Virtual and On-Location Photography

Everyone is photogenic but many of my clients start out thinking that they aren't because they believe they have never taken a good photo. And maybe they haven't. With the standard in today's world of selfies and point and shoots it's impossible for most people to show off their best features. There's a lot that goes into being photogenic and what you see in photos of celebrities isn't always who they are off camera. “Even I don't wake up looking like Cindy Crawford.”   Cindy Crawford Cindy is being modest, but all professional photos have some retouching done without compromising who the person is in the photo. Photoshop is designed for that. So much of what changes an individual's look (the photogenic factor) in photographs is lighting and angles. Angles are affected by professional posing, camera and lighting placement. Then there's an inner glow that I can't explain but it's like a light switch.  Ugly? Never....

How to streamline our social media & content creation management Today’s challenge won’t cause you major frustrations like some of the other mistakes, but by avoiding this one, you’re going to get the most out of your personal brand photography investment and not miss out on any key images. So far in this series, I’ve revealed these common mistakes: Challenge #1: Hiring a traditional photographer instead of someone who specializes in Personal Brand Photography Challenge #2: Not asking if a commercial use license is included Challenge #3: Not getting the right to edit the images Challenge #4: Hiring a photographer who requires you to give them credit If you missed any of these, go back and find the email in your inbox. Avoiding these challenge will save you lots of frustration down the road and will help increase your conversions rates. What is the final mistake I see people make when they hire a personal brand photographer? Challenge #5: Shooting wit...

Linda Kazares, Photographer, linda@LindaKazares.com Article 6 of 6 Series In my post, I shared a few “To Do’s” and "To Don'ts." Today, we’re wrapping up with some things that you should NOT do on session day. Don’t get a new haircut just before the session. Give it a week. Don’t wear something that might “clash” with the background. Don’t wear white unless you are wearing layers and it is underneath. Don’t wear jewelry that will distract from your face or that is very trendy and might look dated down the road. Don’t overdress. Don’t wear “big” jewelry, big scarves, big hair. Don’t wear loud stripes or checks. Avoid herringbone. No short sleeve shirts, please. Don’t wear a turtleneck (unless it is a very good look for you). In general, a v-neck style will be more attractive. Don’t wear a jacket you cannot button, or that you have to stretch to be able to button. It will not look good and you will not feel good about it. Bring something that fits pro...

This error will lower your conversion rate... Today’s challenge is HUGE if you care about converting your audience into paying clients. If you make this mistake, your conversion rate will drop. But first, in case you missed an email, let’s do a quick review of what we’ve covered so far. Mistake #1: Hiring a traditional photographer instead of someone who specializes in Personal Brand Photography Mistake #2: Not asking if a commercial use license is included Mistake #3: Not getting the right to edit the images Which brings us to today… Challenge #4: Hiring a photographer who requires you to give them credit Traditional photographers usually allow you to use images online if you link to their website or credit them whenever you use the image. They may even require you to use a watermarked version of the image. If you have to link to their site on a sales page, on your Facebook ads or anywhere else, it will lower your conversion rate. Anytime you add links to ...

What most photographer won't let you do... In the last two emails, we covered why it’s important to hire a Personal Brand Photographer who understands how to create images that reflect your brand and who gives you the license you need to use the images commercially without any hassles. Today we’re going to cover another mistake that limits how you can use images. It’s almost as big of a mistake as the last one! Challenge #3: Not getting the right to edit the images.  This is a big one. Traditionally, photographers do NOT give the right to edit their photos in any way. Consumers generally don’t need to edit photos from traditional photographers. They hire photographers because they like their work. It’s rare they’d do more than buy a few prints, an album, wall art or cards. However, if you’re hiring a photographer because you need images to grow your business online, you’re likely going to need to edit or modify a few of them. Whether it’s adding text to ...

Without this one thing, your photo session will be a complete waste! Today’s challenge is a BIG one and very few people think to ask about it. Yesterday, we talked about how hiring a traditional photographer for personal brand photography is a mistake. Most traditional photographers do not understand how to translate a brand into images. Images that don’t truly represent your brand won’t actually help you grow your business and connect with your audience. Today’s challenge is related. Challenge #2: Not asking if a commercial use license is included. Most traditional photographers do NOT allow you to use their images commercially. This means that you can’t use them for business purposes in any way. If you want to use images in your business, you MUST have a commercial use license. Since you’ll be using the images to grow your business and make money, you should expect to pay more for these images than you would for a personal use photo session. Traditionall...

Linda Kazares, Photographer, linda@LindaKazares.com Article 3 of 6 Series Figuring out what to wear is only the first step in preparing for your headshot session. You’ll also want to pay special attention to your hair and nails. I can’t stress the importance of well-groomed hair in your headshot enough. Bad hair can ruin your whole session! Play it safe and go to the hairdresser or barber right before the session. You’ll probably use your headshot for at least a year. You don’t want to wish that you’d gotten a trim every time you see it! Don’t style your hair in an unusual way. You want to look like you normally look. Please don’t forget the importance of your hands in your portraits. Whether you choose to do your nails yourself or have them manicured, keep them clean and if you wear nail polish use coordinating colors. Ladies, if you are wearing an open toe shoe, make sure your toes are ready to be photographed. Sometimes the photographer will take full body photo...