Can't decide what you look like?

Most people are not like my dad, who has had the same haircut since the late 1950's*. We like to change our look here and there and even on a daily basis... one day we've got a beard, the next day it's a mustache. The day after that it has vanished to mustache heaven.

Although I wear contacts 95% of the time, I walk my dog every morning before I put my contacts in, and I always see the same early morning commuters and dog walkers around the neighborhood who only see me in my big, black librarian glasses and red and white knitted hat. They must think I always dress like I'm in a "Where's Waldo" book.

So how should your headshot look if you've got so many different looks? I always vote for the majority. (we're not talking about political stances, by the way, just portraiture trends.) If you usually wear your glasses when meeting your clients for the first time, then wear your glasses in your headshot. If you're usually clean shaven and only sport a mustache to go with your Tom Selleck Halloween costume, then leave the mustache at home for your headshot.

Or in some cases- if you're an actor and want to have multiple looks for different types of auditions, then take photos with all those looks so you'll have a big pool to choose from. Auditioning for a lumberjack role? Send them that bearded headshot! Trying for the part of a young librarian? Send them the naked cheeks and spectacles look!
*true story.

Glasses, or no glasses? (reprise)

Nearly a year ago (I can't believe it's been that long) I made a post on glasses and whether you should wear glasses for your headshot session. My basic answer was "if you wear them all the time, then wear them in your headshot, because your headshot needs to look like how you most often look." My answer still stands. (And I'd like to add that if you wear your dentures often, then you should have teeth in your headshot too.)

But what about people who sometimes wear their glasses, and sometimes do not? Aha! What are they to do? Glasses or no glasses??

If you're looking for some kind of overarching Biblical commandment on how headshots should or should not have glasses in them, you won't find that here. Because it doesn't exist. It's entirely up to you! If you wear glasses sometimes, most times, or even hardly ever but want the option in your photo, then work with a photographer who is willing to let you take some photos with your glasses and some without. Then you can have one of each and choose the look you want to portray for whatever it is you are using the headshot for. So you can say, "I think I'll send the headshot of me with glasses with the press release to Forbes Magazine," or, "I think I'll send the headshot of me without glasses to my 90210 audition."

I also heard someone ask me once if they need to take their lenses out of their glasses for the photo session, so the glasses don't pick up any light reflections. Good gravy, no! A good photographer knows how to light for glasses so there are no reflections of any kind. (see the photo in this post- no reflections! I get a cookie for a job well done as photographer...) In your photo session, ask to see a few of the first photos the photographer took when you were wearing glasses, and if you see reflections... yell at the photographer.

Tell him or her that they need to fix it so there are no reflections. If they say they cannot... fire them. They failed.

Headshots: four eyes or two?

I've taken a lot of headshots for people who, at some point during the photo session, suddenly turn to me and ask, "should I wear my glasses in the photo?"

And, as usual, my answer is, "it depends."

The first question to ask is, "do you always wear your glasses?" If the answer is yes, then put your darn glasses on for the headshot. A headshot is supposed to be a photograph of you, depicting what you generally look like on a regular basis... while looking your best and in a good mood, of course. So if you're always wearing your glasses, then wear them in your headshot.

Now you might be thinking, "I always wear my glasses, but sometimes I take them off when I'm on stage... or I want people I'm auditioning for to know that I can go without glasses too..." Aha! Very good point. Gold star. Most people look completely different with and without their glasses, so if you want people looking at your headshot to see both of their options, what do you do? If you're expecting an answer like "you should always wear your glasses in a headshot" or "you should never wear your glasses in a headshot" then I apologize, but you're not going to get that here.

There is no right or wrong answer to something like that- it all depends on what you want, need, and are comfortable with. Here's a case study with Victoria DeFrancesco Soto. She came to me asking for headshots for publicity purposes as a television personality and expert on minority figures in international politics. (With the recent Obama campaign, she's obviously been a busy lady...) She normally doesn't wear her glasses on camera, but is looking to expand her reach and believes some people might think she looks more learned and professional with her glasses on. So we snapped most of her photos without glasses, but made sure to grab a handful with her glasses on.

Now she has the option between two different looks and can use the glasses headshot for gigs she knows she'll wear her glasses for, and the other one for purposes that she doesn't think having glasses on will necessarily give her a leg up.

Like with any question about determining your look for a headshot, just remember to go with your gut and what you believe depicts you at your best. And ask yourself simple questions like, "do I ever wear my glasses?" And if your answer is, "only when I wake up in the morning to get myself from the bedroom to the bathroom where my contacts live, I'll never wear them outside!" then of course you should leave the glasses off for the headshot. Or maybe ask yourself the question, "am I a Groucho Marx impersonator?" If the answer is yes, put your Groucho glasses on.

And find a headshot photographer who will ask you these questions so he or she can help you set up the best possible photo.