5 WAYS TO KNOW THAT YOU MIGHT NEED A NEW HEADSHOT
Many years ago I made an appointment to meet an online marketing consultant at a coffee shop. We had never met before but both of us had been to each other’s websites before the call. We both arrived on time but ended up not recognizing each other. What we did was sit at tables close to each other, pull out our phones, review the picture of who we were meeting and then scan the room. We made eye contact and awkwardly recognized each other, mainly because we were both looking at our phones and the room at the same time.
In that moment it became obvious to me that my headshot was old and didn’t represent me well. I loved that photo of me. Being happy with an old picture blinded me to the fact that it wasn’t doing it’s job anymore. The consultant’s headshot wasn’t helping much either, but that’s a whole other story.
In this post I will look at some telltale signs that your headshot isn’t as helpful as it could be.
1. HEADSHOTS HAVE A “BEST BEFORE DATE”
It’s open to interpretation and discretion but headshots are not like red wine, they don’t get better with age. They are more like a loaf of bread, it’s their freshness that makes them good.
The fact is we are always changing. Some of it is aging, and some of is style change, which happens fast. We see ourselves every day and adapt and adjust our perception so we’re not as conscious of it. If your current headshot is more that 2 years old, it’s worth a review. Going by how long it’s been since your last headshot is one of the simplest ways to know whether you need an update or not. Keeping your headshot fresh and updated will guarantee that you’re always presenting yourself most accurately online.
2. YOU COMPLETELY CHANGED YOUR HAIRSTYLE
Hairstyles change and many people follow the trends. Have you changed your hair colour or altered the length? If so, you have changed your appearance. For men, it’s important to condsider hair loss and the addtion or removal of facial hair.
It’s a fun game to identify people who no longer look like their online photo, but it makes it difficult for potential clients or employers to recognize you in person. Having an old headshot online may be worse than no photo at all.
3. YOU DON’T LIKE HOW YOU LOOK IN YOUR CURRENT HEADSHOT
Your last headshot was a fail. If you hired a professional to take it and you don’t get a great result, that’s the photographers fault, not yours. Get a new photographer and a new headshot.
If your current headshot is the result of an employee-wide headshot day, most often these events involve a quick assembly-line kind of process with limited direction and zero review. This is how most people end up with a headshot they don’t like. The solution is to invest a bit more in your personal image and hire a professional photographer who provides an experience that guarantees an amazing result.
4. NEW JOBS, NEW OPPORTUNITIES AND EXPLORING THE OPTIONS
If you are switching, recently switched or are thinking of a career change, it’s time to up your headshot game. Maybe you don’t want to hold on to the the same headshot if you change employers or if you’re starting a new business. In fact, it might even be unethical to keep a headshot which a previous company paid for.
The new position will be well served with a new headshot or set of new photos. Maybe the new job has a more casual feel or needs a more traditional business look. When you are making career changes, it’s important to have a new headshot.
5. YOU HAVE NEVER HAD A PROFESSIONAL HEADSHOT
Have you opted for the selfie? if so, it shows. I get how this is more comfortable for many people. You can see it as you are setting yourself up and you control the button. That part does work for some, but the position of the camera, the light quality and your shoulder position won’t be great. Think about the physics of it. You arm is about 3 feet long or less. That phone is really close to your face. If I stood 3 feet away from my clients to take their picture, they would not like the results.
I deal with the apprehension or fear of standing in front of a camera every day. I’m not going to put you there without taking control and responsibility for every photo I take. My goal is to never leave you standing there wondering what to do. I am the professional; how you look becomes my responsibility the moment you enter my studio. We will start out discovering what works and what does not. I’ll give you lots of direction. We will work together to find real genuine expressions that are a natural reaction; the real expression that comes from you when the camera isn’t pointed at your face. When we capture that, you’ll have an image that works for you.