The Photograph Everyone Can See
In today's world, there is almost nowhere to hide.
If we want to get ahead, visibility matters. More than ever, we are expected to have a photograph ready to go — for LinkedIn, a company website, an article, a conference, a podcast, a publication, a speaker profile, a bio, a bit of marketing that someone in the office suddenly needs yesterday.
And that can feel surprisingly invasive.
We want to look professional, but not manufactured. We want to present ourselves well, but authenticity matters too. We don't want to look like we've spent three hours carefully constructing an image of ourselves that bears very little resemblance to the person who actually turns up to work on Monday morning.
So we try to strike a balance.
Which is how you end up feeling like a bit of a wally while clearing piles of washing out of the background so you can take a selfie for the boss who is demanding a LinkedIn photograph.
Or being told you need a profile picture to accompany an article or paper you've written and thinking:
Why do they need my face?!
And then, inevitably, we panic and half-arse it.
We take pictures off the wall to create a blank background. We stand in the bathroom because, actually, the light is better in there. We balance the phone on the windowsill, set the timer and attempt to look relaxed while laughing slightly off-camera.
Twenty-six attempts later, we've gone to an extraordinary amount of effort to produce something that looks like it took two seconds.
And then we hate it.
But it's out there in the world now.
And there's nothing we can do about it.
It's worse than the shocking photograph on your driving licence. Worse than the passport photo permanently trapped in the time warp of a haircut that seemed like a good idea at the time.
But why?
Because everyone can see this one.
Your passport photograph is really only for the exclusive eyes of border control and the person at the car rental desk checking your particulars. Your LinkedIn photograph? Your website headshot? The photograph attached to the article you've written?
That one has been unleashed.
So perhaps we owe it to ourselves to get this bit right.
Not because we need to manufacture some perfect version of ourselves, but because we should have a photograph that actually looks like us — on our terms, and in a way we're happy to be seen.
One that is sitting there, ready to go whenever someone asks.
The marketing team at the office will bow down in awe. Your bio can be shared far and wide. You can send it to friends and family without adding a disclaimer or saying “ignore that, I don't have anything better.”
No cringe. No panic. No searching through your camera roll for the least offensive photograph you've taken in the last five years.
And actually, this is something you can fix.
It's something we can help you fix.
It's quick and painless too.
Headshots without the faff
Our Headshot Days are designed with all of this in mind.
You come into the studio, we take some genuinely great headshots, and you can see your images on screen as we go. You choose your favourites there and then.
We edit them. We deliver them.
Bish, bash, bosh.
No balancing a phone on the windowsill.
No removing half the contents of your bedroom from behind you.
No trying to work out whether the bathroom light is actually flattering.
And absolutely no need to venture in to attempt #262.
Just a proper portrait of you that can be confidently handed over when someone asks for a headshot.
Because there really is no need to cringe when you should be celebrating yourself.
And if a short, sharp headshot isn't quite enough, that's fine too.
You can go a step further with a Showcase Shoot or a Personal Branding Shoot, creating a much wider collection of images for your website, social media and professional presence.
We're here for that too.
See you soon?
....If I can do it - so can you!
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