5 Ways to Improve Your Portfolio Photography
As a cosmetologist, marketing your skills to the outside world is a top priority, one of which can be perfected with a few simple tricks using your smart phone.
5. Give the Style a Once Over Before You Snap
How often have you uploaded a photo only to realize later that hair was sticking straight up or lipstick smeared? When you have limited time to snap photos of a Guest, make sure their style is camera ready. You won’t have to retake photos if you take a few moments to prep for the camera.
4. Avoid Photo Fails! Check the Background
Don’t ruin your perfectly coiffed professional style with dirty towels or brushes in the background of your photos. Make sure to clean up any clutter and if possible, place your Guest in front of a clean white wall or a solid color background to avoid visual distractions or color tinting. Which brings us to the next tip…
3. Practice Good Lighting
Bad lighting can destroy all your hard work in a flash (pun intended). Fluorescent lighting is often used in office buildings, salons and schools and has a yellow or green hue, which can tint and drastically change the look of hair color. Daylight is your friend. Take photos near windows, outside or under white light bulbs whenever possible. Be sure to use the flash sparingly, as it can create red eye as well as harsh shadows and highlights.
2. Remember There is Strength in Numbers
In a salon or school environment you may have very little time to grab a photo of a Guest before they are out the door. Therefore, you should always take multiple photos at the moment so you have more than one to choose from later.
1. Edit and Post
Once the best photo of your style has been chosen, you can pop it into a free photo editing app (like VSCO for android or pixlr for iPhone) to make final adjustments on lighting or red eye reduction. Try to avoid using filters that make your photos appear unprofessional by distorting the color and distracting from the overall image. Finally, make sure you upload your photos to your professional social media accounts and tag them appropriately to get as much traffic as possible.
If you follow these 5 simple photography tips, your portfolio can go from drab to fab in no time, bringing in new Guests and rocketing your resume to the top of the pile. Your portfolio should showcase your very best work as a reflection of your talent and style to prospective employers. Your amazing photography could be the thing that sets you apart from your peers.