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!

“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

You are more than pretty pictures.

You are a vault of knowledge, life experience of stories. You are the heart of the business.

Pretty pictures will catch your target audience's attention. The STORY a photograph is telling will capture their interest and draw them into your world.

People are ready to fall in love with your story. Show them!

Brand photograph created for Winston-Salem small business owner, Rachel of Next Level Communications. | Winston-Salem on location brand photographer | Jasper & Fern

On location brand photography for Riverside Farm and Garden, a DIY Home Project and Farm store, located in Pfafftown, NC | Winston-Salem On Location Brand Photography | Jasper & Fern

On location brand photography for Riverside Farm and Garden, a DIY Home Project and Farm store, located in Pfafftown, NC | Winston-Salem On Location Brand Photography | Jasper & Fern

Walking into their store, I was swept back to my childhood days of tip-toeing behind my granddaddy as he sorted hay bales, searched among his many loyal tools to find just the right hook and stopped to riffle through a few of his antiques. The smell of the mulch outside drifted sweetly through each opened door, another happy customer searching for just the right loyal tool to add to their own collection. Friendly smiles met them, a familiarity in their eyes. Surrounded by shiny metal, garden seed, and an array of DIY home supplies, I felt oddly at home.

It was a gorgeous sunny day. My hiking boots were on and ready to summit mounds of mulch, scale truck sides and kneel me safely in a ditch. Camera at my side, the growling of the loader engine quickly found my finger on the shutter.

I was in HEAVEN at Riverside Farm and Garden Supply. My love for the outdoors and our branding services were getting to combine and I couldn't have been more thrilled - especially to be working with such kind, warm people!

I excitedly moved about, crouching and climbing to photograph all the scrumptious textures and perspectives of their supplies; setting up portraits on the loader and about the farm to showcase each individual's role and where they thrive at work.

It was an energizing morning!

On location brand photography for Riverside Farm and Garden, a DIY Home Project and Farm store, located in Pfafftown, NC | Winston-Salem On Location Brand Photography | Jasper & Fern