Category Archives: Event Photography

Make the Most of Your LinkedIn Headshot

We take hundreds of headshots each year so we know a bit about LinkedIn headshots. To help make sure you get the most out of your new LinkedIn headshot, we wanted to share these tips with you.

Linked-In Headshot Tips
  1.  Zoom In – Linked in isn’t an app focused on sharing quality visual media. Generally, it’s about networking. It doesn’t have the ability to view, inspect, and enlarge photos like some of the other social media apps. This means that your profile photo is TINY. Even if you do happen to click on someones profile photo, it doesn’t really enlarge that much. Make sure that you crop in as tight. We will give you multiple crops of your headshot including one for LinkedIn. Be sure to ask Kurt if you’re interested in this. You will make sure that people can see your face while they are scrolling.
  2. Keep it simple – There is a big difference between branding photos and a LinkedIn headshot.  Given that, in a branding photo, you may want to consider something with an interesting background or scene if your image is being featured in a magazine or on a website. Alternatively, your LinkedIn profile photo is a tiny little “hello” to show off your face and expression. It’s hard to get that across if your head is two pixels wide and you are surrounded by plants. Accordingly, stick to a solid, out of focus, or non-distracting background. Let your face be the focus of the shot and don’t forget to zoom in. 
  3. Try a pop of color – I can tell you after 15 years in the business, that the most popular background color for a headshot is WHITE. One reason is that companies like all their employees to have a matching background and white is universally offered. I will say that unless the photographer knows what he/she is doing, your white background may end up being a mess. As you know, there are thousands of shades of white. A professional will make sure the white is 100% true. We prefer a neutral gray, but know many of you request white, so we do it frequently. Since so many people use a white or light gray background, you can make your LinkedIn headshot stand out by wearing a pop of color. Catch the eye of people scrolling by your post with something extra by including a colorful blouse or tie in your next headshot session. You could purchase two poses during your headshot session which could include a more traditional color scheme and another with the pop of color.

Make sure that your headshot is impactful, recognizable, and stands out from the crowd if you are really looking to polish up that LinkedIn profile,

Need an Updated Headshot?

That being said, need to update your Linked Headshot or business headshot? Use this link to BOOK NOW!

All About Cotillion

You may have heard of cotillion but wondered what it entails. It came to America around 1772 and is alive and well today.

We photograph our local Cotillion spring balls each year. There are seven balls with approximately 130 participants at each ball over the course of two days. The balls are the culmination of a six week course where students are taught how to be respectful, polite members of their communities.  It’s about looking someone in the eye when you speak to them, holding the door for the person walking in behind you, and asking someone who’s standing alone at a party to dance.

The word cotillion was first used in 18th-century France and England to describe a dance choreographed for four couples at a ball. Today, cotillion is typically a season of etiquette classes for middle-school-aged children that ends with a final dinner dance where they get to show off what they’ve learned.

Most of the attendees are around twelve years old in our area. They learn the waltz, fox trot, cha cha and other ballroom dances. They also learn how to greet others with a handshake and a proper “hello.” Table etiquette is another subject covered in the course. Using good manners is a continuous theme throughout Cotillion.

The first rule of cotillion etiquette is to abide by the dress code of your local cotillion class. The dress code usually requires a dress and gloves for girls and jackets ties for boys each week. Boys must have their hair combed, shoes polished, and fingernails clipped. Chewing gum at cotillion is a cardinal sin.

Check out this link https://nljc.com/ to find out more about Cotillion in your area.

The formal pics below are a sample of those that were taken by Kurt Nelson, Innovative Images, during the recent Dallas area Cotillion Balls.