A Selfie Wont Cut It! Why you need a professional photographer

A SELFIE WONT CUT IT

WHY YOU NEED A

Professional

Written by Rebecca Dunstall

I took my own head shots & here’s why you shouldn’t do what I did.

I’m a photographer, so I should have lots of personal branding photos right? I don’t!

I hate being in front of the camera and the idea of having photos taken of myself is second to walking down the main street of Toowoomba naked! But I needed a high-quality photo of myself as soon as possible, so I decided to simply take my own.

Well, technically my 13-year-old daughter took my headshot. Over the course of 4 different after-school photo sessions. Out of those sessions, I ended up with one photo I sort of liked out of the more than 100 photos we took.

My 13-year-old daughter knows how to take an awesome Snapchat selfie, but she doesn’t know how to encourage natural connection with a subject standing in front of her feeling beyond awkward and silly. She doesn’t know how to tilt me this way or that to get my most flattering angle. She hasn’t chatted to me about my business or how I want to present myself. She just knows how to point a camera at me and press a button. She’s no different to your daughter, son, husband, sister or best friend.

We’ve all had that thought, right? The thinking that I can take my own headshots, it’s just one photo. Or, Aunty Jane took a great photo of me at my cousins' wedding last week, while I was all dressed up with my make-up done. I’ll just use that. And you absolutely can. No one is stopping you.

BUT, should you? Well, the simple answer is no. Here are my 3 reasons why you should hire a professional photographer to take your branding photos.

14

12 3

W E H A V E P R O F E S S I O N A L P H O T O G R A P H Y G E A R !

P O T E N T I A L C L I E N T S A R E D R A W N T O H I G H E R Q U A L I T Y P H O T O S .

Y O U A R E Y O U R B R A N D !

This one seems pretty obvious, right? But it is very relevant.

As great as your Smartphone camera is, it’s not going to produce a photo that can be used in every media form you may need your photos for. The quality just isn’t good enough.

We also have the skills honed over years of practice and countless hours of learning how to use that gear, so we can produce the absolute best photos for you and your business. Professional photos look, well - professional! They will make you stand out.

Imagine a potential client is looking for someone that offers the services you do. There’s you and one other business in your local area that offers the same service.

You have phone photos with poor lighting, messy backgrounds and dodgy phone filters splashed all over your website or socials.

The other business has professional photos of themselves in their ‘about me’ section and on their social feeds and they have professional branding photos showing off the product they offer.

Which business is going to attract a higher quality client? (That’s a rhetorical question by the way!) Of course, it’s a professionally presented business.

Brand recognition and awareness is SO important, now more so then ever. With thousands of choices and options right at our fingertips, standing out is everything. How we connect with our clients is how we become recognisable.

Consistent branding isn’t just a pretty website and an awesome logo. It’s our faces and how we present ourselves. Humans are visual beings, so humans connect with humans, not logos. You are the face of your brand, present that face professionally.

Help your clients relate to you! Invest in your business with professional personal branding photos.

ch<a3jhchwRna bLajU@RN3h,L3ahCc. Cj×chNRjh<RCN<hjRhUaR0n,3 "

hU@RjRhj@jh,Nh$3hnc30 CNh3q3awhL30Ch8RaLhwRn N330Y

Because it gives them authority within their field. It makes that business appear more successful. Which creates trust with potential clients. That business is going to look after us, as they have looked after others, helping them become sought after and successful.

Professional photographs make us stand out. And that creates recognition for our brand. Which brings me to reason number three.

If you want to chat about having your own personal branding photos done contact me for a chat.

Now, please excuse me, while I go book in my own personal branding session with a professional photographer, so I can stop using that one photo I really don’t love

Contact me www.lovethemwild.photography