It’s that time of year,  I can see the light at the end of winter and I know my birthday is fast approaching in April.  I’m tossing clothes I didn’t wear all season, and getting ready to switch out my spring wardrobe from storage.  I’m also thinking about what to buy myself for my birthday,  I have my eye on this exquisite Catherine Malandrino dress in case you are curious or in the mood to buy me a present!  It’s also the time of the year I make sure  to book my annual doctor’s check up, dental cleaning and now that I’m over 40 a mammogram!  Not fun but necessary.   This year I added one more task to my list.

Spring Cleaning My Image

I tell clients and friends that “if you take your career seriously you need to update your professional portrait regularly”.  I encourage googling yourself and seeing what your professional image looks like from a stranger’s perspective.  To google is to care.  If I’m thinking about investing I will google you or your product for information.  In an effort to walk my talk I googled myself and while there were no embarrassing images there were also no real professional portraits of me!  I immediately called my good friend and amazing photographer Alex Kroke.  Would he do the honor of taking my first official head shots for my business?  He thankfully said yes (I was counting on that!) and since we share the same studio space we have a similar aesthetic.  I also trust him and love his work.  All essentials when booking your shoot.

Do I Take My Own Suggestions To Prepare For The Shoot?

Yes of course!!! I did pretty well following my own guidelines, as I posted a while back in “3 Tips for Getting The Most From Your Portrait Session“.  It was also a wonderful learning experience to be on the other side of the camera, I felt some pressure about looking good and also looking like myself.  I felt vulnerable as well which is important to remember when I’m back taking the pictures!  Here are my tips and how I followed them.

1. Dress the Part 

Stay away from contrasty patterns and bold stripes.  Focus on jewel tones (Ruby red, sapphire blue, emerald green, amethyst purple and turquoise blue) or light patterns that work well with your coloring. Hold the item under your chin and have a look in the mirror to check if it works for you. Make sure your wardrobe is free of stains and dry cleaned. Bring a variety of jewelry and don’t worry about shoes!

For this one I  bought a couple of new tops specifically with the shoot in mind and had one of my staple dresses dry cleaned.  I LOVE jewelry and brought a variety of my favorite pieces from Jamie Wolf, Shaya and POUND.

2. Have Your Hair and Make-up Done

Well I did this one halfway.  I had my hair blown out the night before at my local salon for $25, Marta at Hollywood Salon rocks and it’s 2 blocks from my house.  I like the way my hair looks after sleeping on it, not so “done”.  I touched up the blow out at the studio just before the shoot with my Hot Tools blower brush, an essential in my hair arsenal.

I did my own make-up because I like the way it looks in pictures when I do it.  I even did my own make up for my wedding after having a number of  trials done.

3. Get clear and collaborate with your photographer

I was very clear that I wanted a number of crisp and elegant portraits for my website and social media.  Since I share my studio with Alex and he’s been a close friend for over a decade he knows the ins and outs of my business.  This was all immensely helpful in collaborating with him .

The Results

My first look is an environment shot in my favorite color.

Alex also took a close up that I love.  I will use this one for my FB business page.

This is my “professional” look.  A cropped jacket with jeans and a tank top, I’ll be using this one on LinkedIn.

This is my dressier look, which I’ll use for speaking appearances.  It’s a wrap dress which makes me feel beautiful and together but comfortable and able to move.

As an afterthought I asked for a couple shots while I was back in my regular clothes.  This one is my FAVORITE and most likely how you’ll find me when you come for your shoot.  Tank top, jeans and bejeweled.

Interested in spring cleaning your own image?  Contact me in the comments or directly here.  I’d love to hear from you with any questions or curiosities!