Guide
What should your team wear for headshots?
One short message a week ahead does more for the final set than anything that happens on the day. Here is what to put in it, ready to copy.
01
Company shirts are a good answer, not a compromise
For a lot of teams, branded polos or company shirts are the strongest option. The logo ties the set together, it puts your brand on every single profile, and it takes the wardrobe decision away from twelve people who did not want to make it.
It works especially well for trades, hospitality, healthcare, real estate offices and anywhere staff wear the shirt to work anyway. If that is you, just say so in the note and the whole problem goes away.
02
If you are not doing branded shirts
Aim for consistency without a uniform. Same general level of formality across the team, and a colour family rather than one exact colour. Navy, charcoal, slate and deep green sit together nicely. Navy next to lime does not.
I would not ask everyone to wear the same thing. A page where all twelve people are in the same blue shirt reads as a uniform, and it strips out the bit that makes a team look approachable rather than processed.
03
The rules that apply to everybody
Solid mid tones photograph best. Tight patterns like narrow stripes and small checks can shimmer on camera and cannot be fixed afterwards. Nothing shiny, nothing with a slogan, and no logos other than yours.
Everything out of pockets, and smart watches off. On a team set those small things matter more than usual, because inconsistency between twelve photographs is far more visible than any one photograph's flaws.
- Best: solid mid tones, structured collars, simple necklines
- Fine: company shirts and branded polos, layers, jackets
- Careful with: pure white on white backdrop, pure black on black
- Avoid: tight stripes and checks, slogans, outside logos, shiny fabric
- Off: smart watches, lanyards, name badges, pocket contents
04
One line about the backdrop saves a reshoot
This is the part most wardrobe notes miss. If the team is being shot on white, somebody in a white shirt will merge into it. On black, a black jacket does the same.
One line fixes it. We are shooting on white, so please avoid an all white outfit. That is the whole message.
05
How the session actually runs
There is no schedule to build. People come over when they are free and I take whoever is next. Most teams are finished in one to two hours.
Each person takes three to five minutes. You look at the camera and I talk you through the small adjustments that change a photograph. Chin forward a little, shoulders turned, weight back. Nobody needs to work any of that out in advance.
06
Give people a way to opt into a second option
Some people care a great deal about this and some have not thought about it at all. Saying bring a second option if you want a choice covers both without turning it into homework.
It also helps whoever turns up in something that is not working. A spare in a bag means we fix it in thirty seconds instead of booking them in again.
Copy the paragraph above straight into your email if it helps. That is what it is there for.
- Steven
Questions
What should your team wear for headshots?: common questions
Can our team wear shirts with our logo?
Yes, and for many teams it is the best option. Branded shirts tie the set together and put your brand on every profile photo. Just make sure everyone has a clean, well fitting one.
What if some people wear the company shirt and some do not?
That reads as inconsistent on a staff page. Pick one approach for the whole team, and if only part of the team has shirts, go with the non branded guidance instead.
Do we need to tell people a specific color?
A family rather than a color. Say something like mid tone solids, navy, grey, green or burgundy, and let people pick within that. It gets consistency without twelve people in the same shirt.
How much notice does the team need?
A week is right. Long enough that people can find or wash the thing they want to wear, short enough that they have not forgotten by the day.
What about people who work remotely?
Either bring them in for the session, or shoot them separately later and match the lighting and backdrop. Tell me which backdrop the main session used and the sets will sit together properly.
What areas do you cover?
The whole Coachella Valley. I shoot photography regularly in Palm Springs, Palm Desert, La Quinta, Rancho Mirage, Indio, Cathedral City, Desert Hot Springs, Thousand Palms, and Bermuda Dunes, and I am happy to travel anywhere in the valley at no extra charge. There is a page for each city below with what changes there and what it means for your photos.
- Real estate photography in Palm SpringsMid-century architecture, downtown condos and a tourism economy that runs year round.
- Real estate photography in Palm DesertEl Paseo, country clubs and a professional base that skews established.
- Real estate photography in La QuintaTwo markets in one city: the Cove against the mountains, and the golf clubs to the south.
- Real estate photography in Rancho MirageLarge lots, country clubs and a concentration of medical and philanthropic organisations.
- Real estate photography in IndioThe valley's largest city by population, with a faster-moving and more family-driven market.
- Real estate photography in Cathedral CityBetween Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage, with a working commercial corridor and a growing arts presence.
- Real estate photography in Desert Hot SpringsThe valley's north end: natural mineral water, spa rentals and long views back across to San Jacinto.
- Real estate photography in Thousand PalmsUnincorporated, in the middle of the valley: the Ramon Road business corridor, established neighbourhoods and the preserve on its eastern edge.
- Real estate photography in Bermuda DunesUnincorporated country club living between Indian Wells and Indio, with a general aviation airport in the middle of it.
- Event photography in Palm SpringsMid-century architecture, downtown condos and a tourism economy that runs year round.
- Event photography in Palm DesertEl Paseo, country clubs and a professional base that skews established.
- Event photography in La QuintaTwo markets in one city: the Cove against the mountains, and the golf clubs to the south.
- Event photography in Rancho MirageLarge lots, country clubs and a concentration of medical and philanthropic organisations.
- Event photography in IndioThe valley's largest city by population, with a faster-moving and more family-driven market.
- Event photography in Cathedral CityBetween Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage, with a working commercial corridor and a growing arts presence.
- Event photography in Desert Hot SpringsThe valley's north end: natural mineral water, spa rentals and long views back across to San Jacinto.
- Event photography in Thousand PalmsUnincorporated, in the middle of the valley: the Ramon Road business corridor, established neighbourhoods and the preserve on its eastern edge.
- Headshot photography in Palm SpringsMid-century architecture, downtown condos and a tourism economy that runs year round.
- Headshot photography in Palm DesertEl Paseo, country clubs and a professional base that skews established.
- Headshot photography in La QuintaTwo markets in one city: the Cove against the mountains, and the golf clubs to the south.
- Headshot photography in Rancho MirageLarge lots, country clubs and a concentration of medical and philanthropic organisations.
- Headshot photography in IndioThe valley's largest city by population, with a faster-moving and more family-driven market.
- Headshot photography in Cathedral CityBetween Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage, with a working commercial corridor and a growing arts presence.
- Headshot photography in Thousand PalmsUnincorporated, in the middle of the valley: the Ramon Road business corridor, established neighbourhoods and the preserve on its eastern edge.
- Headshot photography in Bermuda DunesUnincorporated country club living between Indian Wells and Indio, with a general aviation airport in the middle of it.
Ready when you are
Ten years of shoots across the Coachella Valley. If you would rather talk it through than read another list, that works too.
Book a team sessionKeep reading
- How to organize a team headshot dayThis one is for whoever got handed the job. Usually an office manager, usually with about a week of notice. It is more straightforward than it looks.
- Which headshot backdrop should you choose?Three options, all of them included in the price. Which one is right depends less on taste than on where the photograph is going to end up.
Let's plan your shoot
Let's get your shoot started.
Pick what you need photographed and add your name and email. That is all I need to reply, usually within one business day.