The Biggest Mistake I See People Make in Their Headshots and Branding Images
When I am working with clients on a VIP session we spend a lot of time working together to come up with theme, location, feel, and intention for the photographs that we are going to take. It is our ultimate goal to create images that they can use to sell and promote their businesses online. I love this discovery part of the process.
There is one mistake though that I see over and over and over when it comes to how we think about our images that I want to help my clients with. It is surprising to me how many people do not consider their Preferred Personal Colors when putting all this together. I call it the PPC.
Your PPC can make or break how great you look in your images.
For example. As a blonde who has struggled with weight issues for all my life I tended to have my images taken while I was wearing darker colors. After all dark colors are supposed to slimming and because the camera adds 10 pounds (at least that is what we tell ourselves) I wanted to take advantage of any chance that I could camouflage those extra pounds with the colors I wore. In fact if you look back on my Facebook profile pictures, you will see a lot of images that look like this.
Not bad right? I like these well enough. The dark background, dark clothing, but I was almost trying to hide in plain site.
But one day I woke up thinking that I didn't want to be in gray anymore. That I wanted to bring color into my brand and into my images. But what colors should those be? I played around with many different color scheme finding inspiration from many different places.
- Should I do shades of blue?
- What colors look good together?
- How do I mix and match?
I was truly lost in how to bring color into my wardrobe and my branding.
I didn't want to be dark and gray anymore. I wanted my brand to reflect how I felt inside and how I know I could make my clients feel.
Over the years I have sat in many coaching workshops and meetings where we analyzed websites and the first thing every person would say when they looked at my site was, "Dorie, why all the gray, navy, and black? That isn't who you are. You need to be using colors that represent your bright personality. This just doesn't show off who you are."
It took awhile but I finally listened and realized yes, those pictures were nice, but they didn't reflect who I was, the kind of business I wanted, or my true personality.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT COLORS FOR YOUR PHOTOSESSION
In photography we study a lot of color theory, analyze the color wheel, and try to create cohesive images that are pleasing to the eye. BUT what we don't do is take it the next step further and learn about what colors look best on different people to bring out their best.
You might remember back in the day the color classes you could go to where you would be color analyzed and put into a category that was named after a season. I did that with my mom and it was a fun girls day out. I still remember leaving there thinking I was a "Summer" and my mom and sister were "Falls".
When I made the decision to shift my look completely away from the traditional black, gray, and navy that I had become used to, I started looking into what colors would look best on me. And wouldn't you know, after taking several classes, I am back in the colors I was told I should wear way back when.
I took this one step further and revamped my make up as well. Ditching the pink/rose tones that I had become so reliant on and choosing more corals, greens, and neutral tones.
BOOKING NEW PHOTOSESSIONS
Then I took things one step further. I decided to book myself several personal portrait sessions so I could 1. Put myself in my clients shoes and 2. Create a totally different look for my own online images. I no longer wanted to be hiding behind the dark gray and navy. It is time to bring out the color and show more of my own personality in all my imagery.
Choosing the right colors for your sessions and the images you put online is SOOOOO important. Color can tell a story. If you look at the two sets of images, they are very different in feeling. The first set is nice but not a true reflection of me and how I approach my business. The second set is much more authentic to who I am and who I want to attract.
THE NUMBER ONE MISTAKE PEOPLE MAKE IN THEIR PHOTOSESSIONS
This brings me to what I feel is the number one mistake people make when planning and booking their branding sessions. They don't put enough time and energy in researching what really looks great on them AND what is going to bring out their absolute best in the images. The tendency is to spend a lot of time looking for a photographer that meets a certain price point and can work with the schedule but not a lot of time is spent on investing in a partner that can help you tell your story best.
Creating a look for your images should be curated carefully. Consideration for colors, textures, location and schedule all should be part of that process.
Not everyone looks great in black, red, and white. Not everyone should have a white background (in fact most people shouldn't). Not everyone should be photographed in a local park when a more refined location would be better in telling their brand story.
Bringing Color and Texture to your images can completely change the way you are seen as a professional. Even if you work in a traditional field you want people to be able to relate to you as a person. You want them to be able to connect with you and be drawn to you .
People do business with people they connect with. Do your images invite your prospects and clients to connect with you?
If not, then lets get to work!