Professional headshots are something that you can use even if you are not an actor or an actress. Today, there are many websites where you are allowed to post a profile picture. These sites are usually dating sites or social networking sites or forums but most sites allow you to post a picture. Many times people upload low quality or silly pictures of themselves online. However, you can be taken seriously on a site such as LinkedIn if you use your professional headshot as your profile picture. This can lead to obtaining more business connections and job opportunities.
Why do I say this? Well, you have to think about the quality of the picture. Do you think that a picture of you taken while you were drunk with your friends at a karaoke party where your head is cropped out in Photoshop is better than a professionally taken one where you may have paid $200 for it? You can be almost 100% certain that professionally taken headshot is going to be the picture that looks better.
You may even want to tell the people working at the DMV to put that picture on your driver's license! That was supposed to be a joke but now that I think about it, it might be a good idea.
There are multiple concerns that you should think of when considering getting a professional headshot. How much should you pay for your headshot? What is the correct number of headshots that you need to obtain? Should you get color, black and white or both? Personally, I would go with both. Should you hire an individual from a classified ads website such as Craigslist? Should you go with a company that specializes in headshots like ones that you would find in New York City, Los Angeles, Las Vegas or Miami? I would avoid places that are really expensive such as that place in the mall that charges thousands of dollars for pictures that could be taken with a digital camera for free.
You need to do some research to answer the questions above that I did not give an answer to but it is important that you take action. Before buying a headshot, explore a variety of options by reading reviews on the internet and asking your friends. I'm sure you have a friend that is or was involved in acting and has gotten a headshot taken before. You can check the community bulletin board at local colleges that have acting programs. There are often flyers and posters scattered around large cities offering deals on headshots.
A headshot is something that is going to be valuable for models, those in the entertainment industry, online date seekers, job seekers and more. You should dress to impress when going for your headshot, but remember that usually you will get an 8x10 headshot with you facing forward, expressionless and you will not be able to see much of your clothing.
You want your headshot to be as high quality as possible. Never use a disposable camera to take your headshot. Digital cameras are a good choose but make sure it is at least 5 megapixels. That means that you shouldn't use a camera phone either! I know smartphones are getting better cameras built-in, but please use a real camera for now!
As a final tip, ask if the person taking your headshot has professional experience in computer graphics / digital image editing. If they have extensive experience with some of the Adobe Creative Suite area of products such as Adobe Photoshop, then this may be the best person to take your headshot. Red eye removal and color correction are some of the tools that can be applied by using photo editing programs.
I hope that you have learned about the importance of professional headshots and how to go about finding the best place to get one.
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