JACKLYN CAPT
Exit
tract new commissions.
Professional headshots have long
been a fixture on dating sites, where
an unattractive photo can tank a
person’s chances of finding love. Yet
their growing popularity on mainstream sites such as Facebook and
Twitter underscores the extent to
which avatar-to-avatar communication is supplementing face-toface interactions as the way people
meet, socialize and get hired.
“People used to hire you to take
pictures for their business cards.
Now, LinkedIn, Facebook and websites are their business cards,” says
Jason Tench, chief photographer
with Blue Mountain Photo Works
in Greenville, South Carolina.
Working with a professional photographer—who helps each client
pick a specific pose, background
and “look” that reflect her personality—allows an individual to better
craft her profile picture to convey a
certain identity, photographers say.
In many cases, clients are looking
for one money shot to use across a
number of platforms, and not exclusively on a social network. Barbara Barna Abel, a media coach,
hired Coleman to take a series of
headshots she’s used as her profile photos on Twitter, LinkedIn,
Google+, About.me, as well as
TECH
for other business purposes. She
worked with him to create an image
of herself as a “creative professional” who is “friendly and approachable.” Abel chose a photo that’s
realistic, but thanks to some slight
photo-editing, lighting genius and
a professional hair-and-makeup
job, “looks like me on a really, really
good day,” she says.
HUFFINGTON
11.04.12
Jacklyn Capt,
who holds
free Facebook
profile
headshot
sessions to
drum up new
business,
took this shot
of her sister,
Bekah Fields.