Headshot guide
What to wear for a headshot
In a head-and-shoulders photo your clothes fill the bottom of the frame and set the tone before anyone reads your job title. This guide covers what to wear for each kind of job, which colors hold up against which backdrops, and the small things, like fine stripes and glare on glasses, that spoil otherwise good photos.
UpdatedThe short version
- Wear solid colors in mid to deep tones near your face: navy, charcoal, burgundy, forest green, teal or plum.
- Pick a neckline that frames your face, and make sure it fits at the shoulders and is pressed.
- Skip fine stripes, small checks, logos and printed text.
- Wear something that contrasts with the backdrop. A gray top on a gray backdrop makes your shoulders disappear.
- Dress one step more formally than on an ordinary workday, in clothes you'd wear to meet a client.
What to wear by job and setting
The right outfit depends on where the photo will be seen. Dress the way you would to meet the people who will look at it for the first time.Corporate: finance, law and consulting
A navy or charcoal suit or blazer over a white or light blue shirt is the safe choice, and it dates slowly. A tie is optional in most offices now; if you wear one, keep it solid or with a small, quiet pattern. If you don't wear suits, a structured blazer over a plain top, or a solid dress with a jacket, does the same job. Law and finance lean darker and more formal than consulting. Check your colleagues' headshots first: on a team page, matching the set counts for more than standing out.Creative fields
Designers, writers, agencies and architects have more room. A dark turtleneck, a good knit, a denim or chore jacket, or one strong solid color all work. Show personality through one element, such as distinctive frames or a bold color, and keep the rest simple.Healthcare
Doctors usually wear a pressed white coat over a collared shirt or a plain solid top. Nurses and other clinical staff often wear scrubs in their usual work color, which helps patients recognize them. Take off or flip your ID badge, which adds clutter and shares more than you may want in a public photo.Real estate
Agents' headshots end up small, on yard signs, listing portals and business cards, so a solid color with clear contrast against the backdrop works better than detail. A blazer over an open collar or a plain top looks professional and approachable. Your brokerage's color can work well, but check its brand guidelines first, since some brokerages ask for a set backdrop or style.Tech and startups
Smart casual is the norm: a plain crewneck or T-shirt under an unstructured blazer, a quarter-zip, a merino sweater or an overshirt, all in solid colors. Skip company hoodies and anything with a logo, unless the photo is only for that company's own page and its brand team asked for it.Outdoor headshots
Outdoor headshots suit relaxed jobs and personal brands. Blues, burgundy, rust, cream and denim stand out against foliage. Bright green and olive blend into it, and bright white can blow out in sun. Layers, such as a jacket over a knit, add shape.Colors that work on camera
Navy, charcoal, burgundy, emerald, teal, plum and cobalt suit most skin tones and keep their color when a photo is compressed for the web. Very bright reds, oranges and neons can throw a color cast onto your chin and neck.White and black are possible with care. Pure white loses its texture under bright light and bounces light up onto your face; under a jacket, where only a strip shows, it's fine. All black can lose its shape on a dark backdrop, where your shoulders melt into the background unless the photographer adds a rim light behind you.Warmer skin undertones often suit rust, olive and camel; cooler ones often suit navy, emerald and plum. Navy and charcoal work for nearly everyone.Then match the outfit to the backdrop. Contrast keeps you separate from the background. These pairings hold for studio backdrops, real locations and AI-generated ones.| Backdrop | Works well | Use with care | Avoid |
|---|---|---|---|
| White or light gray | Navy, charcoal, black, jewel tones | Pastels, which have little contrast | White, cream and very light gray tops |
| Mid-gray studio | Navy, burgundy, teal, a white shirt under a dark jacket | Black, which is strong but heavy | Mid-gray, which merges with the backdrop |
| Dark charcoal or black | A light shirt under a dark jacket, mid blues, jewel tones | Charcoal and black, which need a rim light | Head-to-toe black with dark hair |
| Bright office, blurred | Navy, gray, muted solids | White, if windows are behind you | Busy patterns that compete with the room |
| Outdoor shade with greenery | Blue, burgundy, rust, cream, denim | Olive and khaki | Bright green and neon |
| City street at golden hour | Navy, denim, charcoal, cream | Camel and tan, which the warm light makes warmer | Orange and yellow, which merge with the light |
| Warm textured wall | Black, navy, deep green, white | Rust and terracotta | Beige, tan and camel close to the wall's color |
| Brand-color backdrop | White, gray, navy or black | Colors next to the brand color on the color wheel | The brand color itself |
Necklines, fit and pressing
A headshot is cropped at the chest, so the neckline is most of what shows. Collars frame the face and add structure, a V-neck lengthens the neck, and a crewneck works best under a jacket. A turtleneck suits creative fields but shortens the neck, so choose a slim one.Strapless tops, thin straps and low necklines can look bare once the photo is cropped to the shoulders. If you like a scoop or wide neck, add a jacket or cardigan.Fit shows most at the shoulders and collar. The shoulder seam should sit at the edge of your shoulder, the collar should lie flat, and a buttoned jacket shouldn't pull into an X. Steam or press everything the night before, lint-roll dark fabrics and empty your breast pocket. If you're seated, unbutton your jacket or sit on its tail so it doesn't bunch at the neck.Patterns, logos and text to avoid
Fine stripes, small checks, herringbone and houndstooth can produce moiré, the rippling bands of color that appear when a tight pattern clashes with the grid of pixels on a camera sensor, or when the photo is resized for the web. It may not show on the camera's screen and then turn up on LinkedIn. AI generators have a related problem and often smear or garble fine patterns.Logos and printed text date a photo and pull the eye away from your face, and in AI headshots the letters often come out as gibberish. Large florals and graphic prints have the same pull. A subtle texture, such as a knit or a tweed seen from a distance, is fine.Glasses, jewelry and accessories
Wear your glasses if you wear them most of the day, so people recognize you. Clean the lenses; an anti-reflective coating helps, and tilting the frames slightly down at the temples moves reflections out of the lenses. If your lenses darken in daylight, bring a clear pair for outdoor shots.Keep jewelry to one or two pieces that don't move, such as small studs or hoops, a simple necklace that sits above the neckline, or a lapel pin. Large, shiny or dangling pieces catch light and draw the eye. Skip hats unless one is part of how people know you.Hair, makeup and grooming
Get a haircut a week or two before, so the edges have grown in, and style your hair the way you usually wear it. Bring a comb and a little product for flyaways. Trim a beard a day or two before; if you shave, shave that morning.Shine shows up in headshots whether or not you wear makeup. Studio lights make a shiny forehead and nose look greasy, so a matte powder or blotting paper helps everyone. If you do, keep it close to your everyday look, with matte rather than shimmer products. Sunscreen and foundation with zinc oxide or titanium dioxide can reflect flash and leave a white cast, so test them under flash first.Head coverings
Wear your hijab, turban, patka, kippah, headwrap or other covering the way you wear it every day. The color rules above apply: a solid color with contrast against the backdrop looks clean, and matte fabrics photograph better than shiny satin under bright light. Small folds and loose pins show in a close crop, so pin or tie it neatly.In an AI headshot generator, wear the covering in every photo you upload, and check that each result keeps it as you wear it: the same shape, the same color and the same way it frames your face. Discard any result that changes it.Choosing an outfit in an AI headshot generator
AI headshot generators either keep the clothes in your photos and tidy them up, or dress you in an outfit you pick. Leap's does both: you pick an outfit or keep your own, along with a backdrop, an expression and whether to keep your glasses.- To keep your own clothes, wear the outfit in your photos with the collar and shoulders visible. The generator can only keep what it can see.
- If you pick an outfit, pick one you'd wear in real life. The people who meet you will compare.
- Check each result at full size for collars, lapels and buttons that don't line up, jewelry you don't own, and glasses that changed shape.
- If you need a formal photo and a relaxed one, make a second version in another outfit from the same photos.