The ￡1,000 Headshot
Carl Pendle
Headshot and Portrait photographer based in Sussex. A professional portrait can make all the difference to your profile page. Get in touch at lookinggoodheadshots.uk
Would you pay ￡1,000 for your headshot? I very much doubt it but I came across an article about this well known headshot photographer in America, Peter Hurley, who charges $1,500 for a headshot session plus $300 for each image his client keeps. So actually well over ￡1,000 for a headshot at today's dollar to pound conversion rate.
WOULD YOU PAY ￡1,000 FOR A HEADSHOT?
I thought about that price for a moment and wondered who was paying that price for a headshot and wondered if people would pay that for an image that got them noticed, made others stop and look more at their profile or even landed them their dream job.
We live in an image dominated age where people are constantly moving jobs and want to create that ever so important first impression. Would that be worth a ￡1,000? Maybe to somebody.
Now anyone can take a headshot photo. It might not be great but now this new wave of headshot photographers offer facial-expression coaching and Peter Hurley has become famous with his go-to move - 'The Squinch' which is hard to describe but think the Clint Eastwood stare in 'The Good the Bad and the Ugly' and you won't be far off.
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If you're paying that sort of money for a headshot you'd want something different from everybody else's. It better make you look interesting and certainly employable especially on somewhere like LinkedIn.
Research does seem to back up the theory. Recently LinkedIn published facts about whose profile gets more impressions that others and they concluded that bios with headshots get 21 times more views than those without and users get nine times more connection requests when they include a picture of themselves so it is going to help if that headshot looks good. I don't think we're talking profile photos of people on holiday holding a glass of wine.
PROFILES WITH HEADSHOTS GET 21 TIMES MORE VIEWS THAN THOSE WITHOUT AND NINE TIME MORE CONNECTION REQUESTS
It's true that the majority of active people on LinkedIn have some sort of profile picture. 90% of them aren't the best but at least they have one. Would they pay ￡1,000 to upgrade their headshot? Probably not but there are clearly some people that do.
Let me know if I can help with your next headshot. www.lookinggoodheadshots.uk