preparing for your headshot session + TCs & Cs

What to wear: The most important thing is that you are comfortable in the clothes you wear.  I always recommend bringing a range of items to try on the day - tops with varying necklines, shirts/blouses & jackets if appropriate. Colours are great - would avoid too much white and cream as they can be problematic to photograph. Darker colours like navy, dark green, burgundy etc tend to come across better than black and colours such as mustard and blues can work well too depending on skin tone.  Anything which bring out the colour of your eyes is great eg/olive green to bring about hazelnut eyes etc.  I recommend ‘hinting’ at casting types eg/ a smart blouse for business type (rather than a full blazer). Have a look online at other headshots for inspiration to see what clothing/style you like.

Should I wear make up? Make-up can really help to brighten the face, accentuate your best features & hide tiredness.  I would recommend that women wear some basic make-up (light foundation/powder, mascara, possibly eyeliner) and to ideally groom the eyebrows to help shape the eyes.  Generally we'll avoid bright lipstick (unless you want to go for a specific look) but a little splash of colour to bring out the lips can work. Basically you want to look like yourself but on a great day - energised with your best features accentuated. Please bring along any make-up, hair products on the day and we can touch up as required.

What should I do about my hair? I wouldn’t recommend doing anything drastic with your hair close to the shoot so if possible, please have any haircuts or colouring at least a week before the session. Please bring a hairbrush (if required), and for longer hairstyles,  hairbands, clips and products if you want to play about with hair up or in different styles. I will keep an eye on your hair throughout the shoot.

What is involved with editing/retouching? The images selected will be edited, colour graded and adjusted for exposure, brightness, contrast, sharpness, etc to produce optimal results and make your headshot ‘pop’. The edit includes some light retouching (removing blemishes etc). If the client requests any specific detailed retouching, there may a small charge for additional editing time .

What happens if it is raining on the day of the shoot? For scheduled outdoor shoots, I always do my best to check weather forecasts in advance of the shoot. If the weather takes a turn for the worse, we will arrange to another date to suit both parties or we can consider indoor alternatives.

How do you accept payment for the shoot? I accept both bank transfers and cash payments.

Can I order more photos at a later stage? Yes. All the photos from your session will be saved on my server for up to a year after the shoot. 

What are your terms and conditions?

Only retouched images may be used by the client and may not be manipulated or retouched by a third party. Original/unedited raw files are not provided.

As set out by the Copyright and Design Act 1988, the photographer retains the copyright to all the images and has the rights to use and reproduce the images within their marketing including online websites. However permission will be obtained before using images featuring children on website. Lesley Cook Photography grants the client an unlimited license to utilise the edited images for their own marketing use, such as online and professional profiles.

If the Client wishes to supply the images to a third party for commercial or editorial purposes, the Photographer must be notified and written consent given. All images must be credited as Lesley Cook Photography, and where appropriate, a license fee arranged.

Storage of files - Once delivered via dropbox, It is the responsibility of the client to fully download and save the final images to their hard drives/own online storage for safekeeping. All final retouched images and gallery files will be stored by the photographer for 1 year. It is possible to order additional files in this time.

In the unlikely event of images being lost through equipment malfunction or damaged without fault on the part of the Photographer, their liability shall be limited to a full refund of payments received from the Client. The Photographer has Public Liability Insurance.