Clearwater Beach Photographer Archives -

What should I wear for my headshot?

How do you decide what to wear for your professional head shot? This is a question that I get ALL the time. I usually answer it with another question or two…

First, what do you do and who is your market?

Professional business head shots are first and foremost to sell your services to the customer. You want to appear confident, approachable, professional and trustworthy. That said, achieving that will look different for different markets. If you are an artist or author or stylist, you will have a different look than a financial advisor or lawyer.

So first tell me what you do and then tell me who your market is. If your business clientele consists mostly of conservative 50 to 70 year olds you will dress differently than if you cater to 20 to 30 year olds.

What colors look great on you?

What to wear for your professional head shot may be dictated by corporate guidelines. Some companies want you to stay within their branded logo colors. In other words, it may be a black suit, white shirt and red tie. Please do check with the marketing people or your boss and take a look at the current company website. You will want to coordinate with the images of associates that you see there.

If there are no corporate guidelines that you need to follow regarding colors or style, you will want to wear something that you feel comfortable in and that makes you shine for your professional head shot. Stick to solid colors and pay attention to the neckline. Most headshots will be realistically from the shoulders up. Stay with a clean look near the neckline.

Jewelry, yes or no?

If you wear jewelry often, then of course wear it for your headshot session. Be aware that you will perhaps be using this image for several years and try to stay away from trendy items so as to not date your headshot image too soon.

Really, do consider your market. First impressions count.

Consider this example. Joe came in about a year ago and had his first professional headshot done for his new job as a realtor. I praised him on his bold use of color and style. The look fit his personality and it was definitely professional.

But it did not connect with his target conservative market.

Interestingly, he came in a little while ago and changed everything up. Even though this new image is not really his personal style, he recognized that his clientele were more conservative and he needed a new look just for them.

He looks good in both, but most importantly, they are quite different for different markets. He knew he needed to change his online image to attract online clients. The image of him that really showed his personality did not bring in the clientele that he needed for where he was in his marketing.

Two very different looks on the same man. Both professional. One more conservative and one more trendy. What he wore for his professional head shot makes a world of difference in first impressions. Pay close attention to the market that you want to attract and the clients that you will be working with.

What to wear for your professional head shot. Two different looks, both professional, but distinctly different.

Let there be space…Palm Harbor Photographer

It’s really the space between the notes that makes the music you enjoy so much. Without the spaces, all you would have is one continuous noisy note. Dr. Wayne Dyer

I really enjoyed this quote and it got me to thinking about all aspects of art. All images gain impact and composition from great use of space surrounding the subject. Take a look at the family photo below, taken at Cobbs Landing in Palm Harbor, Fl and you can see how the use of space around the subjects give them a sense of privacy and establish the size and relative viewing distance for the the viewer. If I had zoomed in on the boys and lost the space surrounding them, the image would have lost much of its impact. I just loved this image taken of Ethan and Ben last week. The color and the light in this area spoke volumes around the boys as they were doing an activity that was everyday and common for them. The bond that has been established by this memory of days spent fishing will be one that is never broken. I love it when we can incorporate a favorite activity into our portrait session that adds meaning to the final image.

What should I wear?…Palm Harbor Beach Photographer

I hear this question all the time. I like to tell my photography clients to coordinate their outfits to each other and to their surroundings. If you are having beach photos created, as in the portraits below, outfits should look similar. This doesn’t mean you have to match exactly. If the colors are similar, then the attention will go straight to the faces instead of the clothing. You are, after all, having a portrait created of your family, not necessarily your clothing. The clothes should represent who you are at this time with style and color choices and should be appropriate to the location. A more urban look might be a little or a lot dressier. A studio choice could be very dressy or very casual. We want the family photographs to show your personality. You might also consider where the finished photograph will be displayed. If the room is very formal, will a very casual portrait look good their? Will it look out of place? Choose wisely to have the colors and style complement you, your family and your surroundings. The DelDuca family did a great job with just a pop of color on mom to add interest. And we got blessed with BEAUTIFUL skies that night!

I have pulled some color combinations out of the images to help you get an idea of some other colors that may have worked as well in these situations. When you pick out your family’s clothes for their photographs, throw all the clothes on the bed together and see if anything looks out of place. Trust your eye, you will know what you like! If you are hesitant at all, please just give me a call and I can help guide you in your choices. I have been doing this for over 20 years with many happy clients. Let me help make your family photo an heirloom to treasure. Check out my portfolio on my website to get more inspiration.

Take better vacation photos…Palm Harbor Photographer

How to take better vacation photos? Plan a better vacation.

Has anyone seen this ad? It might be by American Express or some travel company, not sure. But be that as it may, this really is not true. Remember to focus on the details. Plan your shots and decide what is really important to you. Think about:

· the time of day,

· the composition,

· the rule of thirds (think tic-tac-toe box and place the center of interest in one of the x’s)

· the repetition or patterns in an image.

Take these four things into consideration and you will automatically get better images. If you take a photo of your kid canoeing on the lake and take it from the shore, it will be a shot of the day. If you take a close up shot of your child’s tiny hand trying hard to grip the paddle, the sweaty hair down the back of his neck or him leaning over just draping his hand in the water, those will be moments to remember. The Eiffel tower could not have more meaning to you and your family in the years to come. I have included some images from a inexpensive three day cruise vacation taken years ago on Carnival Cruise lines. I loved all the different light and the architecture that you can only find aboard ship and created these images for a memory of our time on board. Enjoy. And remember to THINK about what you are taking images of before you click the shutter!

How do you feel…? Kathleen Hall Photography Palm Harbor Fl

I find that, as humans, we value photographs because of the way they make us feel. The stronger the feeling, the more we value the photograph.

Jesh de Rox

When I read this quote by Jesh, (yes, that is his name and correct spelling), I began to think about the photographs in my life and the photographs that I had created. I found that the ones that stood out are the ones that brought back feelings and memories to my life. Whether it was remembering a great event or wonderful friends or clients or “friendclients” (new word, made it up, haha!), they all touched a place in my heart. Photos that made me feel good about myself and how I looked also made the list. Photos that made me laugh or reminisce also came instantly to mind. Even the ones that were memories of awful news stories, they made me feel. And I realized Jexh had summed it up in two sentences.

When I photograph, I love to create photographs that will make you feel something. I have included a few of my favorites below.