SkipCohenUniversity
  • Home
  • SCU Blog
  • Our Podcasts
  • About Us

the SCU Blog

You Call That a Head Shot?

10/23/2014

4 Comments

 
It's so hard to write about this topic and not make it sound like a rant, but here's the point. If you're following my blog the majority of you are aspiring professional or working professional photographers. Knowing that potential clients are friending you on Facebook then why wouldn't you have a decent head shot? Even worse, why would the header for your Facebook page not show one of your better images?

Aren't you tired of having a bad selfie represent what you do for a living, supposedly better than anybody else? Why wouldn't you want to strut a little and show what you're all about? Seriously, this is about packaging, yours! 

I realize some of you have Facebook pages that started out as personal pages for family and friends, but over the last few years everything has changed. Everybody has access to us and unless you've done an outstanding job of controlling your page to friends only, there's a solid likelihood that potential clients are following you as well.
Tamara Lackey
Eddie Tapp
Matthew Jordan Smith
Chantale Perron
J.P. Caponigro
Sal Cincotta
I grabbed a few random head shots from the Facebook pages of some of my favorite people in photography above, just to make a point. Your head shot, since you're in the business, should at least look professional. Then I grabbed a few of headers to share.
Picture
Michele Celentano is all about people. Her header along with the headshot of her daughter are all about her family.
Picture
I love the image Eddie used for the header and especially the way he brought Judy into his Facebook presence.
Picture
If you've spent any time with Sal then you know that smile is almost a trademark. Put the head shot together with a terrific image and it's simply a great looking presentation.
Here's the point...you're working so hard to build a reputation as a photographer and social media is a vital part of the equation. Don't treat your Facebook page like an afterthought. Use Facebook along with Google+, Pinterest and Twitter to help build and expand your brand. 

Most important of all, remember that a picture is still worth a thousand words, maybe even more!
4 Comments
Chris Smith link
10/23/2014 05:29:58 am

noted and already planning my shot now.

Cheers,

Reply
Alex link
10/24/2014 02:58:12 pm

What do you recommend for a brand that is NOT your self? For instance, we are Peach Tea Photography, NOT Sal Cincotta Photography... thoughts?

Reply
Skip Cohen
10/25/2014 12:39:57 am

When using a company logo and not the name of your business you've got several ways to go with your head shot. First, you can still use a great head shot if you're the lead or sole photographer. Second, if there are several of you, do a tight group shot. With either image, make it a point to make it a good portrait. Third, it's your call, but you can use your company logo. My preference is to always try and share a people shot, but my point to the post was more to get people to think about the horrible images they currently put up. Anything is better than a bad selfie, picture of your dog, etc.

Reply
Alex link
10/25/2014 03:52:42 am

Thanks for the reply! Totally get your point about just making it professional. In our instance, my wife and I run the business and she would technically be the 'lead' photographer, while I am more focused on the business side of things (marketing, accounting, etc.). If you have a moment, what is your opinion of our page? : https://www.facebook.com/peachteaphotos


Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

      Sign Up for Our Newsletter!

    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    Picture
    Click to view in Lightbox
    Picture

    Our Partners

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    "Why?"

    Check out "Why?" one of the most popular features on the SCU Blog. It's a very simple concept - one image, one artist and one short sound bite. Each artist shares what makes the image one of their most favorite. We're over 100 artists featured since the project started. Click on the link above and you can scroll through all of the episodes to date.

    Categories

    All
    Beyond Technique
    Beyond Techniques
    Business
    Customer Service
    EDU10
    Excire
    F64 Lunch Bunch
    Faculty
    Fast Food Friday
    Guest Post
    Humor And Sarcasm
    In The News
    Lessons Learned
    Lighting
    Luminar
    Lumix
    Marketing
    Mark's Corner
    Mind Your Own Business
    Miscellaneous
    Motivational
    One Step At A Time
    Photodex
    PhotoShelter
    PhotoTexting
    Platypod
    Podcasts
    Profoto
    Sales
    Search
    Skylum
    Social Media
    Sunday Morning Reflections
    Tamron
    Tamron Recipes
    Technique
    Throwback Thursday
    Wedding Photography
    Westcott
    Why?

Categories​

Business
Marketing
Technique
Sales
Fast Food Fridays
​

Podcasts

Tamron Recipes 
Beyond Technique
Why?
Mind Your Own Business
Pro Photographer Journey

 Partners

Tamron
PhotoTexting

​Lumix

Marathon Press
​Platypod
©  2019 Skip Cohen University
  • Home
  • SCU Blog
  • Our Podcasts
  • About Us