A session hair stylist is the person who makes the hair right for the picture. Not for the mirror, and not for the weeks after: for the frame, on the day, through every set-up. Hiring one well comes down to two things, knowing what the role covers and giving them a brief they can build from.
What a session hair stylist does
A session hair stylist styles hair for photoshoots, campaigns, editorials, lookbooks, runway, and TV and film. The name comes from the session itself: the stylist is booked for the shoot rather than an appointment, works to the photographer's or creative director's brief, and keeps the hair consistent from the first frame to the last.
The work is translation. A moodboard, a wardrobe and a light are turned into hair that supports the picture rather than competing with it, on the talent who has actually arrived, in the time the schedule allows.
How it differs from a salon stylist
A salon stylist cuts, colours and looks after a client's hair over months, in their own chair. A session stylist rarely cuts. They create a look for the camera, often several in a day, wherever the shoot is: a studio, a hotel suite, a rooftop, a beach.
The other difference is the team. On set, the hair is one part of a picture shared with the photographer, the makeup artist, the wardrobe stylist and the client. A good session stylist works quietly inside that, and knows when the hair should lead and when it should step back.
Before the shoot: the brief and the references
The work starts days before the call time. The references are read against the talent: if the moodboard shows long, waved lengths and the talent has a short crop, that is a conversation about extensions or a different direction, and it belongs before the day, not on it.
Timing is agreed against the call sheet. Each look is given a realistic window, with the first one built while the light is being set, and the changes are placed where the photographer moves set-ups anyway. If hair and makeup are booked separately, the two artists should see the same references and agree the order of the chairs, so the talent is never waiting between them and the first frame goes when it was planned.
The brief also sets the kit. Tools, pins, pieces and products are packed for the looks, the hair types and the conditions, so the set never waits for something that was left behind.
On set
Hair and makeup are planned together, so the talent moves between chairs without waiting. Once shooting starts, the session stylist stays close and watches the monitor, not just the person. The screen shows what the lens sees: a flyaway against the backlight, a parting that has shifted, a wave that has dropped since the last set-up.
Continuity is the quiet half of the job. Each look is photographed for reference as it is finished, so it can be matched exactly after a break or a change of location. Quick changes are planned in order, from soft to structured, because hair worn down can go up for the next set-up while a set updo rarely comes back down cleanly.
Then the conditions. Continuous lighting is warm and dries the hair as the hours pass, and a wind machine or an outdoor breeze moves everything. The set goes in tighter than it photographs, and the hair is checked and touched up between frames rather than rebuilt. On location in Dubai, the humidity is part of the brief too, and the notes on hair that survives Dubai cover it in full.
TV and film
On a production, continuity carries even more weight. Scenes are shot out of order, sometimes days apart, and the hair has to match from one take to the next. Looks are character-driven rather than simply flattering, and every change is logged with photographs and notes.
It is work that nobody notices when it is going right. The TV and film service covers on-set hair for productions large and small.
Choosing a session hair stylist
Start with the book. Look for finished editorial and campaign work, not only occasion hair, and for range: sleek and structured shapes alongside soft, undone texture, on different hair types and in different light. A single striking image says less than a body of work that holds together.
Then notice the questions. A good session stylist asks about the light, the wardrobe, the talent's hair and the running order before talking about the look. Photographers and makeup artists you already work with are the best recommendation, because they have seen who arrives prepared and whose hair still holds in the last frame.
The wider notes on how to find a good hairstylist apply here too.
What to send when you book
The more of this you can send at enquiry, the more accurately the day can be planned:
- The date and the call time: plus when the first frame is due, so the prep can be planned backwards from it.
- The location: studio, hotel suite, residence or outdoors, with the light you expect and whether there is a room to work in.
- The moodboard or references: for the hair, and for the shoot as a whole, so the hair can be read in context.
- The number of looks and their order: because the running order decides how each look is built from the last.
- Talent hair notes: length, texture, colour, any extensions, and whether the hair will arrive clean and dry.
- The wardrobe: or photographs of it, showing necklines, collars, hats and anything else the hair has to work with.
For personal and brand shoots, where the brief is your own, photoshoot hair covers how to put the references together.
A half day or a full day
Session work is usually booked by the day or the half day rather than by the look. A half day suits a single look, a portrait session or a short content shoot. A full day suits a campaign or an editorial with several looks, a move between locations, or talent arriving at different times.
If the running order is still moving, book the full day. Hair that has to be rushed between set-ups shows in the pictures, and the time saved on the booking is lost in the retouch.
Booking a session hair stylist in Dubai and London
The work travels to the set: a studio, a hotel suite, a private residence or a location anywhere in the UAE, and in London regularly throughout the year. The editorial service covers magazine shoots, campaigns, lookbooks and runway.
The portfolio carries editorial, red carpet and event work. Send the date, the call time, the location and the moodboard through the contact page, and the quote comes back on enquiry.
Common questions
A session hair stylist styles hair for photoshoots, campaigns, editorials, runway, and TV and film. They are booked for the session rather than an appointment, work to the photographer's or creative director's brief, and keep the hair consistent and camera-ready through every set-up of the day.
A salon stylist cuts, colours and cares for a client's hair over months, in the salon chair. A session stylist creates looks for the camera, usually without cutting, on set or on location, as part of a team with the photographer, the makeup artist and the wardrobe stylist. The job is the picture on the day, not the hair the week after.
The date and call time, the location, the moodboard or references, the number of looks and their running order, and notes on the talent's hair: length, texture, colour and any extensions. Add the wardrobe if you have it, and whether the light is studio, daylight or outdoors.
A half day suits a single look or a short portrait session. A full day suits a campaign or editorial with several looks, a location move, or talent arriving at different times. If the running order is still changing, book the full day, because hair that has to be rushed between set-ups shows in the pictures.
On a shoot, the hair is part of the picture from the first reference to the last frame. Credits include The Bride Way, A-List & More Privé, and Five Luxe.
Mobile across Dubai, from Dubai Creek Harbour and Downtown to Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Marina, DIFC, Business Bay and JBR. Also in Abu Dhabi, and in London regularly throughout the year.
