Don Favorites

This article will mainly apply to women, but men—read on and learn, too.  Make-up is something that can really help you, or really hurt you, in a photograph. As with any fresh application of make-up, too much may simply be too much. Lips that are too dark, rouge that is too strong, eye shadow that is too noticeable—these will all be exaggerated in a headshot.  On the other hand, depending on your skin type and the make-up you use, even too much makeup may not be enough. You may find that you need to use more make-up than normal.  Some women do not use make-up at all, or they use very little. It’s important to use make-up in a photo even if you normally don’t wear very much. Unfortunately, the camera can be unforgiving and make-up can help make you look more put together. Here are some things you’ll want to consider as you prepare for your picture:

• Avoid shine. Gloss lipstick will reflect the lights and tends to look too Playboylike.  Get as much shine off of your skin as possible by using powder or a matte foundation, especially on the forehead and chin.
• Don’t line your lips. Adding a liner around your lipstick gives your lips a hard look, and also looks like the make-up used by Playboy models.
• Be gentle with rouge. Use it, but make it soft, blend it in, and keep it high on the cheeks.
• Remove any shadows under the eyes. Use any number of cosmetics designed to remove bags, circles, or wrinkles. Photos and lighting tend to exaggerate under-eye shadows, so be sure to counteract that effect by working on this area of your face.
• If you use eye shadow, keep it natural. Avoid blues and greens or anything metallic. Your eyes will be the most important feature in the photo, so you want them to look natural and pretty.
• Add detail to your eyelashes. Mascara is enough, but curl them if that’s what you’re used to, and use a good eyeliner. Don’t clump or overdo it. Beautiful lashes will add to your eye appeal.
• Keep your eyebrows soft. You may want to go dark with eyebrow pencil, but be sure that it doesn’t add hardness to your look. Thinner eyebrows are better than thick in your photo.
• Don’t worry about a few laugh lines or wrinkles. If they are appropriate to your age, they’re fine.
• White teeth will help your smile. There are a number of bleaching products for your teeth, so if your pearly whites are a bit dingy, give whitening strips a try.

The best advice for applying make-up for your photo is to start subtle. By taking test shots, you can gradually build up enough color and detail so your picture looks natural and not overly made-up. Cameras tend to wash out colors and details, so don’t be afraid to keep adding make-up as needed. If you add too much, you can always remove it and start over.

You’ll need to take a long look in the mirror and decide what to do about your hair.

First, you’ll want to make sure your hair looks its best. A good day to take your portrait shots is when you’re scheduled for a haircut or styling. A good practice is to let your stylist know you’re going to be taking your picture, and have him help style your hair to work best in a photo. You’ll want to be sure that hair is not covering your face, and that the style is natural-looking and pleasant.

The goal is to show what you really look like. If you have long hair and wear it back all the time, don’t be afraid to pull it back for the photo. If you’re a man and you’re balding, hey, you won’t be able to hide that when you meet, so don’t play games and make yourself look silly by combing your hair up from the back and down onto your forehead. Be proud of yourself, and show that you’re comfortable with your hairline.

Women should avoid trendy or radical hairstyles. Sure, you may use red streaks now and then.  You may try different styles for special occasions. In your picture, choose the hairstyle you wear most often. The one that looks like you do most of the time. Everyone gets a great “do” for a wedding or social event, but that’s not how you’ll look when you meet at Starbucks for your first coffee together. Set some realistic expectations by showing how you look everyday—which is beautiful, right?

For men, stay away from five o’clock shadow. It’s a good idea to be clean-shaven. Unkempt facial hair can be a turn-off for some women. But if you wear a beard or mustache all the time, don’t shave it off for the photo just to attract more chicks. Look like yourself. If you do have facial hair, be sure it’s trimmed perfectly and that you look neat and groomed.  While on the subject of men, you may have hair that pops up all over, including your chest. If you’re hairy, and your hair pops up out of your open-necked shirt, you may want to consider trimming it a bit or buttoning up all but the top button. Hairy chests can be a turn-on or a turnoff.  Why take the chance of turning off someone when all can be fixed later with a wax job or an electric trimmer, if that is an issue? And no matter what your chest hair situation, do NOT unbutton your shirt down to your navel. This wasn’t a good look in the ‘70s, and you won’t win any dates with it now, either.

Although the picture is primarily of your face, you’ll see a bit of your shoulders and chest, so what you wear is important.

For men, it’s best to wear a casual, collared shirt. A polo shirt or casual dress shirt will do perfectly. You should avoid a dress shirt with a tie, and avoid T-shirts, tank tops, or other shirts without a collar. Leave the top button undone, and avoid a solid black or solid white shirt.  Textures and small prints add detail and warmth. Choose a color that is flattering to your skin tone. Don’t be afraid to try a few different shirts to find which one looks best in a photo. Ask a female friend for advice if you need help.

Women have a bit more of a challenge. The classic head shot will show the top portion of your chest, not the breasts, but the photo will hint at what your breasts are like. You’ll want to choose a top that shows your neck and a bit of your chest—but not too much. You’ll want to make sure you look fully dressed. The neckline of the top should be modestly revealing, but not show cleavage. A simple v-neck or scoop-neck will look great; it should fit comfortably when you’re seated and not show bra straps. Avoid tube tops or any top that makes it look like you’re not wearing anything. Avoid solid white or black, and, depending on your personality, flowers, lace, and small details are all good things. A simple necklace and flattering earrings are great accessories.

Some very simple rules for portraits: If you’re a police officer, don’t wear your uniform. If you’re a nurse, don’t wear scrubs. If you love wearing hats, don’t. Men, you may spend your day in your trucker cap, but nobody will be interested in your loyal support of Bud or Skoal! Women, you may love wearing your Giants cap when jogging, your ponytail sticking out the back, but this is not the time for it. A hat is a form of camouflage. That’s not the way to show off who you are.

Of all the things you can do to help your picture, some simple lighting rules will get you the best results. Most pictures are poorly lit. If you’ve ever had your picture taken professionally, you have noticed that professional photographers make huge investments in lighting equipment.  They have light stands, umbrellas that reflect the light, strobes, and they spend a good amount of time setting up the lighting of any shot. They know what they’re doing, so learn from them.  It’s rare that a pro will ever point a camera with a flash at you and click away. A flash mounted on a camera will only do one thing: blast you head-on with light. It will properly expose the picture, and you’ll see every little pore or wrinkle and all of the blemishes that you might prefer to hide. A flash portrait is ruthless—to the point of being unflattering to any person.
In the real world, we never look like we do in a flash picture. We don’t have red eyes. Natural light creates gentle shadows that help give our face shape and three dimensions. In real life, we look much gentler than in a flash picture, so the challenge is to take a picture without a flash that helps us look like we really do in most situations. This is an article about telling the truth, and flash portraits lie.

To capture the “real” you, turn off the flash, and use the same simple lighting techniques pros use to take great portraits of people. Here’s how it’s done:

1. Position yourself about 4-6 feet from any background, such as a wall, making sure you have enough room in front of you for the camera and some lights.
2. For a headshot, sitting in a chair is best, so find a simple, low-back chair. A kitchen chair works great for this purpose.
3. Position your camera on a tripod or a small table in front of you. The camera should be about 3 feet away from you and at roughly the same level as your head.  This is easy to do when you use a tripod. If you’re placing the camera on a table, you can use a box or even phone books to achieve the correct height.
4. Select two lamps that use incandescent bulbs (regular light bulbs—not fluorescents). Standing lamps work best, but table lamps will also work fine though you may have to have a couple of small tables to elevate them to the correct height. Use a 40 watt bulb in one lamp (your “fill” lamp) and a 100 watt bulb in the other lamp (the main lamp). Remove any lampshades and leave the bulbs uncovered.
5. Position each lamp about 2-3 feet in front of you, each off to your side (think of them as being at 45 degrees from you on each side). If both the bulbs are the same brightness, move one lamp a bit further away than the other. Each bulb should be about the same height as your face or slightly higher. If the bulbs are too high, they will create shadows under your eyes. The goal is to have the 100 watt lamp light your face, and have the 40 watt lamp “fill-in” any shadows. You can keep moving the fill lamp toward you and closer to the camera to soften any shadows.
6. Make adjustments. The only way to effectively determine the lighting is to take a test shot of yourself to see if the lighting is flattering, or if there are any unpleasant or unnatural shadows. Move the lights to create a natural lighting effect. Keep trying. Change the position and the height of the lamps as needed. Sometimes adjusting the height of the lamps can create a more pleasing effect.
7. If the pictures you’re taking using your lights result in a picture that’s too yellow, orange, or blue, be sure that your camera is set to “Auto White Balance.” If the pictures still result in artificial color, try the different white balance settings or even move to a different background since the camera may be making color adjustments for walls or light reflected off of other objects.
8. If your camera has a zoom lens, don’t use the “wide” setting since it may distort your face a bit. It’s better to use a mid-range zoom setting.  You could also take a photo using natural light. If the ambient lighting in your home is pleasing, you can certainly try it first and see the results. Natural lighting or lighting in a home tends to come from overhead, and overhead lighting tends to create shadows under your eyes, your nose, and under your lips. Although you may not notice that so much in everyday life, those shadows do seem exaggerated in a portrait. Shadows tend to add age to any person—it shows the effect of gravity over time on your face. The simple lighting technique described above puts the lights at the same level as your face to eliminate those shadows.

Depending on the time of day and the windows in your home, you can get nice results using natural sunlight. You could position yourself so you’re lit from late afternoon light coming in through a large picture window. The soft, diffused lighting makes for a great effect—but it’s not something that you can count on. You may work during the day or not have a window that lets in enough light.

Your headshot will include a bit of the background. Don’t worry too much about it. It does not need to be well lit, and it will actually look better if it’s a bit out of focus. You’ll want to make sure the background is not too “busy.” Avoid complicated backgrounds, such as bookcases or a wall with paintings or frames. Remember that the picture is of you—not the background.

A good picture is not just the pose you strike, it’s the lighting used for the photograph, the detail of the image, and the overall composition, all working together to make you look, well, like you!  Most people have had lots of bad photos taken of them. If you’re like most, you’ve had pictures taken in which the flash fired and you looked horrible, or the flash didn’t fire and you were just a shadow against a perfectly lit background of the Grand Canyon. Your head may have been cropped off, or you were just some little speck against a huge wall.  There are a million mistakes that can happen when pictures are taken. If you follow some very simple procedures and rules for taking your photo, you’ll get that million-in-one picture.