Darlings,
It’s such a good idea to have a professional quality headshot of yourself for those times you’ll be appearing in a brochure, catalog or flier. Do get someone to take one for you and keep it on hand, and better out-of-date than to have nothing appropriate at all.
Give some thought to how you want to look in that photo. Do you want to be in natural lighting or inside in the church? Do you want to be wearing vestments, a suit, or something more casual? What image do you want to project? It’s a great idea to have a few options so you can pick and choose.
PeaceBang herself has a decent photo taken in the church in 3/07 by the producer of “Nightline” (on nothing more fancy than PB’s digital camera) and a “personality” headshot suitable for theatre lobbies, but nothing formal. She is reminding herself that she needs to do something about this.
That said, PeaceBang has just run into two ministerial headshots that caused her to gasp in dismay. In one, a middle-aged woman is hunched down in the frame smiling tentatively, her hair laying (lying? grammar geeks, do tell) in lank pools around her shoulders. She appears to have no neck whatsoever. Her head is at an awkward angle and her skin is a very angry shade of pink; a case not of Rouge Abuse but of a naturally ruddy complexion. It is a terrible, sloppy photograph that never should have been used for any professional use, and which badly undermines this person’s efforts to promote herself as a leader. Don’t let this happen to you, sugarplum fairies!
The second consternation-causing photograph I found online tonight features a middle-aged male pastor looking dead-on into the camera lens and leaning forward with a smiling expression of such insecure need it’s as though he’s going to JUMP THROUGH THE LENS AND MAKE YOU LOVE HIM!! He is wearing a stole over street clothes (why, I have no idea — I wasn’t aware that sitting for an informal snapshot was a pastoral function). Does this photograph make me want to visit this minister’s church? Quite the opposite. In fact, it makes me want to RUN AWAY from fear, for the look in this man’s eyes and his posture give me the distinct feeling that he has serious boundary issues, and that’s no laughing matter.
Some tips for informal photos to be used for promotional materials:
1. Sit up straight!!! and find a good, relaxed angle.
2. Practice your smile. Some people grimace and look pained when they pose for photos, some smile with their tongue between their teeth. There’s no shame in finding a nice smile.
3. If photographing in color, take some test shots to see that your skin tone and make-up look right.
3. Take a lot of photos: this image is IMPORTANT! Do not feign modesty and walk away after the first snap. You are responsible for your public image — take the time and effort to get something good. If you use digital it’s no trouble at all to take two dozen photos in different poses and facial expressions, download them and choose the best.
4. For God’s sake, fix your hair!
5. Gents, if you’re being photographed in a suit in a seated position, pull the jacket down and smooth it so the shoulders aren’t bunched up.
6. Ask someone with good aesthetic sense to be your stylist for the occasion. They can keep a critical eye on bad hair, wrinkled or bunched clothing and give you someone to smile AT, which makes your expression ever so much more genuine.
Go be beautiful!
“Lying.” (You knew I was going to answer this one ;-).)
And thanks for the post!
Greetings, PeaceBang! Thanks for your sense of humor in the context of the “I don’t want to look like I care” attitude of many clergy – it’s a mission that you also approach with a strong commitment to pastoral care . As a new pastor, reading your blogs often makes me laugh at the end of a day of trying to figure out what clergy work and identity is all about.
With regards to this entry about headshots. I just wanted to pass along a good hint. I needed a headshot for denominational requirements and ended up at a Target with a portrait studio. I said I needed a professional headshot, not a casual portrait, and they did a very good job. And just as important – it was less than $10 for an 8×10 page with four photos on it! It was professionally lit, etc. and cost me less than a package of photo paper (plus trying to hunt down someone with a digital camera). The downside? It can take 2 weeks to get it back. Also, they do try to sell you a bigger package, but a simple no was effective.
Wishing you (and all people) peace in this Advent season of preparation. [Hey, great tip! Thanks! – PB]
To lay is to place; to lie is to recline. (Mnemonic device — the vowel sound is the same in the paired words [lay/place and [lie/recline].)
I design brochures, webpages, ads, etc.
In Janet’s post above, it was unclear whether Janet had prints only from Target, or whether she had a digital file of the image to go with them.
When you get your headshot, get a high resolution digital file along with the prints.
I can offer a word of witness regarding the untold hideousness of the Headshot Grimace. About three months ago, I was asked by the folks at the quite exclusive DMV for a headshot. Sadly, I lacked PeaceBang’s good sense for matters such as these and offered them in the end a version of the Grimace of Death, even though I thought I was smiling. Please, don’t let this tragedy happen also to you!
Thanks for this post. I need to have more head shots made. The last were over 10 years ago. Not better outdated in this case — the old ones would be absolutely fraudulent! I have someone I know who could do this. And the neckless wonder you saw is probably me! Don’t tell!