Men’s Headshot Outfits: What to Wear and What to Skip

For most men, the best headshot outfit is a well-fitting jacket in navy, charcoal or mid-grey, over a plain shirt in white, light blue or pale grey, with a tie only if your industry expects one. Solid colours, a proper fit and a bit of contrast between jacket and shirt do most of the work. Everything else is detail, and the detail is what this guide covers.

You don’t need a suit. You don’t need to buy anything new either, in most cases. You need to bring the right options, because a good photographer will help you pick on the day. Below we go through what works, what doesn’t, how to match the outfit to your job, and what to pack.

The short version before you open the wardrobe

If you only read one section, read this one.

• Jacket: navy, charcoal or mid-grey. Rich brown can work too.
• Shirt: solid white, light blue or pale grey. Ironed.
• Tie: optional. If you wear one, make it darker than the shirt and keep the pattern simple.
• Fit: shoulders, collar and sleeves matter far more than the price tag.
• Pack extras: at least two shirts and two jacket options, so you can change between looks.
• Avoid: big logos, loud patterns, tight stripes and anything you feel awkward in.

Now the why behind each of those.

Do you have to wear a suit for a headshot?

No. A suit is the safest choice for law, finance, consulting and some corporate profiles, but it’s not a rule. Plenty of good headshots are taken in a blazer and open collar, a smart knit, or a plain shirt on its own.

The better question is: what would you wear to meet a new client for the first time? Then go one notch smarter. That is the level most readers of your LinkedIn profile or company page expect to see.

A classic UK menswear guide describes formalwear as a navy or grey full suit with a plain white or pale-blue shirt and tie, and its business-casual option as a blazer with smart chinos and an optional tie. Both of those translate well to a headshot, which usually only shows you from the chest up. That’s useful to remember: nobody will see your trousers, so spend your attention on the collar, shoulders and jacket.

When a suit is the right call

• You work in a traditional sector where clients expect formality.
• Your company’s other profile photos are all suited and you want to match.
• You’re going for a senior, leadership or board-level look.

When you can skip it

• You work in tech, marketing, design, education or the creative industries.
• You’re self-employed and your clients are more likely to hire someone approachable than someone stiff.
• You’d feel like you’re in fancy dress. If you do, it will show in your face.

If you want more on how dress codes translate to the camera, we’ve written a separate piece on the professional headshot dress code.

The core pieces: jacket, shirt, tie

Jackets and blazers

Navy is the one to get right if you only own one jacket. It looks smart on almost every skin tone, works against nearly every background, and doesn’t date. Charcoal and mid-grey are close seconds. A retail guide from a menswear brand lists navy, charcoal, medium grey and rich brown as the suit and jacket colours that come across cleanly on camera, and that matches what we see in the studio.

Black is harder than people think. It can swallow detail under studio lighting and make the shoulders look heavy against a dark background. If black is what you own, bring it, and we’ll adjust the light and background around it. Just bring a second option as well.

Shirts

Under studio lights, solid shirts photograph best. Fine stripes and micro-checks look lovely in person, but they can cause visual distortion on camera, a shimmering effect that distracts from your face. White, light blue and pale grey are the safe trio. They keep the focus on your face and still give enough contrast with a darker jacket.

A few practical points:

1. Iron it. Creases around the chest and under the collar show up more than you’d expect, and retouching can’t always rescue a badly creased shirt without it looking odd.
2. Check the collar. A collar that gapes or curls looks sloppy in a close crop. Try the shirt on, jacket and all, in a mirror before the day.
3. Mind the white. Very bright white next to skin can look harsh. Off-white, cream or light blue is often kinder.
4. Think about sweat. Nervous or warm? Light blue and grey can show marks. Bring a spare shirt.

Ties

Ties are optional now in most industries. If you do wear one, the basic rule is simple: choose a tie that’s darker than your shirt. Navy, burgundy, deep green and charcoal all work. Keep the knot neat and slightly snug, and check it’s central.

Patterns are where people trip up. UK shirtmaker guidance says patterned shirts work best with a simple tie, plain shirts can take a textured tie, and stripe-on-stripe or check-on-check at the same scale should be avoided. In plain words: let only one thing in your outfit be busy, and for a headshot, make it nothing.

Knitwear, polos and open collars

A fine-gauge merino crew or V-neck in navy, grey or deep green looks good, particularly under a jacket or on its own for a relaxed profile. A plain, well-fitting polo can work for a casual or trade-focused look, but avoid anything with a visible logo. An open-neck shirt under a blazer is the easiest “smart but not stiff” look there is, so long as the collar sits flat and you haven’t undone one button too many.

Colours that work, colours that don’t

The general idea is to keep clothing quieter than your face. Here’s how that looks in practice.

A few notes the table can’t say:

• Match your background. If we’re shooting against a mid-grey backdrop, a mid-grey jacket can disappear. Say what the headshot is for and we’ll plan the contrast.
• Think about your skin tone and hair. Very pale skin can look washed out against white or cream. Deeper skin tones usually look striking against white, light blue and soft grey. Try a few shirts next to your face in natural light.
• Brand colours are fine in small doses. If your company uses a signature colour, a tie or pocket square in that shade is subtle. A full-colour shirt is a lot more.

Match the outfit to the job

The right outfit depends on who’ll be looking at the photo and what they’re deciding about you.

Corporate and professional services

Think navy or grey suit, white or light-blue shirt, optional tie. This is what a lot of people mean by men’s corporate headshot outfits. If you’re part of a team shoot, check whether your company has a style rule so everyone looks consistent. For the broader picture of looks we see, our headshot outfit examples for professionals shows how different roles dress.

Business owners and freelancers

You’re the brand, so the photo needs to feel like you. A blazer and open collar, or a quality knit over a collared shirt, usually does it. If you meet clients in suits, wear one. If you meet them in a coffee shop, a suit might feel off. Our piece on why visual branding matters for freelancers in London goes into the reasoning.

Creatives and artists

You’ve more freedom, and more responsibility to look intentional. Texture is your friend: denim jacket, an overshirt, a good t-shirt under a blazer. Keep the palette limited and the logos off. We’ve collected ideas in our creative headshot wardrobe examples.

Actors

Casting directors want to see you, not your clothes. Simple, non-distracting clothing is the general advice, which in practice means plain tops in solid mid-tones, a henley, a crew-neck tee, a simple shirt, or a plain jacket. Avoid anything that pins you to one character or era unless that is your type. Bring a couple of contrasting looks, for example one smarter and one casual, to show range.

Fit matters more than price

A modest jacket that fits beats an expensive one that doesn’t. In a headshot the camera is close, so you’ll notice the following:

• Shoulders: the seam should sit at the edge of your shoulder bone. If it droops, you’ll look smaller.
• Collar: it should touch your neck without pinching. A gap at the back of the collar is very visible when you lean forward to the camera.
• Sleeves: for a shoulders-up crop they barely matter, but in a half-length shot, a little cuff showing at the wrist looks tidy.
• Jacket front: do up the button when standing, and we’ll often pull the jacket gently behind you to flatten any bunching.
• Length: if you’re sitting for part of the shoot, a jacket that is too long can ride up around your neck.

Sitting and standing both change the way clothes behave. That’s why we direct your posture on the day. If you’d like a head start there’s a guide to headshot poses for men.

Grooming, glasses and the small things

Outfit questions often hide grooming questions, so a quick run through.

• Haircut: book it a few days before, not the morning of. Fresh cuts can look a bit stark.
• Facial hair: keep it trimmed and clean at the edges. If you normally have a beard, keep it. A clean-shaven photo of a man who usually has stubble can confuse people who then meet you.
• Shaving: shave the day before or the morning of, and bring a razor if you get a shadow by lunchtime.
• Glasses: wear them if you normally do. Anti-reflective lenses help, and we can adjust the lighting angle to cut glare. If you have an older pair with thick frames, bring a second pair.
• Watches and jewellery: they rarely show in a headshot, but they can in a half-length. Keep them simple.
• Skin: drink water, sleep, go easy on salty food the night before. It sounds boring, but it shows.

What to avoid

1. Big logos and slogans. They compete with your face and date the photo.
2. Tight stripes, small checks and herringbone. These can shimmer on camera.
3. Brand-new, unworn clothes. Stiff, creased from the packet, and you won’t know how they sit. Try them on a few days before.
4. Bright white with no layer over it. Can overexpose and flatten your face.
5. Clothes you’d need to adjust all session. If you keep tugging at it, we’ll capture the tugging.
6. Heavy logos on caps, hoodies or jackets. Fine for a different kind of shoot, not for a profile photo.

How to prepare for the session

The night before:

• Iron or steam every shirt and jacket.
• Lay out two or three combinations and try each one on.
• Charge anything you’ll need and pack a lint roller if you have one.
• Get an early night.

On the day, bring:

• Two or three shirts in different colours, ideally white, light blue and one more.
• Two jackets, such as navy and grey, or a suit jacket and a blazer.
• A couple of ties or a bow tie if you like them.
• A knit or casual option if you want a relaxed set.
• Comb, razor and lip balm.
• Your glasses, and a spare pair if possible.

There’s a longer walkthrough in our guide on how to prepare for a corporate headshot session, and a wider overview in headshot session preparation explained.

Our view: bring options, then trust the direction

We’ve shot over 500 sessions, and one pattern keeps repeating. The men who worry most about the outfit are rarely the ones whose photos go wrong. What goes wrong is when someone arrives with a single outfit they’re unsure about, then feels stuck in it for an hour.

So we tell everyone the same thing. Bring more than you think you need. Bring the smart option and the relaxed option. When you arrive we’ll look at them against the backdrop and your skin tone, pick one together, and swap if it isn’t working. Changing a shirt takes two minutes. Reshooting a whole session doesn’t.

The second thing is posing. Clothes sit differently when you move, and a jacket that looks fine on a hanger can bunch when you lean forward. We direct your posture, your chin and your shoulders, so the fit works with you rather than against you. That is a big part of why directed sessions give more consistent results than someone just pressing the shutter.

Third, don’t dress as someone else. The best headshots look like you on a good day, in clothes you’d actually wear to the meeting. If a photo makes people expect a formal, buttoned-up person and then you turn up in a hoodie, you’ve lost something. If you’re not sure, ask us before the session and we’ll tell you honestly what we think.

— Emmet

Book your headshot with us

We shoot in the studio and on location around Fulham and West London, and our sessions include directed posing and honest retouching. Prices as published on our site:

• Individuals: the Single session is £99 and the Professional session is £165, with an on-location option too.
• Personal branding: The Refresh is £120 and The Executive is £450, if you want a wider set of images.
• Actors: Essential is £75 and Casting is £135.
• Teams: £50 to £80 per person depending on the package.

If you’re not sure how far ahead to book, the booking lead time page explains the usual wait for single sessions and for teams.

FAQ

What should a man wear for a headshot?

A well-fitting navy, charcoal or grey jacket over a plain white, light-blue or pale-grey shirt is the most reliable choice. Add a tie only if your industry expects one. Bring a second option so you can swap on the day.

What colours should you not wear for a headshot?

Avoid neon shades, busy prints, tight stripes and very bright white without a layer over it. Also avoid anything that blends into the backdrop, like a grey jacket against a grey wall. Plain, muted colours keep the attention on your face.

Do you have to wear a suit for a headshot?

No. A suit suits traditional sectors, but a blazer with an open collar, or a smart knit, is fine for most other roles. Pick the level you’d wear to meet a client, then go slightly smarter.

What should I wear for a corporate team headshot?

Check whether your company has a style guide, then stick to solid colours so the whole team looks consistent on the website. Plain shirts in white or light blue, with or without a jacket, are the simplest way to match without everyone looking identical.

Should I buy new clothes for my headshot?

Usually not. Wear things you already know fit, and have them washed and ironed. If you do buy something, try it on a few days before and wear it around for an evening to check it’s comfortable.

Sources

• The Ultimate Shirt & Formalwear Guide, T.M.Lewin
• What to Wear for a Professional Headshot: Men’s Complete Guide, The Tie Bar
• What to Wear for Men’s Acting Headshots

Recommended

• Headshot outfit examples for professionals: 2026 guide
• Headshot poses for men: 8 go-to looks to nail confidence
• How to dress for a professional headshot
• Professional headshot dress code explained for professionals