Huffington Magazine Issue 21 | Page 97

Exit LEJANDRA BORNOWSKI’S Facebook profile picture took weeks to make. In the photo, a radiant Bornowski appears knee-deep in a lake with billowing clouds of dry ice encircling her thighs. The picture has been retouched, and not a hair, freckle or eyelash are out of place. “When people who don’t know me see my profile picture, I want them to be intrigued,” says Bornowski, 24, a former business manager at a Portland, Oregon, matchmaking service who did not pay for the photoshoot, which was done by a photographer hoping to build up his portfolio. “There’s no way anyone else on Facebook has that picture. It’s a conversation starter.” Though Bornowski, like most social media users, has uploaded her fair share of “selfies”—blurry self-portraits snapped with an outstretched arm and a cellphone camera—her most recent Facebook profile photos have been the handiwork of professional photographers. This penchant for profile photos shot by pros puts her in good company: Some social media users are foregoing the vacation photos and party snapshots that have traditionally served as profile fodder in TECH HUFFINGTON 11.04.12 SHUTTERSTOCK A People don’t want to look desperate, like they’ve had photos professionally done. Even though they’re paying for the ph