Are you a photographer? It’s probably time to update your Headshots…
Are you a photographer in the Bluffton, Hilton Head, Savannah, Beaufort area? OR honestly, any photographer anywhere in the world…
Chances are, getting your own headshots taken is last on your “to do” list. I mean, there are 100 other things you need to do in order to run a business, keep up with your own editing, clients, and shoots.
Then, when you finally carve out time and grab your remote or set up and dial in your own camera for self portraits, they just aren’t what you’re hoping for or you can’t quite direct yourself AND be the photographer. It’s so hard to take your own photos! Believe me, I get it. Ah!
But you need photos of yourself, too. We all tell our subjects over and over again about the importance of capturing memories. It is just as important for you and me. No more can I live in my own little world of “the cobbler’s kids have no shoes” and the photographer has no photographers of herself/himself.
So let’s change that!
This last year I have had the true gift of photographing several other local photographers. Some brought their cameras, some brought their dogs, and some just showed up and said “I just need a good headshot that I can update on my website. Help!”
Here are some ideas for you as you consider updating your own photos on your website and social media…
A simple headshot
Sometimes you just need a simple headshot to update your “About Me” section on your website, your LinkedIn profile, your IG profile, or maybe you’re being featured on a podcast.
Having a current, simple headshot of yourself is always a really good idea.
I tell my clients that you need an updated headshot every three years. So, yeah. If you’re still rocking the photo of yourself from a decade ago when you first started photography IT IS TIME to get a new one!
Photos with your camera
I mean, these can go super cheesy super fast. So let’s be all cool about it and have fun with our cameras! It’s the main thing all of our clients see us with when we take their photos, so let’s give them a glimpse of what it looks like to work with us!
Photos for Reels
Creating reels is SUCH a chore for me and it’s even more difficult when I don’t have a string of content that I feel flows well together. Call me a perfectionist, probably. ;)
To make it easier for all of my busy photographer friends, I love to capture a series of similar photos that can be easily edited together. Come in with ideas or tell me more about the holes you find when trying to grab photos for a post.
It can be as easy as taking 5 photos in a row with just a slight variation to them. You know the drill! We do this for our own subjects all of the time.
Photos with what you love!
Whether it’s your pet, your favorite book, coffee mug, snack, calendar and laptop, or anything you want to use to highlight your personality…bring it!
We all know how important it is for our clients to connect with us and feel like we are understanding and fun humans. Adding a personal tidbit about your life can guide content creation or even help you not feel as awkward in front of the camera.
Our clients love to see us in the wild!
Photos for other people
This goes back to the “cobblers kids have no shoes” excuse. We get so busy with everyone else that we don’t prioritize collecting images of ourselves for our family, partners, or even just to have.
It is important that others see you and know about you long after you are gone. Wouldn’t it be such a tragedy to take all of these incredible photos for your clients but never give that same gift to yourself?
So if I can’t convince you to take photos just for yourself, then do it for your family and kids. I can promise that they want them!
Photos with space for posting
It’s the age old tale of the Instagram crop, or the Facebook cover photo placement in proportion to the profile photo, or your website layout could really use text over the top portion of your About Me image.
So what do you find yourself frequently needing when it comes to posting or the nitty gritty design details of your photography website?
Let’s photograph a bunch of options for you so you can crop as you need to!
So, which session is best for you?
Portrait Session
60 minutes, 3 outfits, up to 3 backdrop choices, more space and time to work through what you may need in content for the next year or two.
Headshot session
30 minutes, 2 quick outfit changes, up to 2 backdrop choices, this is a simple in and out type session that’s pretty focused on what you know you need. If there isn’t a lot of direction and you need a bunch of different options then you may want to give yourself more time and outfit/backdrop options with the hour long portrait session
Branding Session
A two hour session, 4-5 outfit changes, several backdrop options, this is perfect for small businesses looking to have several portrait/headshot options and different types of images interacting with their products for websites, social media, and marketing.
