When you have an experienced photographer like myself, I include magazine-quality photo retouching in your business headshot photoshoot. Tasteful retouching is detailed and it takes time. It also takes a good eye to know what to change, and HOW MUCH to change it - without overdoing it.
Here's a good example. This photo I retouched has multiple changes: (in no specific order)
• skin tone improved
• hairline lowered and more curved (less blocky)
• jaw line slenderized (more feminine)
• neck wrinkles reduced
• under eye bags reduces
• dark areas in hair brightened
• top of hair simplified/smoothed
Some of these changes you may have noticed, but usually you don't consciously register most of them. What your brain does see, however, is a more attractive person overall - someone you feel better about connecting with and doing business with. This is the key and this is the strategic value for smart businesspeople. Getting more business deals and opportunities is necessary for more profits.
Here's another example of Dallas headshot photo retouching done right. This one shows teeth, so teeth whitening has been included, tracing around each and every tooth. No automatic filters used as they are never precise enough or tasteful enough.
His main concern was thinning hair due to age. He wanted more volume to his hair. You can now spot how both the hair has more volume, and the hairline is lowered a bit. You see the revitalizing lessening of eye bags and around eye wrinkles (including crows feet). His suit jacket already has more straightening. Lastly, and this is important with middle-aged men, the slenderization done to his neck.
The other thing I do is apply the unfair psychological advantage to your photos. In this second example, it is in the background. The background color is desatuated to make it completely neutral. That is a plus becuae your photo will not clash with any website it appear on. Second, that neutral background color also helps your face/skin stand out in the headshot as warm. Third, by adding in some vignetting (darkening around the edges), it gives your face and head the appearance of a glow - so a subtle halo effect.
It is important to remember that this retouching is done on the foundation of a great photo to begin with - a headshot properly posed with professional lighting. There is a lot that goes into the raw photo being taken right, but that is a topic of its own. It is deceptively simple looking, like an ice skater looking so effortless doing their graceful movements, in reality it takes discipline, attention to detail, and training to achieve such effortless-seeming results. Likewise with my Dallas photography, I put all 25 years experience into your photo, but I have it down to a science and can light and pose quickly to be efficient with your timing.
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| I remove those flyaway hairs for a more crisp corporate image. |
I use three softwares in this process and it is tedious to get tasteful results.It is not as important to know the details of what I'm doing to your photo after I take your photo. What matters to you is that you are shown at your best for a strong, positive results. It is this optimal response that makes your professional headshot an investment in your own success!
The end result is more likeability and trust. You feel you are dealing with someone energetic, vibrant, and poised to serve your needs. That is the extra value packed into my headshots - a value that translates into an average of $10,000 more income. It is a subjective service that most people do wrong -- with cheesy or less than magazine-quality results. It takes a very trained eye to be very specific.
At my Dallas photography studio, most business headshot sessions are $295, with quantity discounts available. Call 877-858-0071 for specifics. www.HeadShotPros.com
