The studio is conveniently located in the historic Nicholas Building, Level 7, Suite 16, 37 Swanston Street, Melbourne. Public transport is the easiest way to travel to the studio, as the building is directly opposite Flinders Street Station. If you're driving, make sure to allow extra time for traffic and roadworks. For parking, your best bet is the car park at Fed Square. Book online for a discount.

When you get to the Nicholas Building, take the lift up to level 7, turn right as you exit the lift, then turn right again and head through that door, then turn right again and I’m the second door along (suite 16).

FYI the studio is wheelchair accessible but unfortunately the toilets are not (they’re down a set of stairs). The closest wheelchair-accessible public toilets can be found inside the City Library, 253 Flinders Lane.

TRY TO HAVE A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP + NOT DRINK THE NIGHT BEFORE

You will not look or feel your best if you’re hungover.

IRON YOUR CLOTHES

Little details like a crease in your shirt may not be noticeable in 'real-life’ but become noticeable in a photograph.

WEAR SOME MAKEUP TO TO BRING OUT YOUR FEATURES

The camera tends to wash people out slightly. If you plan to use the images professionally (on your website for example), you could even have your hair and makeup professionally done before your session. You can check my resources page for information on makeup and hair artists that I personally recommend. Alternatively, you may already know a hair and makeup artist, or you could ask friends for recommendations.

BRING A HAIRBRUSH

I generally advise women to wear their hair down or partly down. If you wear it in a ponytail it can look like you have no hair from some angles. Also, I generally advise not to try out a completely new hairstyle before your shoot.

MAKE SURE YOU ARE LOOKING GENERALLY ‘WELL-GROOMED’

For example, ladies; pluck your eyebrows and have your roots done, gents; make sure you are freshly shaven (unless you're going for the beardy look). If we are shooting in your home, workspace, or studio, make sure it's looking 'well-groomed' too.

MAKRE SURE YOU’VE HAD ENOUGH TO EAT AND DRINK BEFORE YOUR SESSION

Being hangry generally doesn’t help us to get relaxed photos.

IF YOU WEAR CONTACTS + GLASSES, CONSIDER WEARING YOUR CONTACTS TO YOUR SESSION

This will mean that we don't have to deal with glare on your glasses. If you prefer to wear glasses, we will of course work around this.

IF YOUR GLASSES HAVE TRANSITION LENS, YOU WILL NEED TO WEAR A DIFFERENT PAIR OR CONTACTS TO YOUR SESSION

Even indoors, transition lenses can have a colour cast that makes them difficult to photograph.

BEWARE OF FLASE EYELASHES

If you really want to use them, get a professional to apply them and tell them to be light-handed. The DIY lashes often come off and look wonky, and they are usually “too much”, they make your eyes look dark and heavy and don’t allow light to get in, which is very important

WHEN CHOOSING YOUR OUTFIT, THINK ABOUT THE IMAGE YOU ARE TRYING TO PORTRAY

Professional? Creative? Approachable? Where the portrait will be used (website? Linkedin? Facebook?) It can be a good idea to bring a few different tops so we have a choice. Simple clothes tend to look more timeless. Fitted clothing tends to look better as baggy or flowing clothing can make you look bigger than you are. Mid-tones tend to photograph better, and it's best to avoid all black or all white (black and white together or with other colours is generally fine though). See above for some more detailed information on what to wear.

THINK ABOUT WHTHER YOU HAVE A ‘SIDE’ THAT YOU PREFER TO BE PHOTOGRAPHED ON

If you're unsure, research has shown the left side of the face is generally perceived to be more attractive than the right side. People actually research this kind of thing, check it out here.

THINK ABOUT WHETHER THERE’S A PART OF YOUR FACE OR BODYT THAT YOU GENERALLY DISLIKE IN PHOTOGRAPHS

I will do my best to minimise this. Please don't be embarrassed to tell me, we all have these insecurities and I hear about them from my clients every day, there’s nothing you could tell me that I haven’t heard before. For me, it's my double chin and teeth that are too big for my face. If you're interested in learning how to minimise a double chin in photographs, have a look at this video by renowned headshot photographer Peter Hurley. It changed my life.

UPDATE YOUR ABOUT PAGE

Nothing personalises your brand more than a lovely, warm image of yourself or your team on your About page. I think it’s essential for all businesses, but if you work in a client-facing business, particularly a business where clients might feel 'vulnerable', like health and allied health, it's so important to have a warm and friendly headshot or team shot on your website. It helps people to feel comfortable with you before they've even come in for their first appointment. I get it, it can feel very awkward to put a photo of yourself on your website. You tell yourself “people aren’t really interested in me! They’re interested in my products/service. It would be weird to put a big photo of myself on my website.” I hate to break it to you, but you couldn’t be more wrong. People are very interested in you. Studies show that a business’s ‘About’ page is generally one of the most viewed pages on a website, and this is doubly so if you’re a small business. It doesn’t matter if you’re a service or product-based business, when people buy from a small business, they want to know who they’re buying from. Plus, you are gorgeous. You are. Don’t believe me? Ask your partner, or your friends, or your kids. We all have insecurities about how we look, but trust me, nobody is looking at a lovely photo of you and picking it apart. They think you’re great!

UPDATE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PROFILE IMAGES

Brand consistency! I have one headshot, that I update every couple of years, and I use that on all of my social media profiles, even my personal pages. People just have to look at a profile and they know it’s me. It felt a bit awkward at first, but now I’m proud of how I look (it’s taken me 40 years to get there!) and I’m happy to have a nice image of myself on my social media.

ADD PROFESSIONAL PHOTO TO YOUR ‘GOOGLE MY BUSINESS’ PAGE

Oh, this is a very good tip that so many businesses neglect to their detriment. Google gives business owners a free ‘Google My Business’ profile (it’s the profile that comes up on the right-hand side when you google your business). Clients and customers can upload photos of your business here, but you can also upload your own photos. Studies show that businesses with images on their Google My Business profile are much more likely to receive enquiries and engagement from potential clients compared to businesses that don’t have images. Think about it, if you’re a family law firm, and when a potential client googles ‘family lawyer near me’, your profile comes up with lots of lovely images of your office, friendly images of your staff, and images of your staff interacting with clients, that is going to leave such a good impression of your business on a potential client. It builds trust immediately. I have about 20 images on my profile that I update regularly, and I get an incredible amount of engagement from them.