I’ve been looking forward to this for 2 years. Ever since i first started to call myself a Headshot Photographer I have been thinking about the time when people start to get the idea that having a decent profile Image makes them stand out in a saturated online market. Its been happening in the States & in the U.K. for a couple of years, it was only a matter of time before the trend rolled over into Australia.
So why is the Headshot or Profile Image important ? There is no secret that Social Media is here to stay and one of the biggest offshoots of Social Media is Relationship Marketing. Its all about having or creating meaningful content, gaining an audience and then forming a relationship with that audience. That audience wants to know that you are real and not some faceless machine or website or poster etc etc. I think it has taken the step of ” Minds Eye” one step further.
Minds Eye is the belief that for people to buy your product you have to be in their Minds Eye. I will give you an example. I live on the Gold Coast in Queensland and there are hundreds of restaurants available, lets say 300 for arguments sake. So I get home from a hard day in the studio and my wife says lets go out for dinner. Now out of the hundreds of restaurants on the Gold Coast I know of approx. 30 for example. When we sit there trying to decide what restaurant to go to we are not trying to decide from 300 we are only trying to decide from the 30 that we know of. The other 270 don’t get a look in because they are not in our Minds Eye, we have never heard of them, or seen them etc.
Without turning this into a marketing paper its obvious that you need to be able to not only infiltrate your target clients ” Minds Eye” you need to be able to start a relationship with that potential client. You are hoping that the relationship you have will be more important than price, place, service etc and all the other factors that go into someone choosing your product over another.
Research has shown that people need to be able to create a mental picture of someone and that the more memorable that picture is the better hence, the need for a professional quality Headshot. You will need one that makes potential stop and read your profile, anecdotes, blog posts etc.
To do this you will need to choose a photographer that knows about faces, about expressions, knows how to shoot someone from their best angle, highlight their best features and minimize their others. You will need to choose a photographer that can teach you the techniques & secrets that a leading actors & actresses have known for years.
It just happens i know where to find one ! For more examples of my Headshot work please go here – http://bradkay.smugmug.com/Portfolio/Headshots/
