I’ve heard the phrase “I haven’t had my photo taken since grade school” so many times. In this day and age, with cellphone cameras becoming better and better, why hire a professional photographer when you can simply snap a picture and use it as a headshot?

The short answer is: casting and modeling agencies will not accept a ‘selfie’ as an official headshot. Your employer may accept it but a grainy, cell phone photo won’t look as sharp on the company’s website, nor will it look professional.

A headshot session is nothing close to the yearbook photo you might have done in elementary or high school. It’s important to share your expectations with me about how want your photos to look like. The more information you can give me, the better.

Here are a few pointers to help you ace your headshot session:

• Don’t sweat the small stuff, relax and have fun!

• Wear comfortable clothes; avoid busy patterns. Solid colors work much better. Bringing a couple of different outfits is alway a great idea.

• Leave (most of) the jewelry at home. Small earrings and/or a simple necklace can work well without taking the attention away from the most important feature: your face

• Bring your own grooming accessories such as a brush or comb, lip balm and lotion.

I would strongly suggest in paying a little extra for hair and makeup services, even for a ‘natural’ look. It’s important to let your hairstylist and makeup artist know what type of photos you’ll be doing; they can really help you create a look that you’ll love! Makeup artists charge between $125-$200 per person.

Pricing**:

• A studio headshot session with one look costs $350 and you will receive 1 retouched headshot of your choice.

• For two looks, the cost is $450 and you will receive 2 retouched photos of your choice.

• For three looks, the costs is $550 and you will receive three retouched photos of your choice.

For larger corporate groups (3+), a discount will be applied. This will depend on the number of people, please contact me to find out how much you can save on group sessions.

**Additional retouching is $25/photo.