| Picture
This!
I'm
a huge fan of digital photography. Images
in all formats are meaningful to me. I
love to take the shot, review it and, later,
play in Photoshop correcting my
own red eyes (that for decades had
me convinced that one of my parents must
have been descended from the original red-eyed
guy himself). Even with a minimal delay,
you can capture the moment and stay in the
moment at the same time. These images, like
all lasting images, take on important
meaning in our lives.
Candid shots are, as they should be, unexpected,
unplanned and, all too often, unappreciated
when revealing Granny talking with her mouth full or
Cousin Sarah looking as bored as can be while listening to Uncle Will, once again,
recant his heroic tales of WWII. Therefore, many of these snaps will be
saved in electronic form only, never to see the glossy side of a photopaper printout.
However,
should you genuinely wish to have a photo
of good enough quality to hang on a wall
or publish in your business materials,
it is well worth the few minutes or hours
you invest to design the resulting image of
your dreams. At the very least, it should
be an image that won't haunt you when you
look at it. At best, you will receive unsolicited
compliments and feel inspired to repeat
the process in the future.
Along
with the LS Image Associates team, I often
have the opportunity to style head shots,
video shoots or TV spots
for clients or for myself. It's never lost
on me that these images are going to be presented for
public viewing and scrutiny for an undefined
period into the future. So, here are a few
quick tips to help inspire your moment on
the screen, large or small as it may be.
--
Always look like yourself in a photo. The
comment you want to hear is “Wow, you look even better in person,” not, “Gee,
I didn't recognize you from your photo.”
-- Women and men should plan to use at least
a neutralizing face powder or a minimal amount
of make up to get a truly natural look. I
know it sounds contradictory. Nevertheless,
an easy application up front can save hours
of retouching fees.
-- The background should never be more interesting
than you are. If it is, take a picture of
it alone and let it be the star. Otherwise,
you are the star and there is no acceptable
competition in sight.
-- Your clothes, hair and accessories are
the supporting cast. Colors are great and
can be used effectively to show you to your
very best advantage. Keep your best colors
close to your face and your hair away from
your face. Minor adjustments can be made
electronically, however, entire style changes
after the fact will not work.
Whether they're candid or posed,
digital, video or film, take your best shot
everytime and leave your lasting image for
all to see with pride and pleasure. |
