What IU Students Should Wear for a Professional Headshot Session

Summary

John fields the common question from IU students about what to wear to a professional headshot session. He keeps it simple and uses his own outfit in the video as the example: a decent sport coat paired with a decent shirt is exactly the kind of thing that works and reads as professional. He jokes that even an old shirt from years ago is fine. The practical advice is to clean the clothing up beforehand, removing pet hair, stains, and any other mess, because small imperfections can be retouched in Photoshop afterward. The end result is a headshot that makes a student look like a polished professional who is ready for the working world. The takeaway is that clean, simple business attire is all it really takes.

Answer

Students ask me all the time, what should I wear, what looks good and professional? It just so happens that for this exact video you’re watching right now, I wore exactly what would be considered totally fine. You get a decent sport coat and a decent shirt, even one your mom bought you for your 14th birthday that’s pretty small now, but it’s okay because I’m old and fat. You get a good shirt and a good jacket like this, and that’s literally it. Clean it off, get all the cat hair off of it, get rid of whatever you spilled on it at the last party you went to, clean all that stuff up, and I’ll Photoshop out all the little minor details. Then we’ll get you a headshot that makes you look like an actual professional who’s ready for the work world. It really doesn’t have to be complicated. Clean, simple, and professional is all you need.