It’s been a long time coming and, to be honest, I can’t believe I got away without having a professional head shot taken for so long … until now. Mainly it’s my ‘fear of photo’ that held me back from having this done but it’s definitely well overdue! Working with a wonderful photographer (http://www.katstanleyphotography.com/) who I had met before and felt comfortable with helped a great deal.
After ‘getting over myself’ to get through the shoot I was faced with four A4 pages of thumbnails to choose from. Here’s where I had amazing help from an actor who taught me what to look for when choosing your best head shot. I realise this is so important because this could be one of the most valuable selfies you ever have done. This pic helps communicate and ‘sell’ you as a business and brand.
Here are some of the things to look out for if you’re having your head shot taken:
- Think about where the pics will be used and what they will be used for … this should guide what you wear, your stance, facial expression, backdrop which your photographer should help you with
- Make sure the pic shows your personality and individuality, even if you’re part of a set of corporate ‘jacket on’ pics you can have a pop of colour via accessories or what you wear under your jacket
- Have a few different ‘looks’ to suit different purposes, e.g. jacket on/off, hair up/down, tie/no tie
- Smiley = engaging … even if you think it looks a little cheesy it’s much more pleasant to look at a smiling face
- If you’re standing at a slight angle towards the camera, make sure the shoulder towards the back of the shot isn’t so far back that you’re disengaging and pulling away from your audience
- Get feedback from brutally honest people in your life but ultimately choose what you like to look at because you’re the one who will probably be looking at it the most anyway.
This pic is my ‘I’m friendly, warm, confident, you need me’ look!
Share your photo tips or fear of photo stories with me… would love to hear them.