Your headshot is all about you — your personal “brand”.
Let us know what you plan to use the photo for. If you know the type of look you’re going for, share it.
You don’t have to be a professional model. We work with people every day who have varying degrees of comfort in front of the camera. To make yourself comfortable, practice in front of a mirror. Bring some ideas to the shoot in the form of expressions and looks that you want to try. You can even bring photos from favorite magazines that contain elements of what you’d like to see.
The best thing you can do to improve your headshot is to get a full night of sleep the night before. An extra hour wouldn’t be a bad idea. Drink lots of water so that your skin is hydrated. It’s a good idea to stay away from alcohol or other substances the day before your session. If possible, don’t drink coffee or smoke just before the shoot.
What To Wear
Solid colors, especially dark colors.
Avoid white unless it is under a suit coat or worn in combination with other layers.
Anything that isn’t too busy with colors, patterns or lines. The focus should be on your face and eyes, not your clothes.
Clothes that you feel comfortable in.
New or new-looking clothing that is pressed, ironed or wrinkle-free.
Simple jewelry styles and minimal pieces of jewelry.
A variety of clothing layers and styles. Different necklines dramatically change the way your face looks in a photo, so a variety is good.
What To Bring
Extra makeup, a brush and toiletries such as toothpaste/brush, gloss, etc.
Old headshots that you like or don’t like (we’ll work hard to do better)
Anything that isn’t too busy with colors, patterns or lines. The focus should be on your face and eyes, not your clothes.
A good attitude
A CD or iPod with your favorite tunes
Hair & Makeup Tips
A heavy layer of transclucent face powder will help your face look flawless on camera.
Clean and natural is best.
Men may require a powder base makeup as well; it’s best to bring your own that’s been chosen to compliment your skin tone.
No new haircuts just prior to the shoot.
Don’t try out new makeup or skin lotions just before the shoot.
Frequently Asked Questions
The details for our packages are listed on the Rates page. The stated price includes one, two or more retouched, color-corrected digital image files. Additional image files may be purchased if you’d like, at a discounted rate.
Yes, we do. We accept any card (including debit cards) with the MasterCard or Visa logos. You may pay a deposit online and the remainder at the time of your session.
Standard headshot sessions can run up to 30 minutes iper subject/clothing change. This gives us the time we need to make you look your best in terms of facial expressions, lighting and poses. Typically with multiple clothing changes a session can last an hour or more. We’ll keep on going if that what it takes to get excellent images.
See our Tips page for more information. You’re always welcome to bring examples from magazines or elsewhere of the look, style and feel you think you’d like to go for.
We post a web gallery within 24-48 hours so you can take your time or get input when choosing your final images. This is helpful especially for talent agents. Final retouched images will be ready within 2 business days after selections are made from proofs.
If it’s critical that images be available same-day, no problem. There is a rush charge of $50 per order.
You’ll get a high-resolution image file that’s suitable for printing and which can be downsized to use on your website or a platform like Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter. If you want additional images from the same session, but only need those for web use, we can provide you low-resolution versions of those images for just $25 each.
The image files contained within your download link or on CD are high resolution and can be printed at any photo lab or on any quality desktop printer. We recommend a quality photo lab to get the best quality and color reproduction. Images may be purchased online via our online gallery as well. Simply add the image(s) to your cart and you’ll be able to crop, decide on sizes and pay all online.
We offer this service, but will gladly recommend local and web-based options.
We’ve always incorporated the cost of sales tax into our packages, but are now separating sales tax into its own line item. Also, it’s because our CPA told us to, and we do what he says.
We participate in the Portland Downtown District’s Park & Shop program. Park at a participating lot or garage and we’ll validate your parking (bring your parking ticket with you to the appointment) for up to two hours. There is also street parking along Pearl and other surrounding streets.
