Personal branding headshots for a scientist!

What a thrill getting to photograph a bona fide scientist!

This awesome client lives on the other side of the country, but was in Vancouver for work, and wanted to squeeze in a headshot session with me before going home.

And I’m so glad we were able to find a day to get her into the studio.

As with all clients, I did a consultation with her before the day of the photo shoot to help better understand her vision. You can think of the consultation as something like a short interview where I like to ask the client a series of questions as a starting point (as well as to go over what to expect at the photo shoot so that there are no surprises along the way). This will help me to gauge where the client is in terms of building a concept for their photo shoot. I get lots of clients who aren’t totally clear yet on their vision in the consultation phase, and that’s totally ok! It’s my job to help you build your vision.

These were the notes that I made during this particular client’s consultation:

  • Combo of colour and black and white headshots

  • Brand colours are minimal, uses black and white (white background, black text, mild accent colours)

  • Muted colours, 15% black and white

  • Warm, professional, competent demeanour

From there, as a little bit of homework, the client also assembled a few photos for general photo inspiration, and that’s all that was needed! We were ready to go for her photo shoot and she loved the results.

Are you getting ready for your own headshot session? Below are a few tips to help you prepare:

Headshot Tips:

  • Wear fitted clothing to your photo shoot. This is universally flattering on all body types.

  • If you are doing your own makeup, remember to go for full coverage as studio lights will cause the makeup to react differently on camera compared to what you see in the mirror beforehand.

  • And don’t forget that we have wiggle room with makeup in terms of retouching after the fact. In my opinion, it’s more important that we get hair right in camera than anything else.

  • Remember, during your photo shoot, when it’s time to smile, connect your smile to your eyes. This is what tells the viewer the smile is natural and genuine.

  • Back to wardrobe- avoid small patterns! Small patterns are likely to create what’s called a ‘moiré effect’ where the pattern becomes garbled in the photo (you see this sometimes with reporters on the news and it’s super distracting).

  • And a final tip in regards to wardrobe. I generally recommend keeping clothing in the same colour family on the top and bottom half of the body. This isn’t a hard and fast rule, but, it will help the viewer’s attention to stay focused on your face, rather than what you’re wearing, which ultimately is what we want.

  • Lastly, have fun! This is a day to celebrate YOU ❤️.

Are you interested in booking your own personalized branding headshot session? Get in touch today!