Have you recently booked a headshot? Or are you looking for advice on the specific prompts to give to your AI tool for generating your next headshot? Color is a critical component to consider when taking a good headshot in order to get you looking your best.
What are the best colors to wear for headshots? Short answer: It depends. It depends on the field you’re in, your skin tone and coloring, and your personality and goals, as well as general design and color theory principles.
We’ll start by describing some of the societal and psychological associations with colors and the power they wield, and then move on to discussions of how specific colors work with different contexts, faces, and goals.
Read on to find out how to weigh these considerations and pick the best colors to get you looking your best in your next headshot.
Why It Matters
Before we delve into color theory concepts—and the practical tips for applying them—it’s important to uncover just why color is so important when putting together a headshot.
Your headshot is often used to make a snap judgment of who you are. How well groomed you are, your poise and expression, your sense of confidence, or being a team player can all be conveyed in that fraction of a second.
Humans are driven by color and beauty, often at a subconscious level. In our societies, we’ve built up a repertoire of meanings associated with different colors. When you pay attention to details like color, you increase the impact of your professional headshot.
Associating yourself with colors that convey a certain message in a professional or personal context is key to bypassing reason pathways in the brain and getting to something more instinctual. In fact, if you present the right image, employers may pick you for the job because you “feel right” or because your vibe suggests you’re the “right fit.”
Seeing Red
What is it about certain colors that can help you access this backdoor into the human psyche? Over time, humans have associated specific colors with different energy levels, emotions, occasions, roles, and more.
Bright, Dark, Light, Black
Bright colors are associated with a certain gregarious quality, often experienced as having movement and vigor. They’re worn in childhood and are increasingly phased out as we age. These colors are seen as “happy” and “confident.”
Dull and dark colors are often seen as serious or “adult” colors. Putting on a work suit can be a ritual that reminds you that you’re entering a professional environment, and that you need to get into character and act in accordance with this setting.
Light tones are often associated with casual wear—the jeans and T-shirts we wear in everyday life or the comfortable hoodies and sweatpants we wear around the house. Very light tones can be considered appropriate for occasions such as weddings.
Black has the most varied associations. It can be professional, generic, or edgy, and can be worn both casually and for the most formal of occasions. It all depends on the fabric, cut, and style of the clothing.
Harnessing the cultural and instinctual associations with different colors can help you create a specific impression in your headshot.
The Working Professional Color Palette
The first set of colors that are often recommended when creating headshots for professional or career-related headshots form what we call the working professional color palette.
AI headshot generators like Portrait Pal will often pull from this particular palette when generating images. Learn more about Portrait Pal if you want the color decisions to be made for you by experts.
The working professional color palette contains the colors you’re most likely to be confronted with if you enter a store specializing in suits or, more broadly, formal and professional wear.
Business Tones
Black is the obvious first color on this list, though it can be considered very formal so it should not be overused. Black also works for more casual or theatrical contexts, where a T-shirt can be worn for a headshot.
For this reason, various shades of navy blue and gray are perhaps more common in professional headshots. These colors present a more personable yet still highly polished association. They are often used for outer layers such as blazers.
Alongside black, gray, and navy is the classic white shirt, though this must be selected with great care. The cloth shouldn’t be so thin as to show underlayers. And white can often be a magnet for stains, so check to ensure it’s in perfect condition.
Stay away from white as a jacket color, though, unless you work in the wedding industry.
Finally, less often used, yet definitely present in this list, are dark shades of maroon and green, and some warm shades of brown. These colors tend to show up more often in fresh, casual, and fun companies where expression is more acceptable. These colors are also used by those looking for a vintage edge.
Personality and Goals
As mentioned above, “fun” colors like green and purple will ensure you stand out from the pack. For some headshots, this can be the goal—to convey leadership, quirkiness, and a certain kind of norm-breaking confidence.
Who Am I?
It’s important to clarify what your goals are with your headshot. Think about the way you want to be perceived and consider your color choices in line with those goals. Your headshot is your primary chance to make an impression that lasts.
If you’re looking to blend in with the pack or convey a strong sense of professionalism, the working professional color palette is a good choice.
If you want to be bold, bright and fun colors can help you stand out—but these should be used with some temperance. Pairing a bold blazer with more restrained colors will prevent your look from coming across as garish.
Know Your Industry
The “typical” professional look varies dramatically by industry. For example, politicians and real estate agents have been known to bring bright and bold choices into their clothing, often to reiterate their brand colors or political allegiance.
Conversely, Wall Street professionals or airline workers are most often seen in the sober, no-nonsense colors of blue, black, and gray.
People in more artistic jobs or who work with children can go in either direction. A plain black T-shirt that showcases you as a blank canvas is common in theatrical roles. Bright, bold patterns, on the other hand, can make an art therapist shine.
So, as well as considering your own personality, take into account industry norms on what to wear and expectations—and choose whether you want to blend in by showing your understanding of what’s “appropriate” or stand out as an innovator or rule breaker.
Color Theory and Beauty
Beauty is, of course, in the eye of the beholder. It’s subject to change with changing trends, times, and locations. Always keep your own preferences in mind and consider your own comfort when choosing what you believe is beautiful. In other words, you need to feel good to be able to convey confidence.
That said, good frameworks exist for certain color palettes to appear most flattering in different combinations of eye color, skin tone, and hair color. These aren’t hard-and-fast rules, but they can form a solid basis for experimentation.
Color Seasons
One framework that has gained traction in recent years is color season analysis. This analysis can be done by searching online for info-graphics or free quizzes, using AI photo analysis, or engaging professional consultants in person or online.
The idea is that we’re already “wearing” certain colors, and these should be considered when dressing ourselves. For example, faces can be more harmonious or contain contrast—and this quality should be reflected in our clothing choices.
Color seasons can also be inverted to make bolder statements that allow you to stand out. Dressing in your “anti-palette,” such as wearing sharper, bolder colors if you have a harmonious face type, can make you seem bold, edgy, or unique.
Leaning into a harmonious palette, in contrast, can make you seem softer and more agreeable—a cooperative team player. Experiment with different colors that enhance your natural beauty traits or learn how to go against them to make a statement.
Background and Foreground
Headshots are images that highlight your face in the foreground and de-emphasize the background. However, when deciding what color to wear for headshots, you should also take the color of your headshot background into consideration.
Plain or Dimensional
First, it’s important to know the character of the background that your headshot is being taken against. Home pictures are often taken against a white wall, whereas professionals tend to use background sheets in various colors.
Pictures can also sometimes be taken in the office with you performing a role, like giving a speech. Or you can pose for headshots in natural surroundings, such as a lake or a park.
Find out what kind of background you’ll be shooting in. If you aren’t sure, take a few clothing options of varying lightness and color shades so that you can look your best no matter what color you shoot against.
To Blend In or Stand Out
The key consideration when matching colors to your background is to decide the role you want your clothes to play.
If your clothes play a big part in conveying competencies or personality traits, you’ll want to make sure they’re a different color, or at least a different shade, from the background. This ensures the details of your clothing choices are visible.
In other circumstances and headshot styles, the intention is to draw attention to your face and have everything else fall away. Picking colors that are harmonious with the background will help.
That said, it’s about that background–clothing match, not about any particular color. For example, a black blazer will fade away against a dark backdrop but will stand out starkly against a white background or in a photo taken in a natural setting.
Skin Tone
An often neglected consideration in these discussions is the role of skin tone. This is relevant to both the background and foreground, and also in terms of enhancing your natural beauty.
Lighter skin tones can fade away if shot against light backgrounds. Conversely, darker skin tones can be obscured when shot against dark backgrounds. This principle also applies to the colors worn for a headshot.
The Amateur Problem
Mismatching background and skin tone can become especially apparent when working with an amateur photographer who doesn’t have much experience with color balance or post-photography editing and enhancement tools.
Professional makeup and lighting can create amazingly flattering images despite working with the most difficult color combinations. Specially trained AI is also useful. A well-placed light or balanced AI-generated image helps when confronted with such difficulties.
If it all gets to be a bit much to figure out on your own, consider the advice and services of professional color consultants or photographers. Preparing you for great headshots is what they do!
What Have We Learned?
Many considerations need to be weighed when deciding on the best colors to wear for headshots.
Colors play an important role in conveying subconscious impressions to the viewer about personality, competence, and whether a person will fit in with the team. This is partially driven by societal expectations associated with different colors and how they can be combined.
The color considerations when choosing what to wear for a headshot can be summarized as follows:
- The professional color palette. The generally accepted set of professionally appropriate colors include black, navy, gray, and white. These work well for most people and contexts.
- Less frequently used colors. Some browns, dark greens, and maroons can also work for professionals.
- Conveying personality and goals. The colors you chose should match the impression you want to make. To fit in with the crowd, muted colors such as those in the professional color palette work well. Go bolder to stand out, but do so with balance in mind.
- Industry expectations. Colors also vary by industry, and this affects what’s appropriate for headshots. Scope the field to see what colors and patterns are acceptable.
- Beauty and color theory. Certain sets of colors can enhance your natural features or create a statement of contrast. Try out color season analysis or similar tools to maximize your use of color to convey your desired message.
- Foreground and background. Know what kind of background you’re shooting against. Decide if you want your outfit to stand out or if you want the focus to be primarily on your face. Choose congruent or contrasting shades accordingly.
- Skin tone. Consider a background that lets your natural skin tone shine. Lighter faces often work better with darker backgrounds and vice versa. Professional photographers and AI tools can help when selecting the background.
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading about the best colors to wear for headshots and feel excited and ready to pick out the best outfits for your next headshot photo shoot.
Remember that you can use an AI headshot generator if you want to take the stress out of picking colors and outfits, booking appointments, and more. Upload a few candid images to transform into your brightest, most poised self, stress-free.
AI Headshots
There can be some confusion around how AI can “take” a headshot for you. How much work does it entail? Do you have to pick your outfit (in your now perfect color choice) and wear it for the shoot?
With AI headshot generators, the process is almost completely hands-off. Just upload a selection of images from various angles and with different lighting. Within a few hours, you’ll have a range of images from which you can pick a favorite!
How does this happen? AI will create a model of you from the uploaded images. It can then create entirely new images in the classic professional style with flattering lighting, poses, and, most importantly, clothing with the best colors for your headshot.
If you want high-quality results with minimal effort—without having to buy a new professional outfit—give an AI headshot generator a go today.