Why You Need A Professional Headshot
If you are promoting yourself for your own business, for a company you work for, or a potential employer, you really need a photo of yourself that makes an impact. You need a great headshot. You are marketing yourself to develop new contacts and to build on existing relationships. Your headshot helps you achieve your goals by making the viewer feel you’re approachable, confident, and trustworthy. We all know the adage “a picture is worth a thousand words,” applies headshots too, and here’s why:
- You become successful in business by people remembering you, but people have a better time remember what someone looks like than they do remembering their name. A headshot connects your face with your name.
- Whatever business you’re in, a well crafted professional headshot can convey a feeling of professionalism regardless. It shows that you pay attention to details and you take the time to do things right.
- People are more likely to read the information on a page if your photo is there. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, “LinkedIn research shows that a page with a profile picture is seven times more likely to be viewed than a page without one.”
- A professional headshot can help visually reinforce what a person does for a living. This is accomplished through the use of clothing, location, or equipment they typically use in their business.
Where to use your headshot
Here are just some of places you may want to be using your headshot:
- LinkedIn – This is an absolute must. LinkedIn is becoming one of the go to places to connect with people in business.
- Social Media Sites – FaceBook, Twitter, Pintertest, Google Plus, and Meetup are some popular ones that come to mind. Use your image not only on your personal profile page but also on the business page if you have one. Remember, people want to connect with people.
- Website – Make sure you include your image on your website’s bio page or about page. You may also want to consider including your photos on the contact page if you are a one person business.
- Newsletter – This is another great place to keep your face in front of existing and future clients.
- Brochures and marketing pieces – Give people a face to connect with, it makes what you have to say more personal.
- Email Signature – Adding a small photo with your email signature is yet another great way to connect with someone. If you’re working for a larger corporation, check to see what their policy is.
- Business Cards – Putting your headshot on the front or back of your business card can put you at an advantage. It’s another way to help people remember who you are.
- Press Releases – Press releases about yourself or your business , whether digital or printed, should always be accompanied with a headshot.
Jean’s Maternity Photography
People may not think of maternity photography as laughing-out-loud fun, but these photo sessions definitely can be! Last Saturday we had a creative fun-filled session with Jean and her hubby Eugene, a couple who were obviously delighted to be expecting their first child very soon.
At the consultation meeting a few days before the portrait session, we’d found out that these two loved to laugh, joke, and have fun– in fact, Jean said, most of their snapshots were of them laughing! Naturally, they wanted the pregnancy photos to reflect their personalities and they’d looked all over Orange County to find just the right photographer. The way they related to each other, I just knew taking pictures of this couple was going to be fun!
Saturday morning Eugene walked in smiling… carefully holding the clothing they’d picked, all neatly ironed on hangers. Jean followed, bubbling with excitement and expectation. We chatted a bit, then I got right to work. When you’re having fun, it’s so easy for everyone to be creative and make some great maternity images! When Jean came up with the idea for this one, we quickly improvised with some non-toxic kids finger paints, brushing on a cute heart design. Then since they were expecting a girl, in Photoshop we later changed the color of the paint to a more girlish pink and added the baby’s name for a final touch!
We can’t wait to show them all the images from their portrait session. We know they are just going to love them!
To see more of our maternity photography please visit our website bluemoonphotography.com
Pregnancy Photography Today
Who would have thought that a single photograph published almost 21 years ago would launch a new a new form of photography? That image was of a nude and pregnant Demi Moore on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine. With that one photograph, the creative talent of Annie Lieborwitz started a whole new genre of photography known as maternity portraits or pregnancy photography.
Up until that time women were expected to hide their pregnancy under oversized dresses. But now women can celebrate being pregnant. They can share the wonderful transformation they are going through. Clothing styles have change tremendously. No longer are expectant mothers hiding under enormous sheets of fabric, but instead are showing their changing shape and growing belly. Because of these changes in fashion and photography, women can show as much or as little as they want and feel good about it.
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2012 Photographer of the Year
For the last several years I have entered images in the Professional Photographers of California’s (PPC) annual print competition. I have done okay and have won some ribbons before but this year I was totally surprised to be awarded PPC’s 2012 Photographer of the Year.
Every other year the PPC joins with the Professional Photographers of American (PPA) to host PPA’s Western District Print Competition. This competition is open to all PPC members and PPA members who live in the eight western States or the three western Provinces of Canada that make up the district.
For three days a panel of eminent jurors from across the United States critiqued and scored over 600 images. Each image is judged against an established criteria. Having an opportunity to watch part of the first day of judging I got to see how the judges were scoring the images. This panel of judges was tougher than most. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to stay for all three days and see my images scored.
The Photographer of the Year is determined by the combined total score of all four images entered by the photographer.
Here are the images I entered:
Professor Gizmo is an image of Jay Davis, also known as Professor Phineas J. Flockmocker III – his alter ego as a member of the Legion Fantastique. Jay can be found at various steampunk events and he also appears every year at the Great Dickens Christmas Fair in San Francisco’s famous Cow Palace.
I met Jay at the grand opening of Steampunk – History Beyond Imagination at the Muzeo, in Anaheim, California. This image of Jay was created outside the museum with available light. There weren’t a lot of backgrounds to choose from and with the crowd of people there, it became even more challenging. So I decided to use a building’s exterior wall and see what could be done in post production to make the portrait more interesting.
The looming dark clouds for the background were chosen from an image I took on a stormy day while waiting for just the right light to photograph the Point Vicente Lighthouse.
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iPhone Broken?
We all know how expensive it is to get your iPhone, iPad or iPod repaired by Apple when the damage is not covered by the warranty or it’s out of warranty. There are reliable repair shops that specialize in fixing iOS devices, usually at half the price that Apple charges. A recent Wall Street Journal article profiled several successful ones: iHosptial, Cupertino iPhone Repair, and uBreakiFix. That’s great, but you have to ship your device to them. So that got me to thinking, what kind of repair facilities do we have around Orange County?
After doing some research I noticed that there are quite a few businesses around Orange County that do screen repairs (the most common problem next to water damage). Most of the businesses that I found do only screen repairs, battery replacements, and unlock or jail break your phone. What was noticeably missing was the number of businesses that don’t offer a warranty on their parts and service. With that in mind here are several places I would consider when needing my Apple equipment repaired.
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