Why Your Professional Business Headshot is Important
Allow me to take a moment to talk about your business headshot (or is it “head shot”? I still don’t think we have figured that out…”). Whatever you call it, I think it’s time for people to realize that having a great, professional business portrait is essential no matter who you are or what you do for a living. It’s not just the real estate agents who need a good picture on their business card. It’s you, too. You and everyone else you know. Here’s why:
Your Headshot Is Your Resume
There is no longer a line between your “work life” and your “private life.” Potential employers can check you out anywhere. They don’t just check Linkedin and then turn off the computer. The check facebook, Google+, Instagram, twitter…. everything you have ever done is available for reference and so is every picture of you ever posted. While it may be fun to change your profile picture to that shot of you with a cheeto stuck in your nose, it’s not necessarily the image you want to project to the V.P. of Human Resources at the company that interviewed you last week. Also, don’t discount the real estate agents with the picture on their business card. If you want people to remember you, they need a visual. My business card is a picture of me.
You Never Know When You Will Need A Good Business Portrait
I know that sounds like a stupid line: “You never know when you will need a life jacket in your car!” but it’s really true. You never know when someone will ask you for a picture. Maybe you win an award, or chair a committee at the P.T.A., or need to update your resume. Having a good portrait of yourself ready to go whenever you need it is crucial and will keep you from that embarrassing thing where you have to submit a terrible cellphone picture that lots of people will see. I get calls all the time from people who are in a rush to get a good headshot for some unexpected thing that just came up, like Bonnie who suddenly needed a headshot for an event program. Life is easier when you have that taken care of already. One less thing…
Your Headshot Can Also Be A Great Portrait
A lot of people hear “Business Headshot” and immediately picture the manager photo on the wall at the drugstore. Those “classic” headshots are still widely used, I do them all the time, but modern headshots are more like portraits. They can convey personality, beauty… whatever you want them to convey.
That’s my wife to the left. She isn’t in the sort of business where she needs a classic portrait. She is in the wedding business and she needs to represent herself as casual and friendly. If you ask her, she’ll tell you that this is the best photograph ever taken of her (you’re welcome!). She uses it everywhere. It’s great because it looks casual. It doesn’t look like a fancy portrait. It looks like it was just a snapshot. It’s specifically posed and lit to look that way. It takes expertise and equipment to look like you weren’t photographed by a professional with a lot of equipment.
Modern style headshot
Traditional style headshot
Your Headshot Is Your Face To The World.
This is the big one. Think about the last time you had a job interview. How much time did you spend getting ready for it? Were you thoughtful about the clothes you wore… your hair… your makeup?
Now think about your profile picture on social media. Think about all the people who see this picture before they ever meet you. Potential jobs, potential friends, potential dates… everybody you interact with in your life will see that picture. Don’t you want to look your best? Of course you do and for a very small investment of time and money, you can have a great face to the world for 5 years or more. I’ve been using my headshot for years! If you want something fun for your Facebook profile, just do what I did and turn it into a cartoon!
It’s The Cheapest Portrait You Can Take
That’s right. A good professional business portrait can be had for less money than a traditional portrait. This is especially true if you have several people who need one. The cost per person to have us come to your office and photograph several people is minimal and the value is immense (see all the stuff above). Contact us today and set up a day for office headshots and rest easy knowing that you will be putting your best face forward for years to come.
Bar Mitzvah Photographer Tampa Featured in National Magazine
Professional Photographer Magazine is the monthly magazine of the Professional Photographer’s Association. It’s a great magazine that promotes good business practices, ethics and the creation of incredible images. Last month I was a featured writer with an article I wrote on Bar Mitzvah photography. It’s the first time I’ve ever been featured in the magazine and I’m pretty proud of it. Most photographers spend quite a bit of time trying to get into bridal magazines and the like but for me this is a bigger deal because this is read by my peers. The Oscars are a very big deal but many actors will tell you that the Screen Actor’s Guild Award means more to them… it’s kind of like that for me I guess.
I travel and teach photography all over the country and I’m always surprised at how many photographers I meet who don’t do Bar/Bat Mitzvahs. Not every town has a thriving Jewish community like Tampa but it’s a rare city that doesn’t have at least one temple. I’ve been photographing Bar Mitzvahs at several temples in the area for years and it’s been a great, rewarding experience for me. I like to joke that I spend more time at Schaarai Zedek than the rabbi. (I’ve also worked at Temple Beth-El, Ahavat Shalom, Kol-Ami, Rodeph Sholom and others.. ) Here’s a blog post from a recent event.
Without fail I have always been treated kindly by the Rabbi and Cantor at every temple. The patience that they have for me and the families is always appreciated and I take care to try and be no burden to them. If you are a photographer who deals with groups of people a lot (and we all do at weddings, etc) then you can learn a lot by watching a Rabbi wrangle a large, extended family through a Bar Mitzvah rehearsal.
When you write an article for the magazine, they request a lot of pictures. Then, they pick the ones they want to feature. In my case, they picked two images from the same Bat Mitzvah.
The magazine calls it a “niche” but for me it’s a regular part of my life as a photographer. I love photographing Bar Mitzvahs, I love the traditions, I love the families. I wouldn’t give it up for the world.
Here’s the Bar/Bat Mitzvah page on my website.
Tampa Event Photography | Time-lapse
This week, between the weddings and Bar Mitzvahs, I shot the Father/Daughter Dance at my daughter’s school. My oldest was in kindergarten the first year they had the dance and I was the photographer then. Now my oldest has moved to middle school and my youngest is only a year away. Time flies…
It’s always a time crunch. The event is only 2 hours long and I have to photograph every Dad/Daughter in the place. The line forms the minute they open the doors and it stretched across the gym all night.
This year, just for fun I decided to set up a second camera and shoot a time-lapse of the whole night.
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