Would your audience recognize you in person from the photo on your website, blog, and social network profiles? Readers discover who you are by the biographical information you provide on your profile. But many times before they access that, their first impression is our one or two inch square "mugshot." While we all want to look young for as long as possible, consider allowing your audience to see who you are today rather than who you were five or ten years ago!
Here's some suggestions to help you receive the most from your photo session:
1. A headshot means a shot of the head and shoulder area not from the head down to the waist. You want readers to see your face and eyes. Most profile pics are fairly small. If you try to scale down a half body photo your head is going to be tiny.
2. Discuss what's included in the investment with your photographer. How many and what size prints will you receive? For business use a CD is usually sufficient. Find out if the final images on the disk will be touched up, if necessary, or is that an additional charge? Also, think ahead for usage purposes. You should get a small resolution jpeg file for web and a larger tiff file for print marketing material. Ask if there are any restrictions on using the pictures across multiple mediums of advertising?
3. Clothing is an important detail. The background chosen by the photographer needs to coordinate with the color and style of your outfit if shooting in a studio. Outside, deciding on casual VS formal is crucial and if the final portrait is being displayed in black and white then combinations of patterns and textures become the first consideration. Medium to dark wardrobe shades generally photograph best for both color and black and white. Whites and pastels should be worn under a dark jacket for optimum results. Keep in mind that each social networking site, blog, and website needs a photo of you. Request that your headshot session include modeling in a variety of outfits and multiple poses of each.
4. After the perfect ensemble comes makeup and hair. Makeup should be applied a little darker than what you'd normally wear during the day (a little more so for black and white). But ladies, make sure it looks like you're going to a business meeting and not a fancy ball. Men, I probably don't need to address the hair issue. Women, think professional, not Glam.
5. A little Botox, smooth out the wrinkles, remove blemishes please. Anything's possible but remember, looking our best is important but so is being ourselves and not an actor or actress playing the part. For your main picture opt for smiling, approachable, relaxed, and happy. Display prints featuring the other creative expressions, poses, and action shots within your profile, blog posts, and website.
6. Sometimes in-studio with a background is necessary. For a different setting try going on-location. I recently did headshots at a Hilton Hotel on the beach for a professional speaker. We were in one of their executive boardrooms with comfy leather chairs, gold print wall paper and warm lighting. The environment provided the perfect ambiance for her.
The most important advice. . . HAVE FUN! You should have a laughing good time during your hour of fame. You might even get a small taste of what a 10,000.00 a day professional model endures. Sometimes a new client will start out feeling intimidated about being in front of the camera. But by the end of a photo session with the ShutterQueen they are landing in the perfect pose with no instruction at all and leave with a smile on their face, ready for the next one!
Do you have questions or concerns about having your photo taken or what to expect?
Photographers - Do you have other suggestions to share?
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