Looking for a photographer for headshots? Great! Check out these 3 tips before you hire one.

Tip #3 | The Best Way to Find A Photographer for Headshots

The best way to find a photographer for headshots is to get a referral from a friend, family member or co-worker.

From my experience, you'll be able to find someone you can trust and you'll be able to take a look at their portfolio too.

Ok, so I know they’re sometimes not totally reliable…

That’s ok because you can simply go to Google and search on “photographers near me” and you should find a suitable photographer with great reviews.

Tip #2 | Here's How Much You Should Pay a Photographer for Headshots

Pricing is going vary based on need. For example, if you need a headshot for a passport photo, I wouldn't spend more than $25-$50 for that.

But if you're going to be using headshots for improving your LinkedIn profile, applying for jobs or some other professional use, you'll want to spend a couple hundred dollars.

Tip #1 | If You're Using Headshots for Business... You're Doing It Wrong

The problem with typical headshots is that they're boring, tired and old.

When want to stand out, you need something better than just a headshot.

You need a story telling photograph.

Sure, you're probably thinking, well if everyone does this doesn't this make everyone the same again?

But it doesn't...

Because a story telling photograph makes you genuine and unique by design.

No one will ever be able to copy you.

That's why we created Bridgetown Story Sessions. It's our personal branding photography package that helps you create a brand that lasts and attracts your perfect client.

Get Your ANTI-Headshot Bridgetown Story Session Today

Take Care,

Mark Gubuan

Studio Manager/Director of Funk

P.S. We have a FREE PDF DOWNLOAD to help you create the profile for your PERFECT CLIENT. Click Here to Get It

Cheap headshots might seem like the ONLY option you have when you're just getting started with marketing or branding yourself or your business.

I get it though... the whole point of getting headshots done are to help create trust, to imply professionalism and to show the people that you're looking to attract that you take things seriously...

But the reality is that you're just making yourself look like everyone else.

If headshots aren't the way to go, what should you do instead?

Well if you're looking for one single headshot to put on a passport photo or something like that, by all means go to the mall or have a friend take your picture.

But if you're really looking for the wow factor, there's a really obvious and frustratingly overlooked "tactic".

Be you.

The authentic, genuine version of yourself.

In a headshot, we simply don't pose you.

No that's boring (sure we do these but they're not the only thing we do).

What we do is capture you in your natural element.

…in a genuine setting with an authentic emotion.

Trust me... if you love what you do, then you’re not going to feel awkward or self conscious...

And you’re going to look amazing!

And that’s because candid photography is done in a way that you just “do you” and the photographer does the rest...

So you get to be an authentic and genuine person by being you...

You just act natural...

And you rise above the noise and stand out!

How does that sound?

If this makes sense to you and you’re looking for an amazing headshot solution, then check out our Bridgetown Story Sessions right here.

Take Care,

Mark Gubuan

Studio Manager/Director of Funk

P.S. Are you interested in professional photography for high converting marketing and advertising? Check this training series on how to do it yourself.

Personal branding photography is an investment that can help your business improve its marketing and advertising.

If you’re wondering if you should spend the money, then read the 3 criteria that we’ve identified that will help you make this decision an easy one.

The 3 Criteria You Need to Know When Deciding if Personal Branding Photography is Right for You

Criteria 1 | Your Face is the Face of the Business

Think Oprah Winfrey or Tony Robbins. When you think of their names, you immediately have a perception of what their values are, how they’ve inspired you, how they’ve influenced you and most importantly, you have some kind of emotional response to hearing name or SEEING their face.

CREDIT: OPRAH.com

CREDIT: TONYROBBINS.COM

If you’re in an industry where your face is what’s primarily seen in advertising or your marketing, then absolutely you need personal branding photography.

Criteria 2 | You Are in A Trust Based Industry

Personal branding photography taken by a professional photographer helps you INSTANTLY create trust with potential clients.

Have you ever just come across a business or a person that just seem a little “off”? Well that’s what happens when you don’t have a clean, professional, UPDATED group of marketing materials.

Just a few off the top of my head are insurance, real estate, accounting, financial planners, life coaches and personal trainers to name a few.

Criteria 3 | You’ve Never Had it Done or Need a Refresh

As I was alluding to in the last second, there’s a trust issue when someone doesn’t “look like” the person in the pictures when they meet them in real life.

You might be accidentally “catfishing” and that’s not a good look for you.

Or if you’re new or just haven’t taken the plunge yet, then do it. You’ll find that people immediately see that you’re taking your business to the next stage.

This bodes well for you because people want to work with people who do well in life and in business.

Bonus Criteria | You Have a Website or Social Media Account

It’s a given these days that its a requirement to have a website and social media account and when it comes to personal branding photography this is where the rubber meets the road.

Content is king.

Personal branding photography is the key to the kingdom.

However there is one problem….

How do you stand out from the crowd if everyone is doing professional photography?

The solution is simple.

You invest in story branding photography.

Story branding photography, even if everyone does it, still allows you to be different.

Why?

Because no one can be you. Period.

You can be the best and most authentic and genuine version of yourself and that’s powerful.

Want to learn more about this?

Check out Bridgetown Story Sessions right here

Take Care,

Mark Gubuan

Studio Manager and Director of Funk

P.S. Do you want to create a high converting marketing message? Check out our FREE Customer Success Profile PDF here.

What styles of photography work the best for ads?

There are two subjects that I'll cover in this post. (1) Photography Styles and (2) Editing Styles.

Honestly, there's an infinite number of combinations of variables for effective advertising, but if I could narrow down a main focus for you it would be to understand your audience and show them images that are relatable.

There are actually around 15 photography genres...

---

Before we get into it. I wanted to use other people’s photography as examples in this blog post, but I decided against it because we all have access to Google and just getting all of the different licenses, etc are just not worth the hassle.

---

Aerial Photography

With the cost of drone technology coming down, aerial photography is now a genre that has an increasingly low barrier of entry.

This is great because if you need those high converting real estate shots from the sky, you'll be able to affordably accomplish those.

Architectural Photography

I love these shots because they capture the richness of history and tell such a great story about that time.

Taking pictures of key architectural scenes can change everything for you.

Candid Photography

This is where Personal Branding Photography lives. These are also known as lifestyle photography.

When these pictures are taken, they capture a very genuine, authentic emotion when they're done right.

This style is the recommended style for anyone trying to create a personal brand with an emotional connection to their audience.

Documentary Photography

This photography is designed to tell the truth about a subject. By taking photographs that highlight the different points being made, it creates a very linear and easy to understand storyline.

Fashion Photography

This can get very artistic and driven by the photographer. If not, this style will have a lot to do with the marketing campaign.

Obviously the fashion designer will already have the artistic direction in their mind.

It will be the photographer's job to realize this vision and make it a reality.

Food Photography

This type of photography can make something go from average to extraordinary.

Taking the right photography transforms a dish into something absolutely amazing.

Landscape Photography

We just cannot live without landscape photography. Some artists can really take a step back and see the true beauty of the Earth.

This photography can do an excellent job of setting the stage for you when you're telling a story.

Night Photography

This is a very specialized type of photography because there's a lot of patience involved.

So much trial and error getting the shot just right.

If this is a look that you'd like be prepared to spend some extra hours figuring it out.

Photojournalism

This type of photography is what you'd expect to see in newspapers.

The news media requires these photographs to be able to tell the right kind of story in the news.

Without these, it because increasingly difficult for the news to create trust that the events are being told the right way.

Fine Art Photography

This photography can be worth a lot of money. I'm not going to pretend like I'm an expert knowing anything about that...

All I'm going to say is this...

You just never know what people are going to spend when it comes to buying fine art.

Portraiture

This style is exactly what you see in a family portrait or in a headshot...

This style works great for capturing a formal picture.

Sports Photography

This is also known as action photography. People or things moving fast.

Capturing the emotion of a big game win or lose.

Getting that last second win.

There's a ton of emotion available in a contest like that.

The art and skill of capturing that raw emotion is amazing because you get to leave your mark on history.

Street Photography

I've re-discovered street photography. There was something about it that I didn't realize appealed to me.

Seeing humanity this way is eye opening when you take a step back and look around.

Telling stories around the city will always have a variation of this style in the photos.

War Photography

I picture black and white images when I think about war photography.

Wars today are so high tech and very seldom documented through photos.

Wildlife Photography

This is one of the styles of photography that take an immense amount of planning and execution.

You have to be a researcher first and then have the right gear and conditions to capture elusive animals.

There might be a little luck involved too...

Overwhelmed?

Don't be...

I'll discuss how to choose the right one below.

Before that I want to touch on editing styles that convert sales for you.

Now before you read any further, this is where I recommend that you hire an expert to do this.

Not because you can't, but because you shouldn't.

I'll explain why at the end.

7 Editing Styles that Convert Sales

Orange and Teal

This is an outdoor editing style. You will find this style used with Street Photography as well as outdoors where the sun is a factor.

It is also used in Candid Shoots.

Light & Airy

This style is found in wedding photography and I've seen it used with indoor real estate photography.

This style really gives the photo a fresh, bright feeling.

Pastel

The most common way this editing style can be found today is through beauty and travel bloggers.

This look gives pictures a soft and gentle shade.

Retro

This is more than just a sepia Instagram filter. LOL. This editing style gives your photography a nostalgic feel if it's done properly.

And that's just it. The right style pulls emotions out of the person looking at the picture.

Muted

A muted look can be thought of as a "washed out" look. Or a picture where the colors aren't as bold as they should be.

You'd use this if the image itself wasn't the entirety of the focus.

Maybe you're adding text to the image or have something else in the area of the photo that should have the attention.

Monochromatic

This style is when you take one color and make it the dominating color throughout the photo.

Like a black and white photo, but instead of black or white, the image is red and black or red and white.

This image converts well with certain ads, but as with everything, you'll want to test this out.

B&W

Ah, the classic black and white. This style is probably the one that can be over used, and under used at the same time.

A black and white photo can capture the most intimate of details, but at the same time tell a story so broad and sweeping that it's powerful.

High Contrast

Bright and bold and colorful. These pictures are sometimes described as "cinematic", but I don't like that description.

I think these are eye catching and beautiful and give us something our eyes can consume and connect with.

Which Editing Style Do I Need?

Ok, so now that I've completely overwhelmed you, let me help you make this an easy decision.

Sound good?

Let's use 3 easy criteria to pick the right editing style.

1. How does your target audience respond to your ads now?

2. What message are you communicating?

3. Are these pictures being used for a temporary campaign or long term branding effort?

These questions are tough questions, I know, but you have to be honest with these answers and get rid of the styles that don't line up with your intention.

Let’s quickly breakdown these three criteria….

How does your target audience respond to your ads now?

What I’m asking here is whether there is a definitive style that your market is responding to.

What’s interesting about advertising today is that you can test all of the different types of images until you find the winners.

When you get to that point, you’ll know exactly the style of photography that works for YOUR high converting ads.

What message are you communicating?

Drama.

Flair.

Excitement.

Luxury.

These are all different adjectives that might be used to describe the photos that work best for YOUR high converting ads.

Based on your message, you’ll want to choose the editing style that gives your message the right amplification.

Are these pictures being used for a temporary campaign or long term branding effort?

This question is more about being congruent with your advertising and marketing.

Depending on the usage of your photos, you might want to consider a uniform editing style or concept throughout.

Need help with this? Leave us a comment below and we'll see how we can help.

Take Care,

Mark Gubuan

P.S. Are you all caught up with the 7 Personal Branding Photography Pillars Your Competition Doesn't Want You To Know About training series? Click Here to Go to the Post

When I typed "photographers near me" into Google, I wasn't too pleased with the results because I noticed that the results shown were somewhat confusing. If you didn't tell Google specifically that you were looking for a wedding photographer, portrait photographer, boudoir photographer, family photographer or even a personal branding photograher, you got a very generic set of results.

So by writing this blog post, I'm hoping that I can help you discover the three most important criteria for finding a local photographer near you that fits your exact needs.

Criteria #1: Find a Photographer Near Me That Matches My Style

No matter what type of photography you're looking for, the most obvious thing to do is to search their portfolio to see if they already take the style of photography that you had in mind.

If they don't, I wouldn't write them off right away because photographers are skilled and often times, will only put portfolio items of things that they like on their website and not necessisarily what you like. A professional will be able to adapt and deliver, you just have to ask.

Criteria #2: Find a Photogapher Near Me Whose Personality I Like

Photogaphs tell the truth. If you feel uncomfortable, most likely this will shine through in your photograph. Choose a photographer that you mesh well with.

If your photographer offers a consultation of some kind, this is likely that they're getting a vibe for who you are too. If they care about their workproduct, they'll make sure that you're the right fit and you should too.

The last thing you want is to have an uncomfortable look and then ultimately to feel like you've wasted money.

Criteria #3: Find a Photographer Near Me Who I Can Afford

Photography shouldn't be cheap. But it should be affordable and full of value. If you want cheap, you can go to a big box retailer and get shots done there.

But if you're reading this, then you understand that finding the best photographer that money can be is a priority.

With the advent of the digital camera, professional photography is less of a priority for people today. This is a shame because most people are really bad at photography.

There are some people that have done basic tutorials and can wield a good phone shot but generally if you have something important that needs to get done, you should have an expert do it.

I say all of this to say, have a budget for what you want to spend. Budgeting for the right price all comes down to your immediate needs. Always check to see if there's a payment plan option. It's a great way to keep the costs down.

I hope that when you type in photographer near me into Google it gets a little bit easier for you.

Choose Bridgetown Pictures as your local professional photographer in the Portland Metro Area. We are now offering payment plans for qualifying serivces. We've been listening and want to help you. Call Us Today (503) 383-9159 and book your session.