I’m Lauren Psyk, a Brighton photographer specialising in headshots, and this is one of the questions I get asked most often! When planning your outdoor photo shoot in Brighton and Sussex, it’s worth putting a decent amount of thought and care into choosing the outfits you’re going to wear. Your clothes are one of the key ways to communicate with your potential customers and build a connection with them. I always offer my clients guidance to help them choose the outfits for their shoot. You’re free to send me photos of outfits, a Pinterest mood board, or I’m happy to jump on a Zoom call to discuss ideas.

Colour

As a Brighton photographer specialising in headshots full of colour, it’s no surprise that this is at the top of my list! I love working with vibrant, bold colours - it’s a signature part of my brand. There are 3 very important reasons why it’s a great idea to pick bright colours for your headshot photo shoot:

1. In the multitude of noise on social media, it’s a fact that colour stands out and grabs attention online. You want scroll-stopping headshots that stop people in their tracks and make them notice you - colour is a brilliant way to do that.

2. Colour helps you reflect your brand. Choose one of your brand colours, or a complementary colour. This will make your social media posts really pleasing to the eye, and help your brand stick in people’s minds. 

3. Colour helps you convey meaning with your headshots. Red speaks of passion, energy and determination. Yellow is cheerful and intellectual. Blue is a colour of trust, peace and loyalty. What feelings and emotions do you want to evoke in your audience when they look at your headshots?

Your ‘power’ outfit

Next, I always recommend people choose their go-to confidence boosting outfit. This is the outfit you always choose when you want to make an impression. It’s the outfit that makes you feel truly ‘you’. It’s the outfit you feel great in. We all have one of those, right? This outfit is important because if you feel confident on your headshot photo shoot, it will automatically come across in your photos. And that’s what we want!

Your weekend outfit

Your headshot photos are a great opportunity to show different sides to your personality. Your clients want to see the person behind the business. They want to get to know more about you. So it’s a great idea to pick a more casual outfit that you love to wear at the weekend. This is especially true if your ‘power’ outfit is smarter, business attire. I’m a jeans and trainers type of gal, so that’s what I would pick for this. But make sure your outfit reflects you.  

Fitted not baggy

In general, fitted clothes are more flattering in photos than more floaty, baggy styles. For women, tops that are fitted around the waist are good. For men, shirts and polo-shirts with collars are more flattering than baggy T-shirts. Well fitting jeans are going to do more for you than tracksuits. If you’re self conscious about your size, shape and wobbly bits (who isn’t?!), there are angles and poses we can use during the photo shoot that will be more flattering for you.  

Block colours not patterns

Blocks of colour are a great choice. For example, choose a top in one colour, with a jacket or trousers in a contrasting colour. Try to avoid busy patterns such as florals or stripes. I am a photographer who shoots most of my photos outdoors on the streets of Brighton, using vibrant backdrops. This can mean that clothes with busy patterns can make the whole image look too busy. We want you to be the focus of your headshots, and we don’t want to distract your viewers.   

Black not white

I get it! Not everyone is a fan of wearing bright colours. Some of my clients feel more comfortable in neutral tones. THAT IS TOTALLY FINE. However, if you must go for neutral colours, black or grey are better choices than white. Black is a flattering colour for most people and it can look very classy and sophisticated. White, on the other hand, is a tricky colour to work with in photos. It can make you look very washed-out and drained of colour, especially if you’re fair skinned. White can also tend to dominate the image and be a distraction. Again, we want people to focus on you, and how amazing you look in your headshots!

 

I’m Lauren Psyk, and I do headshots in Brighton. If you’re looking for some unique headshots, I’d love to hear your ideas! Follow me on instagram @laurenpsyk. Or drop me a line here and let’s chat!