“A picture is worth a thousand words,” right? When it comes to a headshot, it certainly rings true. Your professional headshot or lifestyle photos are how people “meet” you for the first time — particularly in this age of social media and technology.

We have wardrobed and styled corporate photoshoots, brand photoshoots, and even a semi-famous person or two. I love bringing to life looks that help professionals communicate and connect with their mission and market.

Our Headshot Styling package is a consulting package — either remote or in-person — that is designed to

- help you put together your headshot outfit,

- provide styling tips to optimize your look,

- shop online if necessary,

- help you feel great about stepping in front of the camera the day of your shoot.

We are not there with you on the day of the shoot, but we will give you all the tools to feel 100 percent prepared!

Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of working with three women on their business headshots and lifestyle shots. Each of these women is a boss in her own right, but in very different fields. Their looks had to reflect their brand and the culture of their businesses.

I am sure you remember Shelly from this post from last month. She is a DC Style Factory muse! Shelly is an attorney and runs her own family law practice with a team of several attorneys. She contacted me about putting together a headshot guide for her team. She also wanted help putting together a look for her homepage and bio page. Some adjectives we brainstormed were “professional” and “relatable.” I remember her saying to me that people often asked her how she works with people whose families are coming apart. “I actually bring families back together in a new way.” That stuck with me.

I wanted her look to be tailored and all the necklines to have a “v” shape, which feels sharper than a scoop or cowl neck. She is running her business and she makes it happen for her clients. At the same time, I wanted to incorporate color. Instead of using so much grey or black, we worked in navy and deep coral. These tones feel welcoming, as Shelly truly is in person. She is an attorney, but not at a corporate law firm. She works with families.  I was thrilled with how her looks turned out!

The Real Estate Agent: Dominique Rychlik

I worked with Dominique on her closet and personal style about a year ago. She reached out to me early this year with some fantastic and exciting news: she was switching companies! Dominique is a top real estate agent in the area and with this shift to a new company, she wanted to revamp her brand. She had worked with her photographer on locations for her shoot. The photos would be used in her marketing materials,  specifically a new brochure.

Our first step was to look at her locations, the color, the pattern, and decide how the looks would fit in with those backdrops. We wanted  color in her look, but nothing that would feel too busy with the bold, fun backdrops. We also were looking for outfits that wouldn’t compete with the fun, casual tone of the locations. We wanted to communicate polished professional, but also just fun to work with! The orange was the perfect pop of color against the navy blue. Love the pure joy of these shots!

The Entrepreneur: Emily Goodstein

Emily is the founder of Greater Good Strategy, which helps organizations fulfill their missions through social media strategy,  outreach, fundraising, and content marketing, and more. When we met, she was in the process of moving and newly pregnant. She knew she had to prioritize a to-do that had been on her list: new headshots.  She wanted to update her headshot/lifestyle photography for her business before she was far along in her pregnancy. The clock was ticking!

She is the only client here that I had not worked with previously. I had not audited her closet, shopped with her, or created outfits so when we met on a rainy day at The Wing in Georgetown we had to nail her look for the shoot in a compressed period of time. Right away, I knew whatever we created needed to work with her signature accessory — her amazing blue glasses! Her glasses are such a fun style statement that I knew we  wanted a polished, professional look that still felt playful, joyful, and a little outside the box.

We decided on some key pieces we could use from her existing wardrobe, but we need to shop — quickly. I sent her options to shop online and we meet on a weekend afternoon in my home studio to review. We completed the entire process in a week!

Although she was initially resistant to a jacket look, we put together two that communicated her message:  always growing as an entrepreneur, always doing good, always having fun.