any questions don't hesitate to drop me a line

Exactly what I was looking for. Simple language of the article made it more easy to understand. Thanks for writing this :)

My pleasure thank you!

Well written, looking forward to future articles from you.

Nice article, thanx for sharing !
Photographing great portraits, is 80 percent psychology...

I think quality partnerships yield the best results...there's a lot of merit to what you're saying.

Well said and agreed completely.

Fantastic! Thanks, Dylan! I appreciate your community style approach to photography and growth! :D

Thank you Rachel!

dylan sir what u think about sigma 70 200 2.8 nikon is 2 much expensive ?

Hey Humayun, I have not used the Sigma, but I'm sure it would be a great affordable option!

sir one more thing can we get same result witth a crop sensor apc dslr with 85 mm ? its 127mm lens on a DX body.

The compression won't be the same as shooting at 200mm but 85mm on a crop sensor is a good place to start!

good read, i've found a lot of these rules also apply to other genres of photography like family sessions, couples sessions, model portfolio shoots.

be nice, have a plan and show confidence in you. the rest will take care of itself, after all they contacted you for a reason. show them more then that reason.

Thank you Steven! You are definitely right, this can be taken anywhere for sure.

Great piece Dylan!

Awesome! Great tips Dylan.

Thank you Christian!

Thanks Connie!

Great article yet again, Dylan. Keep being awesome.

Thanks Brandon!

Thank you for the amazing article Dylan. As a fledgling I do have a question. I was told to never cut off a person, i.e. if you go with the arm, don't cut off the hand in the crop. In your experience is there a rule you follow for the head, as I see you really focus in on the face and sometimes the top of the head is trimmed out. I'd appreciate your thoughts. :)

Thank you Roger! I'm glad you are enjoying the series. I believe when it comes to the top of the head the rules don't apply, as a headshot is about the expression, so that's where I want the eyes to go. Showing enough of the head to get a sense of the hair style is important, but nobody is going to miss the top few inches. When I shoot verticals I do include the entire head most of the time, occasionally I also go in for a tight verticle as well. As my personal taste is heavily influenced by cinema, you also see tops of heads missing all the time in closeup shots in movies.

That makes so much sense, expression! Thanks Dylan.

Really enjoyed this.... A lot of helpful information.

Thanks for reading Walter!

Have you ever experienced much pushback in regards to the consultation? I used to try to meet with everyone I shot with beforehand but I started to get some feedback from other local photographers saying that I shouldn't be "making people go out on date with me before shooting, it makes you seem like a creep". I had never even though about it like that, to me it was always a business meeting to plan a shoot.

Hey Ryan! I can't say i ever have, I think it would only be creepy if you propose the idea to your client in a creepy way. I always make sure to say it's a consultation and I usually do it at a local starbucks or coffee shop during business hours....that pretty much drives the "this is not a date" point home

Ya, thats pretty much exactly what I did, always a busy Starbucks or equivalent, always during the day. Idk, it really surprised me when I heard that. I make a point of never asking models/clients out on dates for that for reason.

yeah I wouldn't stress it, the consultation is important, trust your gut, your local photographers may not have the best solutions or idea's....I always just say do what works best for you...if they aren't comfortable meeting with their clients during business hours at a very public place...perhaps they have more issues :)

I know I'm really late to comment on this but I just found the article. Great tips and I LOVE your work! One tip I have difficulty with, though, is the pre-shoot consultation meeting. Clearly I'm not charging enough because it just doesn't work for me financially to meet with clients before the shoot. I'm charging $295 for a studio session and $395 for a location session (because I can do fewer of them in a day and they're a lot more work and/or I may have to hire an assistant) which is about as high as I can currently go in my marketplace. Without getting into a lot of detail, between the actual shooting time, going through proofs and getting them out, email and phone correspondence with the client regarding selections and retouching, and actual retouching and then getting retouches out ... I've got a lot of hours into each shoot! $295 just doesn't allow another half hour (or whatever) consultation beforehand (not counting travel time to and from the consultation meeting). So I try to spend about 15 minutes at the beginning of every shoot having an informal conversation much as you describe. I guess my question is (and no one who does headshots ever seems to talk about this part) how much time in total (from shooting to post processing to correspondence) would you say you spend on each client? I don't want to sound mercenary ... but time *is* money! Thanks! :)

Hey Tony! So sorry for the super late reply, yeah it can be a pain but worth it in my opinion. I would try and do it over the phone, but in person is better. I also make clients come to me, when I lived in NYC I had them meet me within a block, and clients typically don't have a problem coming to you, maybe schedule it in between shoots or pick a day and schedule a handful at your place

So...I got asked to do some headshots for a friend who runs a not-for-profit business and since I haven't done them lately, I decided to do some research. I'm browsing this article and thinking that your style looked familiar and as I scrolled down, there was my daughter! This gives me an awesome opportunity to tell you that of all the headshots she has ever had taken, the ones you did for her are the absolute best. We had a hard time choosing. She will tell you that I was grilling her on how you created your backdrop when I saw the images and thrilled to find out you do them outdoors. Great job, Dylan. We love your work. Good luck in LA.

Julia! I'm so sorry for the late response! That's hilarious! I loved working with your daughter, Erin was one of my favorites. And no I'm not just saying that 😉 I'm glad she had a tough time choosing and so happy to hear they have been working well! LA is awesome, if you guys are ever out this way and want to meet up don't hesitate to shout!

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So glad you enjoyed the article! It is shot with a 70-200 most around 200 but I think anything 105mm and above works best, 85mm if it's what you have works well too but 105 and up is what I suggest