How To Prepare For Your Headshot Session
How to Prepare For Your Headshot Session
It is the photographer’s job to set up the lighting in the best possible way, guide you through the photo shoot, provide posing suggestions, and help you feel relaxed and confident in front of the camera. On the other hand, there are few things you can do to prepare for your headshot.
As a Calgary headshot photographer, I try to inform my clients at the time of booking, so that they can get the most out of their session.
Preparing for a good headshot photo involves several aspects, including grooming, make up, clothing, and posing. Here are some tips to help you prepare for a successful headshot.
Grooming and Make-up
A natural, polished look is best for a business headshot. Make sure to get a fresh haircut or trim, shave or style facial hair, and clean and moisturize your face before the photoshoot. This will ensure that your skin looks clear and bright in the photo. Getting an appointment from a hair stylist before your session would be good idea to guarantee a beautifuly styled hair. Avoid heavy or dramatic makeup, as this can be distracting in a professional setting. Choose a foundation that matches your skin tone and provides light to medium coverage. Be sure to blend the foundation into your neck and jawline for a seamless look. 
Highlight your eyes as they are an important focal point in a headshot. Use neutral eyeshadow shades to create a subtle definition and apply mascara to lengthen and volumize your lashes. Keep your lips simple. A natural-looking lip color is best for a business headshot. Choose a lipstick or gloss that is close to your natural lip color, or opt for a subtle, neutral shade.
How to dress for your session
When choosing what to wear for a headshot photo, it’s important to keep in mind that the focus should be on your face, so it’s best to avoid clothing with bold patterns. distracting graphics or logos. Solid colors work best for headshot photos. Neutral colors like black, white, gray, and navy blue are timeless and work well in professional settings. Dress in a style that represents your profession or industry. For example, if you work in a more creative field, you may be able to wear more casual attire, whereas a more formal industry may require a suit or blazer. If you are a new graduate or just starting your career, here is some more information on how to dress for work.
If you booked a studio headshot with Alpina Photography, you can bring a few outfit options to the photoshoot to see what looks best on camera. Just avoid anything too trendy or flashy.
The goal of a headshot is to showcase your face, so keep the outfit simple and let your face shine.
How to pose for a business headshot
Good posture is key in any headshot. Stand up straight with your shoulders back and your chin slightly lifted. This will convey confidence and professionalism.
Relax your shoulders to avoid a stiff or uncomfortable look. You need to create a more natural, approachable look.
Avoid leaning or tilting your head too much, as this can create unflattering shadows.
Find your best angle: Experiment with different angles by turning your head slightly to the left or right. This will help you find your best angle and ensure that your face is fully visible in the photo.
Practice your facial expressions: Smiling is always a good idea for a portrait, but try to avoid a forced or cheesy grin. Instead, think happy thoughts and let your smile come naturally. Practice your smile in the mirror beforehand, and aim for a natural, relaxed smile. You want to convey a sense of warmth and approachability in your photo.You can also try a more serious expression or a slight smirk for a different look.
Use your hands: You can use your hands to create a more natural and engaging pose. Try placing your hands in your pockets or lightly resting them on a nearby surface.
Remember, a business headshot should convey professionalism and approachability. With these posing tips in mind, you can create a photo that showcases your best self.
If you are in Calgary Alberta and need a new polished profile photo, you can book your business headshot with Alpina Photography in minutes through our website. www.alpinaphotography.com/headshot-sessions
Leave all your worries behind, I am here to help you look spectacular in your portraits.
It was also my first outdoor cake smash session. Little McKenzie just turned 1 and her family wanted to celebrate this big milestone with a fun cake-smash. Since it is the most beautiful season of all, with the weather warmed up and trees turned to green, I wanted to give it a try and use the nature as my backdrop instead of paper or fabric backdrop and the sun as my main light instead of studio strobes. I was so excited. I started working with the color scheme based on the outfit mom wanted to use for cake smash. I prepared matching banners and made a whole new flower hoop which would go perfect with spring theme. I put together some other settings for different looks during the session. Even though it is a photo shoot with a focus on baby smashing and eating cake, to make it more versatile I always add different props to the scene before introducing the cake to the baby. In a park setting it is easier to change background by simply moving from one place to another. For an outdoor birthday session, 
I chose Edworthy Park and set up my studio at the meeting place before the clients arrive, so we could start as soon as they come. Babies at this age don’t stay up too long and get tired easily, so I don’t want to waste any of this valuable awake time.
Since this is a photo shoot conducted with Covid safety measures it was a touchless photo session, wearing a face mask.
It was a very fun photoshoot for everyone. . Instead of sitting in the studio, we were enjoying outdoors in a picnic mood. Those cute 1 year old hands covered with cake icing will always be remembered with these photographs.
Spring is here, it’s a good time to start flower and garden veggie seeds indoors as well as garden/yard clean-up. We have planted some tomatoes, sunflowers, basil and daisies in tiny starter kits. Looking forward to transplanting them to the community garden a few blocks away. It’s also a healthy leisure activity for kids to visit the garden once in a while to water and weed.
Calgary Public library provides its members with free access to Lynda.com with tons of learning videos with exercise files you can download from their site. Here is the link to access Lynda.com through your library membership: 
People are still using Kijiji to sell stuff, practicing social distancing when pick up stuff or just do porch pick up. I’ve been working on organizing my photography equipment and props in an IKEA Pax wardrobe in the basement and try to get rid of the items we don’t really use to make more space for my studio.
As a result of the Coronavirus lock-down or social distancing, we all became much more inactive. When you add eating out of boredom to it, it is not going anywhere good. It is fortunate that this pandemic coincided with good weather, so we can at least go out for fresh air and some activity. As a family we are walking around the neighbourhood everyday after breakfast. As the weather gets better, we will add more rounds to these short walks and biking.
After switching to digital world, we all compiled thousands of photos in our discs without revisiting, arranging or printing them with the comfort of knowing that we “have” them. It is as much difficult to browse through so many similar photos as it is easy to take them. Lock-down time is perfect to go back to old photos, delete the bad ones and organize the good ones in separate albums. On top of that getting a few photo books to share on the coffee table would be great! Online print places are still servicing.
