

Ask HN: Good Bay Area Bio/ Headshot Photographer? - jdavid

As part of updating my blog and Personal Bio, I would like to find a great cheap photographer for doing professional bio shots.<p>I would like to get a good headshot for profile pages on linkedin/ facebook, etc....<p>And I would like to get a few great shots that I can use to make my blog more personal, these should be fun, and professional looking.<p>In the next 2 months I plan to redo my personal website.<p>How much should I expect to pay for such a service?
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anigbrowl
Lame: $100 Adequate: $200 Good: $500 Famous: $1000

Overview: <http://www.headshots101.com/head-shot-price-ranges.html>

Examples - get a sense in advance of how you want to present yourself:
<http://studiomark.com/headshots.html>

Prices above represent 1-2 hours of work in the Bay Area. I've done a lot of
business with still photographers for film projects, so they're pretty
current. The camera is just the recorder. The 'look' requires 3 lights, some
assistance from a makeup artist/stylist, and a sense of what you are trying to
project as well as what makes you distinctive and which parts you want to
emphasize, or not. If you don't have great taste in clothes, bribe a lady
friend who does to take you shopping. What you like/dislike about the way you
look/dress is not necessarily what appeals to others.

Have a few similarly themed choices - if you are a suit-and-tie guy, then you
want a few different combinations, plus a few shots of just shirt and tie, or
sleeves rolled up (for those 'straight talk with jdavid' articles) and one
with your collar loosened 'jdavid's 2 cents'). Also you want a mix of closeup
(head & shoulders) and medium (waist up) shots to give to magazines and blogs.
Eventually one characteristic shot may become the best known, but it might not
be the one you expect - have several and rotate them to find out what your
readers like. Don't limit yourself to one great shot, or you'll seem one-
dimensional. And don't put your picture on your business card unless you want
to be remembered as a realtor and insurance salesman.

I can refer you to a friend of mine who's quite good and would probably charge
you $400, but he makes his business mainly in family pictures with a little
fashion on the side, so you may or may not like his taste.

