So it's Day 295 in lockdown!!! ?
Just kidding - I think we are in our 8th week of lockdown! But with homeschooling and having the kids around 24/7 - it has felt like much, much, much longer!
As a portrait photographer in Milton Keynes, one of the services I offer is Headshot / Personal branding photography. I help small business owners create modern and authentic marketing images to help them connect with their ideal client and grow their business.
While I haven't been able to work in the studio, I always want to be able to add value where possible. So after a particularly helpful brainstorming session, I came up with my very first "Headshot Challenge" aka how to take the perfect headshot with your smartphone.
The one piece of advice that has been given consistently to business owners is to work on your online content during this period. Write all those helpful blogs, queue up your Instagram and Facebook posts, create that content for LinkedIn etc.
Having a great headshot is an important part of any business owner's online brand. While I would always recommend you have at least one professional headshot photoshoot - there are lots of instances where it would help to be able to take a great picture on your own. too.
In the "Headshot Challenge", I teamed up with a series of image and beauty experts for a 5 day challenge where we shared our top tips and tricks on taking a great headshot that helps you stand out from the crowd.
People joined for all sorts of reasons - some people felt uncomfortable in front of the camera, others hated the way their final shots looked, others really struggled with getting the angles and lighting rights with their selfies.
We had a different expert share their top tips every day and at the end of the challenge, the participants created their own headshots using everything they had learned!
At the end of the day, I'm very proud that a lot of our participants were able to walk away with some great tips for planning their DIY and professional headshots going forward. Here's some of the great feedback we received during the week from the participants.
A very big thank you to our experts who made this possible. I have shared the direct link to all their videos as well as their websites below if you would like to catch up on the challenge. To watch all 5 videos in the series, you can also visit the Wani Olatunde Photography YouTube Channel. Feel free to share with anyone you think may benefit from the free videos too.
Headshot Challenge Expert Panel (in order of appearance):
Jane Sumner, Image Consultant
Video Topic: Top 5 Styling Tips for Getting Camera Ready
Website: https://imagemattersuk.com
Nicolette Smith, Makeup artist & Senior Beauty Consultant with Mary Kay
Video Topic: Picture Perfect - My Top Beauty Tips
Website: https://www.thebeautycoach.co.uk
Hannah Klewpatinond, Hair stylist & Salon owner
Video Topic: Top Tips for Headshot Ready Hair
Website: https://www.hkhair.co.uk
Michelle Theuma, Onyx Recruitment
Video Topic: Creating a Headshot with Impact
Website: https://www.onyxrecruitment.co.uk
Wani Olatunde, Portrait Photographer
Video Topic: My 3 Top Posing Tips For Rocking Your Headshot
Website: https://waniolatundeportraits.com
I'll end with one of my favourite pieces of feedback where one of our participants shared that the Headshot Challenge gave her the confidence and skills she needed to create her perfect headshot! Couldn't ask for much more than that!!! #winning ??????
If you have a professional shoot planned later this year, you may want to check out my previous blog post on preparing for your professional shoot too. ?
