Yesterday I got a text…

by Lindsay Schlick, Founder, Content Strategist & Producer

It was from a very good client and friend. Her boss needed a headshot, and she said something along the lines of, “I know you guys don’t really do those kinds of sessions anymore, but would you make an exception for him?”

I read it and immediately wrote back, “Hi, love. We absolutely do headshots. They’re still one of the biggest parts of our business, and I would absolutely love to create this for him. When would he like to come in?”

And then I had one of those little business-owner moments where I thought, Oh.

Apparently, somewhere between expanding our marketing strategy services, building content subscriptions, creating blogs and social media, producing video and becoming a fractional marketing team for our clients, we may have forgotten to remind everyone that we still take pictures. A lot of pictures.

And yes, we absolutely still do headshots. We love headshots. Professional portraits, lifestyle photography and personal branding are still very much at the heart of SchlickArt. They haven’t been replaced by everything else we do. If anything, everything else we’ve added has made us understand even more deeply how important those photographs are.

Because your image is part of your marketing. Before anyone reads your bio, watches your video, books a consultation or walks into your office, there’s a very good chance they’ve already looked at your face.

SchlickArt changed. Photography didn’t disappear.

We spent a lot of time this summer looking at our own business and asking some pretty big questions. What do we do now? Who do we serve? What have we become really good at? What do our clients need from us next?

SchlickArt has definitely evolved. Today, we help businesses with goal-based marketing strategy, fractional marketing support, content creation, photography, video and implementation. We can help you figure out what to say, what to create, when to share it and how all of those pieces connect back to where you want your business to go.

But photography is still one of those pieces. An incredibly important one.

Sometimes you don’t need a giant marketing roadmap. Sometimes you simply need a really beautiful photograph of yourself that makes you look at it and say, “Yep. That’s me.”

And we are very, very happy to create that for you.

A headshot is simple. Photographing someone well isn’t.

There are lots of different ways to create headshots, and different businesses need different experiences. Our experience has always been built around one idea: we want to actually see the person standing in front of us.

That means I’m looking at your lighting, your posture, your shoulders, your chin and your expression. I’m watching the way your smile changes when it becomes real instead of the smile you make because somebody just said, “Smile.” I’m paying attention to what happens when you relax and what makes you look approachable, confident, warm, experienced, authoritative or whatever combination of those things makes sense for you.

And I’m directing you the entire time.

I’ve said this for years: Being photogenic isn’t your job. It’s mine.

You do not need to walk into my studio knowing what to do with your face. You don’t need to know your “good side,” and you certainly don’t need to practice poses in your bathroom mirror the night before. You just need to show up. My job is to guide you.

I do all of this because a headshot only has value if you actually want to use it. The image gathering dust in your Downloads folder because you don’t really like the way you look isn’t doing much for your business.

I want you to look at your finished portrait and recognize yourself. Not some strange, awkwardly posed version of yourself. Not the person you were ten years ago.

You. On a really good day.

The other thing I’ve been thinking about lately… who were you the last time we photographed you? Really think about it.

Maybe your company was smaller. Maybe you were newer in your field or hadn’t built the team you have today. Maybe you were still working out exactly who your ideal clients were. Maybe your services were different.

Maybe you were different.

Because a lot can happen between headshots.

Maybe you stop trying quite so hard to prove yourself because somewhere along the way, you realize you actually know what you’re doing. You get clearer about what you’re really, really good at. And sometimes you arrive at this amazing point in your career where you finally feel like you’ve grown into the person you were trying to become five years ago.

That person photographs differently.

I see it all the time, and it’s honestly one of my favorite parts of photographing longtime clients again. I’m not interested in recreating the photograph we made the last time you came in. I want to photograph the person who walked through the door today.

That’s why we talk before we take pictures.

Even with a headshot session, I don’t want to start by immediately putting you in front of a camera. We talk first. It might be five minutes. It might be ten.

Tell me what’s happening. What are you working toward? Where are these photographs going to be used? Has your role changed? Has the business changed? Are you speaking more, leading a bigger team or trying to connect with a different kind of client?

Maybe you want this set of images to feel a little more authoritative than the last one. Maybe you want to feel more approachable, more contemporary or simply more like yourself.

That little conversation gives me the information I need to create something intentional. The right headshot for an attorney building trust with a prospective client might feel completely different from the right portrait for an executive stepping into a new leadership role.

The photograph should support the story you’re telling now, not the story you were telling three years ago.

September feels like a really good time to ask the question.

There’s something about this time of year. School is literally back in session. Vacations start winding down, calendars start filling up, networking picks up and business starts moving with a different kind of energy. That feeling of, Okay. Here we go.

We’ve got a few months left in the year. What are we going to do with them?

As you’re thinking about your fall marketing, your end-of-year goals and where you want your business to go next, I’d encourage you to look at the photographs you’re currently using. Look at your website, LinkedIn profile, team page, speaking bio, social media and even your email signature.

Does that person still feel like you? Does that team still look like your team? Does that imagery reflect where your company is now?

Your business may have changed more than you realize since the last time somebody pointed a professional camera at you. Maybe your marketing just needs a chance to catch up.

So, do we still do headshots?

Absolutely.

We also create lifestyle portraits, personal branding photography and team photography. And we still get genuinely excited about helping someone walk into our studio feeling a little unsure and walk out saying, “I love that one.”

Because there is something powerful about seeing yourself represented in a way that feels true to who you’ve become.

Maybe you need one beautiful new headshot. Maybe your whole team needs an update. Maybe your business has changed enough that it’s time for a full lifestyle photography session. Or maybe it has simply been a few years, and you’re curious to meet the version of yourself who would show up in front of my camera today.

Come show me who you are now.

We’d love to photograph you.

Kirsten Quinn

A lover of strong coffee and yellowed pages, Kirsten Quinn-Smith is a professional content writer and owner of WordSmith Content Marketing here in Santa Clarita. She believes great content can forge a loyal, authentic and beneficial relationship between you and your audience – and grow your business. With each piece of writing, Kirsten's goal is to position you in the content spotlight through audience-centered, strategy-based writing that actually sounds like you. Why? Everyone has a story, and every story deserves to be heard.

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