What to Wear for Corporate Headshots: A Photographer's Advice

Half the emails we get before a session ask the same question: what should I wear? After 30 years of watching outfits succeed and fail under studio light, the answer fits in one guide. Short version: dress like you're meeting a client you respect, in solid mid-tone colours, in clothes that have met an iron.

Start with one rule

Wear what you'd wear to meet an important client, one notch smarter than your average day. LinkedIn's guidance says to wear what you'd wear to work, and that's right, with one addition: your headshot outlives any single workday, so aim at your best day rather than a random one.

This rule settles most wardrobe debates on its own. A barrister in a hoodie confuses people, and so does a games developer in a three piece suit. Your clothes should match the person who turns up to your meetings, because the entire job of a headshot is honest recognition.

It also explains why costumey choices fail. Clothes you never normally wear sit wrong, and you fidget with them, and the fidgeting reaches your face. Comfort photographs better than ambition.

Colours that photograph well

Solid mid-tones win: navy, charcoal, burgundy, forest green, plum. Avoid anything close to your own skin tone, such as beige, peach or cream, which blends into your face on camera. Skip neon, and be careful with pure white or head-to-toe black, although these, when thoughtfully chosen, can photograph beautifully.

Mid-tones flatter every complexion and let your face carry the frame, which is the point of the whole exercise. Skin-tone fabrics are the quiet failure nobody warns you about: the camera reads face and top as one continuous shape, and suddenly a competent professional looks like a thumb.

White and black are conditional rather than banned. A white shirt under a jacket works; a white top alone can glow under studio light and steal attention. Black absorbs detail, so an all-black outfit becomes a silhouette with a head. Both behave once a mid-tone layer sits over them.

If suits are your uniform

A well fitted navy or charcoal suit over a plain shirt is close to unbeatable on camera. Fit beats price: a pressed mid-range suit photographs better than a rumpled expensive one. Check the collar sits flush at the neck, and if you wear a tie, keep the pattern small and the knot tidy.

Fit around the shoulders and neck is what the camera sees, since a headshot crops at the chest. A jacket that pulls at the collar creates shadows and bunching right beside your face. Try sitting and turning in it before the session; a suit that only fits when you stand to attention will spend the whole shoot reminding you.

Shirt colour follows the same mid-tone logic. Light blue is the reliable workhorse. Crisp white works under a jacket. Loud stripes and checks shimmer oddly on screens, a problem that gets worse once the image is compressed by whatever website it lands on.

If your office doesn't do suits

Smart casual photographs beautifully when it's chosen, not defaulted to. Strong options: a fine knit in a mid-tone, a structured blazer over a plain tee, a simple blouse or shirt with a clean neckline. The goal is deliberate, comfortable and current.

Texture is your friend at this end of the wardrobe. Fine knits and wool add depth that flat cotton doesn't, and they read as considered without a jacket's formality. Modest V-necks and crew necks frame the face well; extremes in either direction fight the crop.

One honest warning about favourite clothes: the camera sees wear that mirrors hide. Bobbling, faded seams and stretched collars all get amplified. Pick the newer of two similar options every time.

Details the camera notices

Iron everything, including the back of the collar. Keep jewellery small and matte, since shiny pieces catch studio light. Wear your glasses if you wear them daily, cleaned properly. Book haircuts three to seven days before the session, and keep makeup matte and close to your everyday look.

Every item on that list comes from a real session where it went wrong. Creases photograph like scars. An oversized necklace becomes the subject of the photo. Fresh haircuts look severe for a few days, which is why we say a week's buffer, and shimmer in makeup turns into shine under flash.

None of this requires shopping. Nearly everyone owns the right outfit already; the work is choosing it deliberately and giving it five minutes with an iron the night before.

What to bring on the day

Bring two or three tops rather than one, a jacket even if you doubt you'll use it, and your glasses if you wear them. Changes take seconds, and having options means we can react to what the camera says instead of hoping the single choice works.

Sessions with us run from £180 at the Clapham studio or at your office, and we'll always give an honest opinion on which option is working, since we'd rather reshoot a top than deliver a photo you half like. See recent examples in our gallery, or if you’re planning photos for a whole team, start with our team headshot day guide and its one-email wardrobe note.

Still torn between two outfits on the morning? Bring both and ask us. Adjudicating is free.

Quick questions we hear in the studio

Wardrobe worries produce more pre-session emails than everything else combined, and three questions account for most of them. Here they are, answered the way we answer them in person at the studio, usually while someone holds up two nearly identical navy tops.

Should I wear my glasses?

If you wear them most days, yes. The photo should look like the person who walks into the meeting. Clean them thoroughly and we'll angle the light to keep reflections out of the lenses.

What about makeup and hair?

If you're booking a group session, having a hair and makeup artist on hand can make a real difference. Our MUAs are experienced, efficient and wonderfully discreet, keeping everyone looking polished and camera-ready throughout the shoot.

It's not about creating a heavily made-up look. A little grooming, a touch of shine control and a few small adjustments can make people feel more confident in front of the camera, whether they're in the spotlight every day or would rather be anywhere else.

We've often found that even the most camera-shy people relax once they've had a quick refresh. Somehow, those few finishing touches give them the confidence to step in front of the lens and simply enjoy the experience.

When booking for the day, the cost of the MUA becomes negligible, starting at £250 per half day and £400 for the full day. If we shoot 30 people per day, this works out at £13 per person for anything from a quick matt down to a full make up session, depending on what the model actually wants.

If you prefer not to have a MUA?

Keep makeup close to your normal look with a matte finish, since shimmer turns to shine under studio light. Book haircuts three to seven days ahead so the cut settles. Avoid trying anything for the first time on the morning.

How can I look slimmer in a headshot?

Angles do more than outfits: turning slightly away from camera and leaning a touch forward flatters everyone. Structured layers such as a jacket help too. A photographer who directs will handle this for you, which is a better plan than dieting for a Tuesday.