Hair & Makeup for Professional Headshots
Do You Need Professional Hair & Makeup for Your Headshots?
The truth — it depends.
Professional hair and makeup for corporate headshots generally serves three different purposes.
Technical
It's the reason news anchors wear makeup on camera - men and women alike.
Professional cameras and bright studio lighting capture far more detail than we notice in everyday life. Makeup artists who specialize in photography understand how to compensate for that—without the effect that someone looks like they're covered in makeup. Instead, their skill is in creating the natural appearance you want to see, under conditions most people are never seen in.
Style
As professional makeup artists, they know exactly how to style makeup for a gala, makeup for dinner, and makeup for a corporate headshot.
Some people are fully capable of creating “their look” on a day to day basis, but might not see that when reviewing images - due to the reasons mentioned above. This can disrupt the energy, confidence, or general faith in the session itself, so its important to know what you’re seeing and why. Others don’t do well with makeup, or simply prefer having someone else handle it.
Neither approach is right or wrong, and no matter what you choose, the photographs will still be professionally retouched. Professional hair and makeup simply helps many people begin the session looking much closer to the finished result.
Confidence
There's one more benefit that's easy to overlook.
Many people don't book professional hair and makeup because they can't do it themselves. They book it because they don't want to spend the session working on those details.
Once someone stops worrying about flyaway hairs, shine, or whether their makeup looks right under the lights, they can focus on enjoying the session, which has an incredible impact on the results when talking about corporate headshots.
Is It Worth It?
For some people, absolutely.
Others are perfectly comfortable doing their own hair and makeup and achieve excellent results.
With good lighting, and good retouching, the question is not whether professional hair and makeup is "required."
The decision usually comes down to how much value you place on convenience, confidence, and seeing a more polished version of yourself throughout the session.
If you choose to handle your own hair and makeup, you will receive a prep guide covering wardrobe, skincare, hair, and makeup considerations before your session.
To book professional hair and makeup with your session, simply select a session containing Hair & Makeup when choosing your appointment.
