I am feeling so guilty!

My old headshot.

I’ve recently started utilizing LinkedIn to connect with more people. You know, build my network and such so I can meet more amazing small business owners and professionals like you! Now, as a professional headshot and small business photographer, one might think I am constantly up to date with my own branding photographs and headshots.

[Nervous laugh]

Vulnerable truth? I’m not.

I’ve had the same headshot on my LinkedIn profile for a few years now. I love that headshot. As much as I love it though, so much has happened professionally in the three years since I changed it.

I’ve moved to a new studio.
My brand voice has shifted slightly.
I wear different styles of professional clothes now.

On a personal note, I’ve changed physically too. I have a new scar on my forehead, more freckles, more weight, a filed tooth. I look more mature.

I’ve let my headshot stay because I like it so much. It feels fresh and happy and a bit wild. So, whenever it came to changing my headshot out, I easily told myself I could wait a little longer - wait until I lost a little weight, learned how to style the right side of my hair, found a shirt in my favorite shade of green that didn’t make me look chesty, felt more rested. I had all the reasons.

I’ve been in plenty of behind the scenes captures from my team and social media clips but those were all of me working. That extra action of having a task to do inside of the photograph served as a safety blanket. It’s been a long time since I’ve had photographs of me that are a true portrait - where the content of the photograph is the totality of who I am.

That kind of vulnerability is intimidating.

Well, I finally did a session for myself with a good friend - (because we’re working on something really, really awesome together and we needed photographs to share our collaboration!) ! I embraced myself as best I could, taking time to breathe, shake the nerves out of my arms, mentally encourage myself and let my walls down, I acknowledged that I wasn’t going to like every photograph of me but had the goal to be authentic. Because, so long as I was authentic, I would enjoy seeing Me and I know that the people I love most in life are the ones who see the person behind the body. So, if I could see Me, I knew others would see Me.

It was refreshing to treat myself this way but also incredibly nerve-wracking. My self confidence isn’t at a high point right now and I didn’t want to battle my inner critic. But I did it. I did it and I’m proud of myself for the inner work I had to do to show up fully me. In the end, there were some not-so-great images to cull out but, there were a surprising amount of photographs I did like!

This whole process of photographing myself made me all the more sensitive to how some people may feel when they have their photograph made. It truly hugs my heart that you trust me to photograph you - especially if you’re like me and don’t like having your photograph made.

Thank you. I am so grateful for your trust!

Who knew that updating my LinkedIn headshot would be such an important opportunity for growth?? Certainly not me. It was a rollercoaster of emotions - from guilt and hesitation to vulnerability and self-empowerment. I both hated it and loved it. I am glad to have experienced my own growth and heightened my sensitivity to the feelings of others who may share similar discomfort with being photographed. I am deeply grateful for the trust that others place in me as a photographer and appreciate the opportunity to capture the essence of those I work with.

The guilt is now lifted. My LinkedIn profile reflects the current me – a slightly less traditional version, but one that feels genuine and empowering. So, to everyone who, like me, might have been postponing updating their headshots, I encourage you to embrace your authenticity and take that step. It's worth it!

And if we haven't connected yet or you simply want to see what my fresh new LinkedIn profile looks like check it out! Make sure to send me a request while you’re there. I’d love to keep in touch with what you’re up to!

With a laugh and mischievous grin, Martha looked across the table at me “Do you know someone called me disarming?” Her smile grew. “I didn’t know what to think when they said that but they finally explained that they see me as someone who easily takes down [people’s] walls.” After knowing Martha for almost a year, I had to agree. She’s someone who you instantly relax around and want to share a sweet tea with, sitting in rocking chairs on a front porch staring at the humming birds that are frequenting the bushes along the railing. At the same time, however, Martha is as professional as professional gets. She cares deeply for the clients she serves through SpotOn, only wanting them to have the helpful tools at their disposal.

Not too long ago, Martha and I got together to plan out her headshot session. “I want two photographs - one that shows my serious side and another that reflects a not-so-serious Martha. I need to look professional but I like how I look when I laugh and smile.”

“I need to look professional but I like how I look when I laugh and smile.”

— Martha C.

To best serve her needs, I decided to take a few contemporary headshots without her SpotOn equipment that could focus on her friendly demeanor. Then, I wanted to incorporate her SpotOn equipment so she could have personalized photographs that matched the content she shares online, to use in her marketing materials and for a unique way to stand out in her Zoom conference calls.

Since delivering her final headshots, Martha has been using them any place she can. She even shared that she’s never gotten so many compliments on a photograph of herself. I was with her one day when she was sharing about her new headshots to some peers in our networking circles and she began to tear up as she expressed her gratitude for putting her insecurities to rest. “The photographs are wonderful and I'm happy to have them, especially since I've been using the same single photo across the board for way too long.” 

It’s always a special opportunity to help boost someone’s confidence and give them an extra mental edge when they market their work using one of their new headshots. It’s even sweeter when we get to work with people we know and get to see the continuing results!

“There’s a magnetism in an authentic moment, when we get to witness a person’s soul. ”

— Alyson

Who you are is important to me. Your personality. Your uniquenesses. Your sensitivities. There are countless details that make you, YOU. I want to help you bring those traits out to create portraits people connect to because they see who you are.

Have you ever looked at a picture of someone and said, "They look like someone I could be friends with?"

I have. Plenty of times.

There's a magnetism in an authentic moment, when we get to witness a person's soul.

That authenticity happens in a split second. Quite literally, a split second. There have been times where I've taken two photographs back to back - one right at the climax of the moment and the other right before or right after.

It never fails that the photograph where the timing is a split second off, you can see the minute details that don't fullfill the expression of that person's emotion.

I always seek out that spark, that single moment when every bit of you shines through. I love to see you be Seen, in every tiny detail.

Behind the scenes of two sequential headshots - only one second apart - from Lynn’s corporate headshot session. | Winston-Salem Headshot and Brand Photographer | Jasper & Fern

I don't often share that my first "real job" out of college was at a big box photography studio. Mostly, because I don't feel good about the work I did there. I was a cog in a machine that treated customers like numbers. It was a "sit here, look here" * snap * formula the generated photographs, not portraits - and it still pains me to think of some of those experiences.

People are SO much more than what the camera sees! (It's just a machine, afterall.)

It's about connection and communication. It's about what the subject wants to see in themselves. It's what they want people to know about them. It's about an authentic moment that reveals the beauty of who that person is.

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Photographs become portraits when you can SEE the INNER PERSON.

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My favorite moments are through genuine connection, knowing that someone can look at the portrait - be it a headshot, brand photograph or conceptual portrait - and see part of themselves.