As you grow in your academic, professional, or personal (including entrepreneurial) career, you’ll need one of the best tools in your portfolio arsenal: a professional headshot. This is your true opportunity to stand out from competitors and market yourself boldly.
Your professional headshot receives as much attention — if not more — than your cover letter, bio, resume, and business card information. That’s why it’s essential to ensure you achieve the right look, and that starts with your color choices.
Whether you prefer to hire a professional photographer or want to try AI-generated headshots using a user-friendly service like PixelPose, it’s wise to make your professional headshots as visually appealing and commanding as possible. This is where color comes into play.
What does color have to do with a professional headshot? It all comes down to color psychology: the concept that color influences mood and behavior in humans. This is why McDonald’s, for example, has its famous golden arches that evoke feelings of happiness, and doctors’ offices are often decorated in soft, earthy blues to create a calming atmosphere.
As you read on, you’ll learn the 10 best colors to wear for professional headshots (and why they work), how to wear them, and as a bonus, you’ll get useful tips for making your photos stand out. Take a minute to learn more about AI headshot generators, too — and how you can get that perfect shot in just a few hours.
What Is Color Psychology?
We touched on color psychology above, and you can’t fully appreciate color choices for professional settings without understanding more about this concept. In a nutshell, color psychology is the study of colors and how they influence the brain and human emotion. For example, yellow typically makes people feel happy, while black can make people feel intimidated. Color also signifies presence or standing in marketing: silver, gold, and purple are perfect examples of rich elegance, while earth tones convey cleanliness and refreshment.
If you’re catching on that the color(s) you wear in a professional headshot can send a message to the viewer, you’re on the right track! Now, let’s learn which colors can enhance your professional image the most so you can make the right impression.
The Best Colors to Wear for Professional Headshots
1. Dark Gray
Also referred to as charcoal or pewter, dark gray is an excellent color choice for a professional headshot if you’re unsure about the message you want to convey or which colors complement your skin tone or silhouette. Dark gray is commanding enough to be authoritative yet neutral enough not to be overpowering. It’s the perfect neutral tone for a professional setting, ensuring you make an impression but don’t risk making the wrong one—or making no impression at all.
Pair a dark gray blazer with a crisp white shirt for the best effect of staying neutral yet still in control. If your goal is to create a base for color, you’re in luck: dark gray is a wise choice for pairing with a pastel button-up in your favorite hue without compromising the professional appeal you’re after.
Just avoid pairing dark gray with light gray. Since both colors are in the same spectrum, it will come off as monotone and matchy-matchy, or worse — give your outfit a muted look.
2. Navy Blue
Are you a fan of black but don’t want to look like a vampire in your professional headshot? Navy blue will give you the same commanding appeal without the harshness. The key to navy blue is to pair it with earth tones like mint, sand, or even lighter shades like Robin’s egg blue or stormy gray to really make the color pop.
What’s great about navy blue is its versatile approachability: it’s a commanding royal color on its own and certainly draws the eye, but it isn’t so brash that it can’t be worn without needing to tone it down.
Don’t match navy blue with crisp white, however. Unless your professional headshot is meant to be in black and white, these two colors together won’t offer much personality to your attire.
3. Green
Green is such a mellow and cheerful color that you can wear it in nearly any shade in a professional photoshoot, yet still represent yourself well. It all depends on how you want to be portrayed, so consider the following options:
- Bright green for you a youthful and enthusiastic appeal
- Mint green for an approachable and earthy appeal
- Emerald for a warm yet authoritative appeal
- Olive for a trending, modern appeal
- Traditional for a classic appeal
Green can be challenging to pair with other colors without appearing outlandish, so stick to yellow-based hues if you want to add dimension to your attire. Better yet, use cream as a base for green, and you’re all set.
4. Eggplant
Purple is a daring color to pull off in a photoshoot, and when done correctly, it can produce dazzling results. Rather than opting for a classic royal purple or even a lilac, choose a shade that is both commanding and approachable (similar to navy blue) — eggplant.
Eggplant is a color that looks good on nearly everyone because it has a black base mixed with a healthy dose of magenta. This means it’s both cheery and exciting like red (more on this fabulous color later) and sophisticated like black. You get the best of both worlds, all wrapped up in a unique color that isn’t difficult to pull off.
Pair eggplant with any of your favorite neutral or earth-tone colors. Just be careful with pastels, since eggplant may be too rich of a purple tone to pair with them successfully.
5. Cream/Ivory
If you love classic white and plan on accessorizing for your professional headshot photo, then cream or ivory clothing will suit you well. You can accessorize with jewel or earth tones (but not both) to make the neutral tones stand out beautifully against your frame without washing you out.
Ivory and cream are ideal color choices for outfits with a lot of texture and dimension because they won’t add to the volume and movement of a piece (think: peasant skirts and ruffled blouses).
What makes cream and ivory engaging colors is that they are among the few that let the neutral tones of brown and tan stand out in a more fun and colorful way. If brown is the hue you’d rather be wearing, then choosing cream or ivory as your base and pairing it with lovely brown trousers will pull your look together instead of washing you out or leaving your attire looking bland.
6. Yellow
Like green, yellow is a color you can wear in almost any shade or depth and pull off nicely. Even fairer skin can work with a light pastel or lemon yellow, while darker skin can complement colors as rich as the sun or as deep as goldenrod. Yellow will help you present yourself as forward, approachable, friendly, and creative, which is an excellent way to be portrayed professionally.
Yellow pairs well with anything with a brown or yellow undertone, so keep this in mind if you want to match yellow with a mint green undershirt or a brown pair of loafers. The key lies in balancing your yellow pieces to avoid looking like a giant canary. Choose yellow for either a top or a bottom, but not both.
7. Red
Whether you prefer a true red, cherry red, or a deep brick version of this classic color, red is a wise choice for any professional headshot if you’re unsure what color will look good on you. When in doubt, choose a neutral or earth-toned top and pair it with a red accessory, such as lipstick, earrings, scarf, tie, or even shoes. Keep the rest of your attire neutral with classic or dark gray trousers or a skirt.
Red is so commanding because it’s a passionate color. Symbolizing authority and aggression, as well as love and playfulness, it’s a color that won’t be missed even if it’s just a sidekick to your main color choice in your professional headshots.
8. Burgundy
Similar to burnt orange, burgundy is the color you choose when you appreciate both orange and brown but don’t want to commit to either one. This fun, bright color is also a surprising neutral because it can be paired with many other colors. It’s like an adult version of Pumpkin Orange and has enough personality to stand on its own. As a bonus, it looks great on various skin tones, so it won’t wash you out.
Just make sure not to pair burgundy with green or yellow. These colors are too matchy and reminiscent of fall, which may take your attire down a notch. Instead, pair burgundy with true red, navy blue, ivory, or even a rich brown.
9. Sepia
A rich red-brown that is uniquely royal and elegant in its own way, sepia is a commanding color that makes for a great suit color choice. If you want to avoid classic black, gray, dark gray, or navy suits but desire a modern approach to this timeless professional attire, sepia is the way to go.
It’s dark enough to accommodate patterned undershirts without detracting from its classic lines, yet not dark it feels outdated or old-fashioned. Consider pairing sepia with a surprising contrasting color to make it pop, such as lavender or salmon pink.
10. Black
This wouldn’t be a complete list of colors for professional headshots if we didn’t mention black. The ultimate color choice for authority and leadership, black is a classic go-to in anyone’s wardrobe. Just don’t be afraid to toss in some modern color here and there so you can be both commanding and full of energy and personality, too.
How to Maximize Your Professional Headshot Results
Now that you know how to style yourself for your professional headshots, here are some tips for taking the perfect shot.
Have a Goal
What is the reason behind your headshot? What image do you want to portray? Experiment with different hairstyles, makeup, accessories, locations, backgrounds, and other elements to help you achieve the look and persona you want to convey before your photoshoot.
Practice Posing in Your Clothes
Does your skirt ride up when you stand? Are your trousers bunching in the crotch? Does your shirt wrinkle when you sit down? Practice posing in your clothing so you know what to expect and how to navigate your attire for optimal results.
Pose Naturally
Unnatural poses will look stiff or forced and can give your posture an odd appearance. Pose as you normally would, and let your photographer or AI headshot generator take care of lighting and fixing small blemishes or stray hairs.
Use Ideal Lighting
Natural light can cause shadows, while bright and harsh lighting can wash you and your clothing out. Use ideal lighting in soft shades that can neutralize your photos, ensuring they aren’t too harsh and are ready for publishing.
Take Multiple Shots
Both AI headshot generators and professional photographers produce multiple shots to get that one perfect headshot. The best results will come from a handful of photos selected from possibly a hundred or more. Therefore, take as many shots as you can to increase your chances of capturing the perfect headshot.
Giving AI a Shot at Your Headshot
If you’d prefer to create professional headshots from the comfort of your home with minimal effort required, consider using an AI headshot generator like PixelPose. These tools allow you to upload a few photos you already have on your phone (or take new ones), and then AI works its magic to transform these images into business card-worthy headshots.
Affordable, fast, and discreet, AI can make producing the perfect headshot easier and more stress-free than you might imagine. You can even receive your final results within a few hours — less time than it takes to select the perfect outfit.
Choosing the Color for You
Select colors for your professional headshots based on your preferences and the image you want to portray. The more true to your personality you are in your attire, the more natural and relaxed your headshots will appear. You can experiment with several looks in colors you like most to help narrow down your options.
Ultimately, your professional headshot should speak volumes about who you are as a person. Starting with the right color choices will go a long way toward accomplishing this goal.