{"id":11746,"date":"2013-04-02T01:32:26","date_gmt":"2013-04-02T05:32:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sweetbeadstudio.com\/?p=11746"},"modified":"2013-04-02T01:32:26","modified_gmt":"2013-04-02T05:32:26","slug":"3-reasons-why-you-may-need-a-professional-headshot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.sweetbeadstudio.com\/?p=11746","title":{"rendered":"3 Reasons Why You May Need a Professional Headshot"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recently I decided to go for it and had professional headshots taken. \u00a0What made me finally take the plunge, after so many years? \u00a0Maybe to help prepare for my upcoming book. \u00a0Maybe I was tired of scrambling around for a decent bio picture when needed. \u00a0Another good reason was the blog redesign I am planning, and my About Me page is in dire need of an update. \u00a0Everything I have been reading seems to support the need for professional headshots & I’d like to share my top 3 with you.<\/h3>\n

3 Reasons for a Professional Bio Photo<\/h2>\n

1. \u00a0Blog\/Website “About Me” page –<\/h3>\n

I read something the other week that really surprised me. \u00a0A website About Me page is one of the most visited<\/em> pages on your website\/blog. \u00a0 \u00a0This really makes sense when we stop to think about our natural desire to put a face to a name. \u00a0In order to connect, we want to know who<\/em> we are dealing with. \u00a0We are meeting one another virtually, so a recent picture is a great first step in building an online relationship.<\/h3>\n

2. \u00a0Publications<\/h3>\n

Many trade publications request a picture for your bio when your work is published. \u00a0If you plan to write a book, it goes without saying that there will be a need for your picture as well for future publicity. \u00a0Essentially your face is a part of your marketing package! \u00a0Rather than scrambling for a recent picture that looks decent, it is a such a relief to have a professional picture readily available.<\/h3>\n

3. \u00a0Branding<\/h3>\n

You are the heart of your business brand! \u00a0Your headshot represents your brand, especially if you are using social media networking as a business activity. The bio picture you share is one of the first things that is seen on FB, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google, blog comments, and many other locations. \u00a0What does it say about your brand?<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Your<\/address>\n
\u00a0<\/address>\n

I had a really great experience having my photos taken with an amazing photographer, Stephanie Dougher of Stephanie Dee Photography<\/a>. \u00a0Take a peek at Stephanie’s work, and you’ll see why I contacted her as soon as I decided to have headshots taken. \u00a0 As luck would have it, the day of my session turned out to be a bitter cold day (in between bouts of rain and snow!). \u00a0I soon forgot about the weather though, as Stephanie was so fun and engaging. \u00a0She put me at ease immediately; I didn’t feel incredibly self-conscious about having my picture taken. \u00a0Let me share a few of my favorites from our session (and you can see her sweet post with more photos here<\/a>).<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Cindy<\/p>\n

\"Cindy<\/p>\n

If you are in the Maryland\/DC\/Virginia area, you’ll want to get on Stephanie’s calendar to have your headshots taken too. \u00a0You can follow Stephanie on Twitter<\/a> or on Facebook<\/a> to see more beautiful photography. \u00a0A great big THANK YOU<\/em> to Stephanie – you rock! \ud83d\ude42<\/h3>\n

{Now, what to wear for your headshot? \u00a0Luckily I was able to change clothes during my shoot and<\/em> I changed my jewelry. \u00a0It’s all about the jewelry for us jewelry designers! \u00a0I chose pieces that have a special meaning to me and picked a few of my favorites. \u00a0In some of the shots, I wore a necklace that was featured in Diane Cook’s<\/a> “With One Finding” challenge that was featured in Belle Armoire Jewelry (the write up here<\/a>).}<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Necklace<\/p>\n

The second necklace I chose featured a pastel mix of enameled beads by Barbara Lewis<\/a> that I \u00a0mixed with vintage jewelry components. This necklace was featured in the Bead Soup book<\/a> (write up here<\/a>).<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Enameled<\/p>\n

Additional reading for you, if you’re like me and plan to update your About Me page in the near future:<\/h3>\n

How To Create an Effective and Engaging Bio Page<\/a><\/h3>\n

25 Reasons Why I’ll Leave Your Website in 10 Seconds<\/a><\/h3>\n

Remember, you<\/em> are what makes your site one-of-a-kind!<\/h3>\n

\"Be<\/p>\n

\u00a0– Cindy, xoxo<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recently I decided to go for it and had professional headshots taken. \u00a0What made me finally take the plunge, after so many years? \u00a0Maybe to help prepare for my upcoming book. \u00a0Maybe I was tired of scrambling around for a decent bio picture when needed. \u00a0Another good reason was the blog redesign I am planning, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,35],"tags":[63],"class_list":["post-11746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-jewelry-design","category-photography","tag-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sweetbeadstudio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sweetbeadstudio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sweetbeadstudio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sweetbeadstudio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sweetbeadstudio.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11746"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.sweetbeadstudio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11746\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sweetbeadstudio.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sweetbeadstudio.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sweetbeadstudio.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}