Tell Your Photographer Exactly What You Need

Gather Your Visual References Before You Talk

Don't just tell me you want a "professional" headshot. That word means ten different things to ten different people. Instead, bring me a folder—a digital one on your phone is perfect—with 5 to 7 images you've saved. Three should be headshots you love from people in your field. Show me the lighting on their face, the background color, how close the crop is. The other two? Find shots where you love how *you* look, even if it's a candid from a vacation. Point to it and say, "My smile looks real here," or "I like how my eyes look in this light." This gives me a visual vocabulary. It turns a vague idea into a concrete plan we can build together.

Define Your Job and Who Needs to Trust You

Your headshot is a handshake for people who haven't met you. Tell me exactly who's on the other side of that handshake. Are you a corporate lawyer whose clients need to feel you're unshakable and detail-oriented? A therapist where new clients must sense warmth and safety the moment they see your profile? A startup founder pitching to 65-year-old venture capitalists? The answers change everything. The lawyer might need a crisp suit against a solid, dark wall, with steady, even light. The therapist might benefit from a softer sweater, a gentle chair, and light that feels like a sunny window. I once shot a brilliant cybersecurity expert who initially wanted a stern, closed-off look. When we talked, he realized his real job was convincing non-technical boards to fund his projects. We went for approachable confidence instead.

Describe the Energy You Want to Project

Now, give me three feeling-words. Not "professional." Try "approachable, knowledgeable, and grounded." Or "innovative, energetic, and precise." This is your cheat sheet for the shoot. If you say "energetic," I'll have you move, maybe walk toward me, and I'll use a faster shutter speed. If you say "grounded," we'll focus on a solid, relaxed posture and warmer tones. During the session, I can remind you: "Okay, give me that 'knowledgeable' look now." It redirects you from worrying about your face and back to the core message. It works better than "smile more," which just creates a fake grin.

The One Mistake That Kills a Good Headshot

Stiffness. It's the killer. It usually comes from holding a forced pose for too long. Your shoulders creep up to your ears. Your smile becomes a tense line. Your eyes go dead because you're thinking about your face, not communicating. My job is to pull you out of that. I'll give you tiny, constant adjustments: "Shift your weight to your back foot. Now, take a deep breath and let it out. Think of your favorite coffee order." We'll work in bursts of 10-15 shots, then reset. The magic frames are almost always the ones *between* the poses—the slight laugh after you hold a serious look, the moment you relax your shoulders. Trust that process.

How to Give Feedback That Actually Helps

Be brutally specific when you see the back of the camera or the previews. "I don't like it" leaves me nowhere to go. "My smile feels tight here" or "This angle makes my neck look shorter than I'd like" is gold. I can fix those. Tell me which of your three feeling-words the shot is hitting or missing. If you love one, tell me why: "Yes, my eyes look engaged in this one!" That lets me double down on what's working. We're a team in this. The best feedback is immediate, concrete, and about the *effect* of the image, not just a technical detail.

Walking into a photoshoot prepared like this transforms it from a chore into a collaboration. You'll get images that feel like you, because we built them on a blueprint you provided. You'll walk out with a headshot that doesn't just look good—it works for you.