Portrait Photography Resources

During a headshot session, you can expect a relaxed and professional environment focused on capturing your best look. The photographer will guide you through various poses and angles to find the most flattering shots. Lighting and backgrounds will be adjusted to enhance your features, and there will be opportunities for outfit changes if desired. The session is typically quick and focused, with the photographer providing feedback and direction to ensure natural, polished expressions.

Choosing the right outfit for your photo session is key to feeling confident and looking your best. Opt for well-fitted clothing that complements your style and personality. Solid colors and minimal patterns work best to keep the focus on you. A professional photographer can provide guidance on outfit choices that enhance your features and align with the session’s theme, ensuring your look is polished and your photos are timeless.

For headshots, your hair and makeup should enhance your natural features without overpowering them. A clean, polished look works best, with makeup that highlights your eyes and skin tone. Hair should be neatly styled in a way that represents your everyday professional appearance. A professional photographer can offer tips and advice to ensure your look complements the lighting and style of the shoot, ensuring that you feel confident and look your best on camera.

Getting a haircut before your headshot session can help you look fresh and polished, but it’s important to time it right. Ideally, schedule your haircut about a week before the session to let it settle and appear more natural. A professional photographer will ensure your hair looks great on camera, guiding you on how to style it for the best results. A well-timed cut, combined with professional photography, will ensure your headshot is sharp, confident, and reflective of your personal style.

Whether or not to shave before your headshot session depends on the look you want to achieve. If you usually have a clean-shaven appearance, shaving the day before or the morning of your session will ensure you look sharp and professional. If you prefer a bit of facial hair, make sure it’s well-groomed and tidy. A professional photographer can guide you on what will look best on camera, helping you achieve a polished look that aligns with your personal brand.

Wearing jewelry in a headshot can add a touch of personality and sophistication, but it should be subtle and complement your overall look. Simple, elegant pieces often work best to avoid distraction from your face. A professional photographer can advise on the best way to incorporate jewelry, ensuring it enhances rather than competes with your appearance. This personalized touch, combined with expert guidance, will help create a headshot that is both polished and uniquely you.

The best color to wear for headshots depends on your skin tone, the message you want to convey, and the backdrop. Neutral tones like black, navy, or gray are classic and professional, while vibrant colors can make you stand out. A professional photographer can help you choose the best colors to compliment your features and ensure the focus remains on you, not just your outfit. The right clothing choice enhances your headshot and elevates your personal brand.

During a headshot session, you can expect a relaxed and professional environment focused on capturing your best look. The photographer will guide you through various poses and angles to find the most flattering shots. Lighting and backgrounds will be adjusted to enhance your features, and there will be opportunities for outfit changes if desired. The session is typically quick and focused, with the photographer providing feedback and direction to ensure natural, polished expressions.

Payment should be discussed before your session is booked. Quick Beam Photos accepts many forms of payment. Paypal is our main payment collection method, but we also accept Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, checks, and cash (USD) in exact change. Payment collection usually happens right after the session is completed. Please bring the final payment with you on your photo shoot. A deposit is typically collected before your session to reserve your time slot with the photographer. This sum is usually a small percentage of the total price and contributes to the total sum. The price of your session should also be discussed before your session and should be clearly detailed in the agreement. If you have further payment questions please contact us at admin@quickbeamphotos.

It depends on the services you’ve booked. A simple white background headshot could take only a few minutes, usually 30-45 minutes. A day of staff headshots could take a few hours. Portrait photography and environmental headshots could take an hour or two depending on how many locations are needed.

A question we’ve gotten in the past is: “All this for one picture?” and the answer is yes! It’s impossible to get the best angle, expression, and lighting in one go. Remember in school when you would get your yearbook photo taken and the photographers would take 5 photos maximum and you were stuck with them? Well we want to avoid that! Quick Beam Photos takes an average of 100-200 photos per individual session to ensure we capture the best side of you.

Yes! Each package comes with a set number of favorite images you can get professionally retouched. Quick Beam Photos does its best to remove any glaring issues such as stains and obvious flyaway hairs before you even see your photos, but in order to get your proofs to you in a timely manner we cannot fully process each individual image. Once you’ve reviewed your proofs, choose your set number of favorites and request a retouch service providing specific details and instructions. Please keep in mind we try to keep our edits as natural as possible so you don’t appear over-edited. We do not make any changes to facial structures or apply heavy airbrushing to keep the integrity of your photo intact. For further questions about image retouching please email us at admin@quickbeamphotos.com.

Your session's total image count will vary depending on what service you need. A simple plain background headshot session could be anywhere between 50 images to 200 images depending on posing choices, outfit changes, and special requests. A portrait session usually comes with more images, as there are more options in posing, background, locations, and angles. These sessions could be anywhere from 300 images to 800. But again, every session is different. We aim for a few hundred total images per session which we pair down to the best options to present to our clients. We exclude any images where the subject's eyes are closed, the angle or expression is unflattering, the image is blurry or out of focus, the subject moves causing a blur, accidental shots, test shots, and so on.

As outlined in Quick Beam Photos Client Agreements, you may use, publish, edit or print the photos from your session to your heart's content. The copyright will always belong to Quick Beam Photos as the creator of the images, we do however allow our clients full usage rights of their images. We do not request additional payment for these usage rights after the session link has been sent to you, you may use them how you wish. If for some reason in the future, you would like a written usage rights document for a printer or other publishing purpose, feel free to reach out to us at admin@quickbeamphotos.com. We want you to love your photos and use them everywhere possible! If you would like to tag us in your social media posts we encourage you to follow our social media accounts to find our handles!

Quick Beam Photos typically sends our clients a Dropbox link to transport their photos. Dropbox is a secure online cloud service where you can store, transport and share files. Dropbox does not require the recipient to create an account to view and access their photos. However, to ensure your files remain safe with you in a place you will remember them it is advised to transfer the photos to another storage device such as a flash drive, Google Drive file, or stored locally on your desktop. While Quick Beam Photos works diligently to back up all of our photo sessions onto external devices, we cannot be held accountable for errors or glitches from Dropbox as they are a third party out of our control. Quick Beam Photos does not offer personal flash drives or CD backups.

As outlined in Quick Beam Photos Client Agreements, the copyright will always belong with Quick Beam Photos as the creator of the images. We do however allow our clients full usage rights of their images. We do not request additional payment for these usage rights, after the session link has been sent to you, you may use your images how you wish. If for some reason in the future you would like a written usage rights document for a printer or other publishing purpose, feel free to reach out to us at admin@quickbeamphotos.com.

Technically you can do whatever you want. But using a selfie as a headshot says a lot about you professionally online. A selfie is perfectly fine for a social media profile picture. But in the online professional world it could look as if you aren’t taking yourself or your business seriously. A quality well lit photo of you shows professionalism and care.

Yes, professional headshots are absolutely worth it. They are often your first impression, whether on LinkedIn, a website, or marketing materials. A professional photographer knows how to bring out your best features, ensuring your headshot is polished, confident, and approachable. Unlike casual photos or DIY attempts, a professionally taken headshot reflects your professionalism and attention to detail, giving you an edge in any field. It's an investment in your personal brand that pays off.

While AI-generated headshots may seem convenient, they often lack the natural expression, personality, and authenticity that a professional headshot offers. A skilled photographer understands how to capture your unique qualities, creating images that resonate with potential employers or clients. Investing in professional photography ensures high-quality, personalized results that set you apart and leave a lasting impression.

Whether or not to smile in a headshot depends on the image you want to convey. A smile can make you appear warm, approachable, and confident, which is ideal for many industries. However, a more serious expression might project strength and professionalism in other fields. A professional photographer will help guide you through different expressions, ensuring that your headshot aligns with your personal brand and resonates with your target audience.