In Studio (Individuals and Small Groups)

When will I receive my headshot?

Our standard turnaround time for retouched headshots is 1 week. We do offer add on Rush options if you need the image same day, or next day for a fee!

Cancellation Policy

A $100 deposit is due at the time of scheduling to secure your appointment time. This is NON-REFUNDABLE. You may reschedule your appointment with no penalty 24 hours before the shoot. If you choose to pay in full before your shoot, and you call 24 hours before your shoot time, you'll be able to reschedule your shoot without losing the payment. If you do not call and do not show up for your appointment, you forfeit your entire payment and/or deposite for the shoot.

When should I arrive?

Please arrive 5 minutes early for your headshot session at our home studio in North Bethesda, Maryland.

Should I bring props?

- Actors: This depends on the type of actor you are. Now-a-days more and more auditions are "online submission only" which means the headshot and more importantly who you portray in it, can be the difference between being called in for the audition or not. Because of this, please reflect on the roles that you tend to get cast as or the roles you want to get, and choose props are articles of clothing that might portray that type of character.

- Executive: Props are not suggested for your head shot appointment. If you wear glasses, you may consider bringing them as a second look for an additional portrait, but this is not required.

What should I wear in my headshots?

- Executive:

Men: consider wearing a shirt and tie without loud patterns or stripes for your photo session. You should also bring with you at least a sports coat. Work head shots do not look nice if you’re only wearing a white shirt and tie. Your white shirt can easily blend in with the white background and make you look like a floating head, and no one wants that!

Women: consider wearing a blouse and blazer for your session. As long as there are no loud prints, and you’re are not wearing white (against a white background), you should look wonderful. Blazers and cardigans look great when getting your executive portraits taken.

- Actors: Solid colors are best. You can also get away with a small print as long as it is layered underneath something else. It is the large prints and emblems that tend to take away from the subject’s face. I find that when shooting outside, earth tones - that are darker than your skintone look best. V necks and layered sweaters or blazers do a really great job of guiding the viewer’s eye up to your face. So consider creating some sort of visual line that will draw the viewers eye to your face in your headshot. Because of the way I crop my headshots, boat neck shirts and collars can sometimes pose a problem as they can make a subject look larger than they actually are in person.

Should I hire a make-up artist or do my own?

- Here's a whole page on the benefits of hiring a professional makeup artist. If you do want to do your own makeup, please keep this in mind: I usually shoot high key lighting, which means that I shoot a little bit over exposed. This can weaken the look of makeup. For this reason, I suggest people apply about 35% more makeup than usual. You can also spray quite a lot of hairspray on your hair. Shooting images outside will add some breeze to our shoot and the better your hair stays in place the less we will have to stop shooting to fix fly aways.

- Actors: Check out our page on professional makeup here. If you do want to do your own makeup, please keep this in mind: I usually shoot high key lighting, which means that I shoot a little bit over exposed. This can weaken the look of makeup in your actor head shot. For this reason, I suggest people apply about 25% to 30% more makeup than usual. You can also spray quite a lot of hairspray on your hair. Shooting outside will add some breeze to our shoot and the better your hair stays in place the less we will have to stop shooting to fix small hairs.

Professional makeup services start at $150 and do fluctuate slightly depending on the Artist you use and their pricing structures.

How long will the session take?

Depending on your purchased package, the headshot session can take anywhere from 20 minutes to two hours. If you are getting makeup done, this could potentially add another hour before our portrait session starts, so please let Kristina know if you are getting makeup done or not. Makeup can take place at our home studio if you prefer.

Where will the session take place?

Although Kristina serves headshot clients from the Maryland, Washington DC, and Northern Virginia areas, the session will take place at Kristina's headshot studio: 6917 Arlington Road, Suite 223, Bethesda Maryland 20814.