How to Prepare for Executive Headshots: 7 Tips That Make a Real Difference
In This Article
Tip 1: Get your mindset right before you arrive
Tip 2: Plan your wardrobe ahead of time
Tip 3: Schedule your haircut at the right time
Tip 4: Sleep, hydrate, and groom in the days before
Tip 5: Know what to expect on the day of your session
Tip 6: Bring the right things with you
Tip 7: Avoid the mistakes that quietly hurt your results
Executive headshot services at Chris Holt Photography
Most executives walk into a headshot session the same way they approach a meeting they did not have time to prepare for. They grab something from the closet, show up, and trust the photographer to figure it out.
Sometimes it works out. Usually, it does not. And by the time you see the proofs, the window to do it differently has already closed.
The executives I photograph who get the strongest results almost always have one thing in common: they prepared. Not obsessively, but thoughtfully. They made a few deliberate decisions ahead of time, which meant that when they walked into the studio, they could focus entirely on being present.
Here are the seven things that consistently make the biggest difference.
Tip 1: Get Your Mindset Right Before You Arrive
This is the one most executives skip, and it shows up in the images more than anything else.
A professional headshot session is not a passive experience. You are not just showing up and standing there. You are communicating something with your expression, your posture, and your energy, in real time, often while feeling at least a little self-conscious.
The more you can resolve before you arrive, the more relaxed you will be during the session.
Relaxed shows.
Tension, distraction, and uncertainty show up in photographs in ways that are very difficult to fix after the fact.
Before your session, spend five minutes thinking through this: when the right client, board member, or referral source sees this photo, what do you want them to feel? Confident you can handle their situation?
Approachable enough to call?
Authoritative enough to trust with something significant?
That clarity shapes everything from your expression to your posture.
Your photographer can help you translate it into the frame once you have articulated it.
Also, give yourself permission to look good. Many executives have a complicated relationship with being photographed.
They minimize, deflect, or pre-apologize for how the images will turn out.
That energy comes through. Come in ready to take the session seriously and trust that the result will reflect the preparation you put in.
If you are updating your headshot to match a new title, a new organization, or a new chapter in your career, the image needs to reflect a deliberate choice.
That does not happen by accident, and it does not happen if you walk in distracted.
Tip 2: Plan Your Wardrobe Ahead of Time
Wardrobe is where most executives under-prepare, and where thirty extra minutes of thought pays the biggest dividends.
Bring at least two complete outfits. Different colors and styles photograph differently depending on the background, the lighting setup, and your skin tone. Having options gives you flexibility. What looks right in your bathroom mirror may not land the same way under studio lighting.
Stick with solid colors. Patterns, stripes, and busy textures compete with your face in a tightly cropped headshot. Solid colors keep the focus where it belongs. Deep navy, charcoal, slate, burgundy, and forest green all photograph well and read as authoritative across most corporate contexts.
Avoid pure white and pure black as your primary color. Both create exposure challenges. White can blow out under bright lighting. Black can flatten and lose detail. Opt for off-white, cream, or light gray if you want a lighter look, and dark charcoal or navy in place of true black.
Dress for the role you want to project, not just the role you currently hold. Your headshot will likely be in use for two to three years. Think about where you want your career to be in that window and dress to meet it there.
Make sure everything fits correctly. Clothing that pulls, bunches, or gaps will be visible in photos. A well-fitted outfit at any price point will outperform an expensive one that does not fit. Check shoulders, collar, and sleeve length specifically.
Bring a lint roller and wrinkle spray. Even freshly laundered clothing picks up lint in transit. Take five minutes when you arrive to do a final check before the session starts.
Wardrobe decisions vary by industry. A C-suite executive at a financial services firm will make different choices than a founder at a technology company or a partner at a law firm. The principle is consistent across all of them: dress to signal the level of authority and approachability your audience expects from someone in your role. For attorneys and legal professionals, the professional dress code guide for attorney headshots covers wardrobe decisions by practice area in detail.
Tip 3: Schedule Your Haircut at the Right Time
This is a small detail that makes a visible difference, and almost everyone gets it wrong. Schedule your haircut one to two weeks before your session, not the day before or the day of.
A fresh cut looks stiff and unnatural on camera.
The shape is too precise, the edges too sharp, and it reads as performance rather than presence.
Give your hair a few days to settle back into its natural shape before the session.
If you color your hair, time your appointment so roots are not visible, but the color has had a few days to soften from its freshest state.
Freshly colored hair under studio lighting can look artificially bright in ways that are distracting.
The same principle applies to any significant grooming change. If you are considering changing your beard, your hairstyle, or anything else about your appearance, do it far enough in advance that it has settled into how you normally look.
Your headshot should look like you on your best day, not like you trying something new.
Tip 4: Sleep, Hydrate, and Groom in the Days Before
The morning of your session is too late to fix most of what shows up in photographs. The preparation that matters most happens in the three to four days leading up to your shoot.
Stay hydrated. Skin tone and texture improve noticeably with consistent hydration. Start a few days ahead rather than drinking extra water only on the morning of your session.
Get a full night of sleep the night before. Fatigue is one of the hardest things to fix in post-production. Redness, puffiness around the eyes, and low energy in your expression are all visible under studio lighting and difficult to retouch naturally without making you look like a different person.
For those who wear makeup: Stay close to your everyday professional look, slightly enhanced. Avoid heavy foundation or anything dramatic unless that is genuinely how you present at work. Translucent powder helps manage shine under studio lights. Bring your kit for touch-ups between looks.
For facial hair: Trim and groom precisely one to two days before your session, not the morning of. Cameras capture detail at a level the naked eye misses in everyday lighting. Whatever look you intend to project, make sure it is deliberate and clean.
Avoid anything new to your routine in the week before your session. New skincare treatments, spray tans, or dramatic changes to your appearance can create unpredictable results under studio lighting. You want your skin to be in its normal, settled state.
Tip 5: Know What to Expect on the Day of Your Session
Knowing what happens when you walk in removes the uncertainty that makes even seasoned executives tense before a session. When you arrive at the studio, you will have a few minutes to settle in, do a final wardrobe check, and have a brief conversation with your photographer about your goals, what you need the images for, and what you want people to feel when they see them.
That conversation matters more than most people expect. The more context your photographer has, the better they can direct the session toward images that actually work for you. Share any reference images you have found. Let them know if there are aspects of previous headshots you did not like.
Be specific about the primary use case for your images, whether that is a company website, a board bio, a speaker page, or LinkedIn.From there, the session moves through lighting setup, background selection, and a series of looks that vary your expression, posture, and wardrobe. You will typically go through two to three outfit changes.
Do not be alarmed if the first ten to fifteen minutes feel awkward. That is completely normal. Almost everyone feels stiff at the start of a session. A good photographer knows how to ease that through conversation and direction, and most executives hit their stride within the first few looks.
The images toward the end of the session are almost always stronger than the ones at the beginning. Plan for your session to run about an hour.
Do not book anything immediately after. Rushing creates tension in the final images, and you want to leave the session without feeling like you cut it short.
For a full breakdown of what happens from arrival through image delivery, visit the what to expect during your headshot session resource page.
Tip 6: Bring the Right Things With You
A short checklist that covers everything worth having on the day of your session: Two to three complete outfits with appropriate accessories for each. A lint roller. Wrinkle spray or a small travel steamer. Your makeup kit, if applicable, for touch-ups between looks. A bottle of water. Any reference images you want to share with your photographer.One more thing worth adding to that list: a clear sense of which platforms and contexts the images will be used for. Knowing that your headshot will appear on a company website, a board bio, a speaker page, and LinkedIn helps your photographer make decisions about framing, expression, and variety that serve all four uses rather than just one. If you want to review examples of what a well-executed session can produce before you arrive, the headshot portfolio at Chris Holt Photography is worth looking through. It gives you a clear sense of range and helps you identify what direction you want to move toward in your own session.
Tip 7: Avoid the Mistakes That Quietly Hurt Your Results
These are the ones that are easy to overlook and consistently show up in underperforming headshots.
Wearing a brand new outfit for the first time. You want to feel natural and at ease in what you are wearing. Break new clothing in before the session so the fit feels settled and the fabric moves the way it should.
Scheduling the session during a high-pressure period. If you are in the middle of a difficult quarter, a major negotiation, or anything else that is genuinely weighing on you, it will show. If you have any flexibility, schedule during a period when you are feeling grounded.
Coming in right after a workout or a rushed commute. Give yourself fifteen minutes of buffer before your session to decompress and reset. Walking in flushed, rushed, or distracted sets the wrong tone for the first half of the shoot.
Trying to over-correct your appearance before you arrive. Some executives come in with heavy self-applied corrections or makeup designed to cover everything. Natural is always better. Your photographer will handle retouching in post-production in a way that looks like you on your best day, not like a different person.
Not communicating during the session. If something does not feel right, say so. Your photographer is not reading your mind. The session is collaborative, and the more honest feedback you give in real time, the stronger the result will be.
Executive Headshot Services at Chris Holt Photography
I photograph executives, founders, and corporate teams across the Inland Empire, Orange County, and greater Los Angeles area, with a studio in Rancho Cucamonga and on-location availability throughout Southern California. Individual sessions run about an hour and include multiple wardrobe looks and background options. Turnaround is three to five business days. You receive full-resolution files for print and web-ready versions optimized for LinkedIn, company websites, board bios, and speaker platforms. Whether you need a single executive portrait or headshots for an entire leadership team, sessions are designed to be efficient and deliver images that hold up across every platform where your name appears. To see the full range of session options, visit the executive headshots page or explore corporate team photography for group sessions.
Ready to Book?
If this post has you thinking it is time to update your headshot, the next step is simple. Reach out at info@chris-holt.com or visit chris-holt.com to learn more about sessions and pricing. The session takes about an hour. The images will work for you for years.