Intro by Skip Cohen
I found this post in Chamira Young’s blog, and it’s such a key element to giving your About page more impact. Seriously, what does it say about you as a professional photographer if your headshot looks like it was taken by your kids or a bad selfie?
Imagine a great chef getting food-poisoning from his or her own cooking. If word got out, would anybody have an interest the eating at the chef’s restaurant?
Chamira makes four good points, but I want to add a fifth. Make your headshot an image that reminds people what you do for a living. Don’t just go with a nice-looking portrait, but a shot of you working with a client, or a wide-angle environmental portrait of you in a studio. And you don’t have to tell your story with just one image…use two or three showing you in action.
The words in your bio are important, but so’s your initial presentation to your audience. Don’t settle for a bad headshot – let your portrait tell your audience who you are.
By Chamira Young
You spend so much time behind the camera that sometimes it’s easy to forget that others want to see you in photos as well.
Gone are the days of using selfies and Facebook profile photos as your headshot. It just doesn’t cut it anymore. As a photographer, you know how strong an image can be, and the kind of message a photo can tell. It’s time to harness that power for yourself and your own business as well.
There are so many reasons why you need to invest in either taking your own headshots or having them taken by a trusted photographer, but here are just four reasons why you need to get your own personal session booked today.
It’s Inviting:
It’s hard to deny that when someone sees your face, they make assumptions about you. When you have a photo that shows your true self that is taken well and been edited perfectly it invites people to want to know more about you.
Having a few killer photos of yourself on your website and other media profiles are the best ways to connect with people. You can only do so much behind a logo and a catchphrase. Potential clients want to invest in you, and they want to see who exactly they are investing in.
It Shows Personality:
Next is that these images show off your personality. Whether you are a relaxed and easy-going person or an upbeat smiley person, these images are invaluable to show off those traits. Images can say so much about you when you get the chance to loosen up and be yourself in front of the camera instead of behind.
In the same way, people want to connect with a person, not a business, people also want to connect with someone they can see themselves in. Someone who laughs a lot, who takes their job seriously, who creates moody images, who brightens up an event; whichever category you fit in, your headshots can increase your ability to show your personality to all the right people in your audience.
Shows Your Hobbies
The third reason why you need to get your own headshots is that a picture says a thousand words. Photographers in every niche dread writing their own bios. They fret over the ‘About Me’ page and they really don’t like describing themselves or their own talents. Enter your own headshots!
Taking these pictures will say more about you than words often can. This does not replace the words and descriptions but if you love your dog, take a fun image of you and your pup! If you love music, add in musical elements. Each image can be a different glimpse into your personal life and hobbies that will help further connections with potential customers.
They’re Judging a Book By Its Cover:
As aforementioned, a picture speaks a thousand words and when it comes to your business and your brand, customers are doing the ultimate “no-no.” They are literally judging a book by its cover. You have a few sentences, words, and pictures to capture your personality enough to make a person trust you enough to pay you for your talents and your services. That can be overwhelming and challenging but starting with killer headshots is your best bet to make sure you are always, always putting your best self forward in how you look, how you present your personality, and how you connect with others through your self-portraits.
