So you want to take the perfect headshot? Well, here’s to you! Making the decision to put yourself out there with a professional headshot is a bold and confident step. It’s also one that will help you to establish your credibility, attract exciting opportunities and build new relationships. Yes, the right headshot can transform your personal brand. But before you go into the studio, here’s eight questions you should ask yourself (and good answers, too) to help you get the confident, approachable and assured image you’re searching for.

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If you’re even remotely concerned about your physical appearance or your health (let’s be honest, most of us are) then looking after your skin is vital. Improving your skin’s health makes it more capable of fighting the signs of ageing; it heals much faster and deters disease or infection better than unhealthy skin does. It is affected by a whole host of variables but today we will focus on a simple step to fantastic skin – which drinks are best to develop and sustain glowing, youthful and radiant look?

WATER – Drinking up to 8 glasses of water a day will help rid the body and skin of toxins. Considering how much of our body is made up of water (around 70%), the benefits of drinking enough water cannot be understated.

BONE BROTH – Don’t be deterred by the off-putting name, bone broth has plenty of vitamins and minerals from the broken down bones which are said to have powerful healing properties. It contains masses of collagen, magnesium and calcium, which are all vital ingredients for that glowing body you’ve been searching for.

POMEGRANATE JUICE – Pomegranate juice has powerful antioxidant properties, aids cellular regeneration and has fantastic anti-aging properties. Not only this, it can also prevent damage caused by free radicals.

GREEN TEA – Green tea has a whole host of benefits. It has anti-aging and antioxidant benefits that can help delay signs of ageing skin such as wrinkles, sagging and sunspots. It can help clear acne, reduce puffiness and improve overall skin complexion.

GREEN JUICE – Probably one of the healthiest and revitalising drinks on the list, stocked to the brim with essential vitamins and minerals needed for glowing skin! Green juice can come in a variety of forms and you can blend veg (along with fruits) to your liking. There are masses of different recipes online so it’s simple to get involved!

BLACK TEA – Perfect for oily skin types! Black tea contains tannic acid which has astringent and antiperspirant properties, great for those whose skin becomes oily due to sweating! Don’t sweat it and give the black tea a try to clear up that shine!

ALOE VERA JUICE – Used since ancient times and nicknamed the “plant of immortality” by the Egyptians, aloe vera juice fights against them all! It is the perfect treatment for sunburn, scar reduction, acne and aging. In fact, aloe vera juice goes beyond skin care and can work wonders for your body!

CARROT JUICE – If you don’t want to spend masses on skin care products, give carrot juice a try! It has been known to hydrate your skin, reduce redness, provide an even tone and even reduce scarring! All you need to do is pick up some carrots from your local!

OOLONG TEA – This ancient tea is also known as wu liang, after the Chinese tea leaf harvester who shared the same name many centuries ago. Similarly to green tea, this tea is known to improve your skin’s youthfulness! It’s been proven to improve colour, diminish dark spots and wrinkles, improve skin tone and can also be used as an effective sunscreen!

RED WINE – For the drinkers out there, this one will come as a relief! Besides the surprising benefit that a glass or two of red wine can improve your heart’s health red wine’s antioxidants can help battle against acne and other painful skin conditions. That’s not to advocate drowning yourself in red wine (unfortunately)!

Six tips for camera shy ladies – click here 

Top tips for camera shy men – click here

We live in a world where we always feel that we have forgotten something because we live such busy lives. Our work and personal lives are now so fast-paced that we don’t even find time to sit still and take a breather before heading into meetings. If you are anything like me, you only get time to think about the next steps in your day when you’re driving from one meeting to the next. With frequent performance reviews and fast paced online meetings, the mind is naturally under constant pressure to perform to the best of its ability.

Here are 3 simple techniques for entrepreneurs and business professionals that you should use before heading into a meeting or before you get home. These techniques won’t just help relax your mind and enhance your overall health and well-being but will improve the transparency of your positive attitude in front of the camera.

1) Tunes: Something we all love to hear is music. Music can be the best medicine to cure a stressful mind. Your own feel good songs are a great way of soothing your senses and will have a positive impact on your emotions. Listen to your favourite songs whilst in the shower or on your way to work and you will begin to feel relaxed.

2) Tidiness: The environment we are surrounded by, both at home and at work, has an impact on our minds. To keep yourself relaxed, it is essential to building a positive and calm environment. A messy home and work environment can often cloud your mind. Clean the mess and free your mind, I assure you it will have a positive effect on your life and your professional photo shoot (if you have one coming up).

3) Tranquillity: A technique that is often associated with relaxation is yoga. Yoga is a popular activity to de-clutter the mind, but in reality, we don’t all have the time to roll out our yoga mats on the tube. We do however have time for a little meditation and it doesn’t have to be anything too time-consuming. I take 100 breaths, I count them and I try not to think about anything else. This is a technique that works really well for me and yes, it’s only counting. This gives my brain something to do whilst my body has a rest. After 100 breaths I forget that I’m counting and my whole body feels at peace and ready to embrace the next part of my day.

To find out more about other ways to improve your work home lifestyle please read our blog Your Face Says it All.

Just had an awkward moment sat in Costa. Have you ever had a thought running through your head then accidentally spurted it out loud? Yeah.. That just happened.

Sat here alone and I’ve basically just yelled: “OH, this is such an important tip!” Heads turn either from bewilderment or amusement I can’t tell but I sit here writing this blog anyway for you albeit a bit red-faced.

Anyway, one of the important things you can do with your branding is to SHOW YOUR FACE!

Sounds scary, I know right? But we do it every day. Why shouldn’t we do it online?

Last week I was talking to one of my old friends from high school who has set up her own company. The company is still in the early stages and she was telling me how she wasn’t quite seeing growth as quickly as she’d like.. With that said, we entered the web address and had a look at her company’s website and social media. Then it hit me…I see this mistake made again and again and again.

“When people go on your website they are buying your product to meet their needs (DUH!) but they are also investing in YOU! They believe in you and they want to see you can offer them! What I can see just by quickly taking a look at your online presence is that there isn’t very much of you in there at all. So when I visited your website, your face wasn’t shown, the only place I could find it was in a tiny box at the bottom of the screen. Show your face, let them know who you are and let your personality shine through on centre-stage. It’s literally one of the most vital ways to connect with your audience and sell your product.. Go get ’em!”

Because here is the thing. As a business owner, you are a personal brand and that is an awesome thing. You have the power to market yourself and more people will buy the product because they like you and they believe in you. It provides the perfect advantage over all the faceless brands out there that people have trouble connecting with and trusting, particularly in the early stages when your brand hasn’t got much recognition yet.

So that’s all good and well but what are some ways you can show off your face and connect better with your existing and potential customers?

There are two very simple steps.

1. Get professional photos done. Yep, get ready… And let’s make them better than the embarrassing photo in your high school yearbook. Photographers at The Headshot Guy will capture your personality (whether you are super fun and outgoing or serious and no-nonsense) and know how to use the camera perfectly to make your best features shine! Advanced tip: have a few different outfits, get different angles and also get some photos of you pointing into space which can be super helpful later when you’re advertising on your website.
2. Your photo needs to be on EVERYTHING. And we mean EVERYTHING. That means when they click on your website and see you, they’ll remember you. When they look at their business cards laying around their house, they’ll remember you. When they’re in bed at nigh… Well maybe that’s not what we’re aiming for but you get the picture.

Just remember there is only one of you so let people see and remember your face.

Have a fantastic day from everyone at The Headshot Guy.

You’ve made the right choice, took the plunge and booked your big day to have a professional headshot. Congratulations! Your professional headshot can provide you with a whole host of benefits! With that said, there is still plenty of things you can do to make the most out of your photo shoot to ensure you are sparklingly radiant on the day!

Here’s some simple prep you can do for the weeks prior to your shoot that will make you look and feel healthier, clearer and revitalised.

DRINK LOTS OF WATER! – Drinking lots of water each day will help rid the body and skin of toxins, providing you with a clearer complexion. This isn’t to say that you should only drink water because it can often lead to unhealthy spikes in blood sugar levels but it is important that you make sure you still hydrate with water regularly and try to keep tabs on the soda!

CUT BACK ON THE SODIUM! – As many as 9 out of 10 of us are eating too much salt! Apart from the fact that eating too much salt can raise your blood pressure, it also leads to bloating and puffiness due to the extra water being held in your body. Reducing sodium is a great tip to reduce puffiness in the face and particularly around the eyes. If you want to look awake and like you haven’t just rolled out of bed consider cutting back on the sodium!

WATCH YOUR NUTRITION – Eating plenty of fruit and vegetables rich in antioxidants is good for your body and your skin! The consumption of certain vitamins, minerals, and other beneficial compounds in the diet is one of the most effective ways to treat skin conditions and improve the look and feel of one’s skin. An easy tip is to try and get as much variety in colour as possible in your diet!

BUILD YOUR SKIN CARE ROUTINE! – There’s lots of information you can find online how to build your skin care routine dependent on whether your skin type is oily, dry, etc. The most basic and useful things you can do is to remember to wash your face no more than twice a day with a gentle cleanser, exfoliate once or twice a week and regularly use moisturiser to keep your skin hydrated and vitalized!

GET IN THE ZONE! – “A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts it will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely”, Roald Dahl. By doing things to improve your mental health and positivity, your thoughts will begin to radiate onto your face. One of the best things you can do to be positive is to spend 10 minutes a day doing meditation or yoga. Meditation and yoga not only balances your mind but your body too! If you’re new to meditation or yoga there are plenty of videos on YouTube aimed at beginners that you can use to begin today!

DO FACIAL EXERCISES! – Your facial muscles play a key role in shaping your face. By doing simple facial exercises you can help tone and tighten your facial muscles, which helps support your skin and prevent sagging. Not only this, but facial exercises help improve the blood flow throughout your face which can actually help counteract wrinkles! Cosmetic surgery isn’t always the answer! Look for some facial exercises online that can help improve crow’s feet, drooping eyelids or even cheek lines and sagging skin!

#helpingmyboss

We’ve all got to start somewhere and it can be hard work working from the bottom up but it’s got to be done. Just think, one day you could be the one at the top of the tower block planning your next big business move while your business orchestrates itself like a finely tuned machine. It doesn’t happen overnight though, you’ve got to work at it and you have to work hard. There are simple tricks that you can do though to speed up the process and take the load off your shoulders.

So you’ve landed that job you’ve been after for a while now and you’ve been working your socks off. You know you’re ready for more responsibility (and more pay) but does your boss think the same? Here’s 5 ways to prove to your boss that you’re ready for that big promotion.

1. Forward thinking, come with ideas – Don’t just manage your standard work routine, get it done and go home. Demonstrate to your boss that you care about the business, be innovative, be creative, propose fresh ideas and can keep the business at the forefront above its competitors. It shows that you don’t just care about your paycheck but you also care about the business (which is a very good thing to share with your boss). This is what gets you recognized.
2. Make your manager’s life easier –Your boss knows what’s best for the business and they need time to make big decisions to lead the whole company in the direction it needs to go. Do things without being asked, think one step ahead, give your boss more free time to focus on other areas that need improving because they know full well you are capable of working independently. Make your boss’s job easier and allow them to develop trust in you.
3. Work well with colleagues – Do you know a person who is clearly fantastic at doing their job but they have never been promoted because they just don’t get on well with other people? Ultimately, more responsibility normally means managing others and their workload. No matter how good you are at your job, colleagues need to trust you and care about helping you for the benefit of the business. If your peers trust and respect you then you’re one step closer to that promotion.
4. Look the part – It’s unlikely you’re going to get a promotion when you can’t even remember to iron your shirt. The way to make your bosses decision even easier when deciding to give you a promotion is to look the part. Look as if you can already visualize yourself in that role. Slick and professional. Not only in the physical realm, but online too. Use a professional headshot. Do your social media checks. It makes it a lot easier for other people to consider you when you’ve considered yourself first.
5. Make them aware you want a promotion – After all, you can work as hard as you like, your boss may be a great manager but they aren’t always mind readers and how are they supposed to know if you don’t tell them? It’s never an easy decision for managers to dish out more money but if you’re demonstrating you’re worth it by following the tips above, you’ll make their decision a whole lot easier.

Look the part online and tick off one of the steps for your promotion. Book your professional headshot with The Headshot Guy at your local studio. Or find out more about why you need a professional headshot here.

#helpingmyboss

LinkedIn is the social media powerhouse of the business world. It is the go-to platform for your business to gain exposure and with its enormous reach, it is the place you need to be sharing interesting content, highlighting your events or products, engaging followers and cementing your place as experts in your industry. Company credibility can be made here as quickly as it can be shattered.

Here are 5 things your boss should know and if they don’t – here’s 5 ways to impress them.

1. Links – Employee LinkedIn profiles should be linked to the company’s LinkedIn profile and vice versa. Why? Exposure, exposure, exposure. The more links you have between a variety of profiles the greater the opportunity is for people to find the business. Before you insert the links make sure your boss checks all employee Linked In Profiles to make sure they’re professional!
2. Employee Personal Profiles – Each employee Linked In profile should be descriptive, impactful and engaging. You shouldn’t just have your job title and the company you work for (although this is vital too), talk about your strengths, passions, ambitions and goals. This entices the reader and really adds a meaningful human connection, which is a big player in engagement.
3. Professional Headshot – Each profile should have a Professional Headshot as putting a face to a name dramatically increases recognition and interaction. Wear what you would wear to work and make sure you radiate a professional image! This doesn’t mean you can’t have a big smile on your face! Company Headshots are perfect for this as it means all employees radiate the same branding.
4. Settings – Increase your visibility! Customize what parts of your profile people can see before they are connected to you. Remember, more visibility = more likely to be found in relevant searches. To change your settings to allow greater visibility select the drop down button in the top right of your profile page – go to settings and click on the Profile tab to display privacy settings and tailor them to your liking!
5. Share – Make sure employees are sharing company content on LinkedIn. The more channels you have broadcasting your content the more visibility you will receive. This may sound like a difficult task to engage employees but there are plenty of ways to encourage social sharing. For example, highlight how the increase in exposure can reach potential customers, driving more leads and sales and potentially resulting in higher profits or bonuses! If you don’t have a current incentive for employees – make one!

Does Your LinkedIn Profile Earn Its Keep? Find out here.

#helpingmyboss

Conferences can be scary, even for the most fearless and capable managers (and more so for the incapable ones), conferences are intimidating.

So, your boss is heading off to a conference and has to stand in front of a large audience and has made each and every one of you in the office aware at least a dozen times (it’s the nerves, don’t blame them). Here are 5 things you should make sure your boss is aware of before they deliver that monumental speech of a lifetime, it might just help you out too one day!

1. Prepare – Tell your boss to dedicate time to the presentation (this could also be a chance for you to showcase your skills helping her/him with their workload). For many in the audience, this presentation will be their first impression of the speaker and thus their company too. Ensure a good impression by giving your boss time to prepare. Remember – “by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail”.
2. Start drinking water 15 minutes before the presentation – You’ve heard of TED talks before, right? If you haven’t, check out their influential videos from expert speakers from a variety of fields. Gina Barnett, longtime TED speaker coach recommends drinking water 15 minutes before any presentation. Imagine doing everything you can and preparing tirelessly only to get on stage and have dry mouth. Your voice can make a ‘sticky, clicky’ sound when it’s dry and it is as uncomfortable for the audience as it is for your boss.
3. Give people the chance to adjust to your accent – At a conference, your boss could be talking to people from all different parts of the nation or even the globe. Accents vary greatly in the relatively small geographical area of the UK, imagine how it could be difficult for someone from a different nationality to listen and become engaged in your speech. Make sure your manager speaks their first few sentences slow and steady – don’t let them loose their audience from the get-go.
4. Engage your audience with illustrations – “A picture is worth a thousand words”. Keep the presentation light on text, it can distract the audience from listening to what your boss is saying and can potentially overload their poor brains with information! A picture, a graph, a chart, an emoji, an illustration of sorts can get the point across fantastically whilst keeping the audience engaged!
5. Leave time for a Q&A – This time can actually be a lot more fun than anyone would expect. By this point, the nerves have settled and your boss will have the opportunity to talk on a subject they’re passionate about without it feeling scripted or rehearsed. At this point, they need to be passionate and the energy they will be providing will radiate to the audience. The audience are here listening to your boss after all. Let your boss know that if they don’t know a question straight away they can always say “I’m happy to discuss this in greater detail with you after the Q&A has finished or via email.

Bonus Tip – Always, ensure your boss takes a spare paper copy of the powerpoint presentation you never know when technology can fail you!

Ensure people remember your boss’ presentation and their face by making sure they have a professional headshot for the conference brochure, their presentation and their business cards

#helpingmyboss

The first place you go to when researching a company is the ‘About Us’ page of their website. Believe it or not, the About Us page is usually the most visited page on the majority of websites. It is important that your company nails the ‘About Us’ page because this is the chance to make a great first impression and let people know what the business is all about.

5 things you must have on your About Us page to leave a great impression, engage the reader and keep them coming back for more.

1. Grab their attention – Create an about me page on your website that looks aesthetically amazing and on brand! Use vibrant colours, creativity and an easy to read font – have it all in a neat and tidy package for the page visitor laid out with a little red bow on it! If you aren’t capable of designing an outstanding website, hire a web designer to do it for you, there’s no shame in that (unless the company you work for is a web designer).
2. Keep it relevant – The reader arrives at the About Me page to get a summary of the company and what it can offer them. They didn’t come here to read an essay. Let’s not bore them. The best way to do this is to create a meaningful and honest depiction of what you’re all about and how your company can benefit them. Emphasize what your unique selling points are, what differentiates your company from your competitors and how you can benefit them. They don’t want a history of everything you’ve ever done, just the relevant stuff.
3. Professional team Headshots –Don’t forget the corporate team professional headshot this will immediately draw the eyes of the viewer to something on your page and it engages them in a way that text simply can’t do. A professional headshot builds trust as they can already see who you are. It also shows that the company cares about its brand image. Along with a whole host of other things, this is the chance to get your professional headshot taken. For even more reasons to get your boss to think about corporate team professional headshots click here. 
4. Use a testimonial – Or at least link to some. Nothing boosts your credibility more than someone else saying it. We know it sounds like bragging but sometimes you really have to flaunt it! Sure, it’s great that you think you’re an expert in your industry but do other people? It’s in your best interest to say you’re great in your field but when someone else says you’re great, that’s when people really start believing it.
5. Provide contact details and a call to Action – don’t give the reader the opportunity for their eyes to wander! If they’re thoroughly impressed with your about me page it’s best to provide them some way to get in contact with you right now while their emotions are most heightened and your company is at the forefront of their thoughts. Leave a contact field at the bottom, provide a sign-up page for email notifications, give them an opportunity for a free quote. Take advantage of their attention while you have it.

Help your boss ensure their about us page is the best it can be – book in a professional headshot for the whole team

While we have your attention why not check out our other blog on how to get a promotion.

There are many things you probably already know about keeping your social media profile professional – like keeping your information honest or not posting offensive articles, however one aspect is frequently overlooked. Professional headshots. They have fast become the centrepiece of your online presence and like it or not, your Professional headshot is one of the very first things people look at and judge you on when they visit your page.

Let’s make this clear, the worst thing you can do other than not having a Professional Headshot is to have one that’s outdated. When someone comes to meet you for the first time and realise you look nothing like the image you’re portraying of yourself, they can think you are (as much as we wish we could) hiding in your youth, or neglecting your brand image. Worse than this, however, when they meet the real you, it’s quite possible that they can immediately feel misled, which could affect the way they trust you, and ultimately do business with you.

So right, we know we have to update our Professional Headshots every now and then but how often should it really be done? As a general rule of thumb, we recommend clients to update your professional headshot every 2 years, although it does depend on the person.

However, there are a couple more instances whereby you should update your Professional Headshot less than every 2 years:

• You’ve changed – have you lost weight? Have you recently got glasses? Have you had a drastic hairstyle change or even grown a beard? All of these are solid reasons to update your Professional Headshot and ensure you make a great first impression.
• Your style has changed – Perhaps you’ve suddenly discovered the world of colour after all those years wearing black, or maybe your business dress has moved from formal to less formal. Or maybe you want to look more polished and professional as your career progresses.
• Your business has changed – This could be because you’ve recently changed jobs and your stern, business-like picture you used when working the stock market isn’t doing you any favours now you’ve recently decided to work in executive coaching. It could also just be though because your business is changing direction, are you used to communicating with the business elite and now have a customer facing role that requires a warm and inviting headshot?

The truth is there are many different factors when considering to update your Professional Headshot and the reasons are different for everyone. Ultimately, though, if you look at all different or you are promoting your headshot to a different audience, don’t take the risk of neglecting your personal brand and starting off a relationship on the wrong foot.

If you are interested in having your Professional Headshot taken please find more information at www.theheadshotguy.co.uk