Jump to content

Advice: photographer for profile photo?


While the thread author can add an update and reopen discussion, this thread was last posted in over a month ago. Want to continue the conversation? Feel free to start a new thread instead!

Recommended Posts

  • Author
Posted

Are you saying I need to spend a lot of money to get a good photographer?

 

Quit thinking cheap, or at least quit saying it out loud. When I get email or voicemail asking about shooting and it's obvious that they're shopping everyone within a hundred miles, I don't even respond. You can always find cheaper. A talented amateur or wedding photographer who shoots great candids would fit the bill...

 

Don't waste your time/money on a department store kids photographer. They use a formula- every damn shot looks the same, and none of them are worth a crap. Also, you probably won't get any digital files or publishing rights when you buy those prints. Those people aren't photographers, they're camera operators working for minimum wage. No experience necessary.

 

The right person for this job will disguise the professional aspect and deliver candids that make you look good without looking staged.

Posted
Are you saying I need to spend a lot of money to get a good photographer?

 

No, I'm saying that good photographers aren't interesting in being the cheapest guy in town... and if that's what you tell them you're looking for it just pisses 'em off. My suggestion would be to try someone who shoots wedding candids in a journalistic style. Talk about what you're wanting and look at their work... then when you know have a good match ask for a quote. They'll probably be willing to negotiate a bit.

 

How much are you willing to spend?

Posted (edited)
I've tried to rewrite it myself. A writer may have helpful suggestions.

 

Whoa now, never get someone else to write your profile, ever! There are threads on here that give you all the advice on what to avoid on a profile (not that I'm just plugging my own thread), and page 9 on here

 

http://www.loveshack.org/forums/romantic/dating/567661-online-dating-profile-turnoffs

 

gives you a full list of what to avoid.

 

As for the photo, it's really quite easy. On an overcast day stand facing a window and have a friend snap a shot of you smiling. It's the most flattering, not to mention cheapest, lighting you can do at home and it always looks great. Make sure your friend zooms in with the lens on the camera as that's what stops you looking like you're in a fish bowl. You can't do that with a phone, so do try to get any camera with a zoom.

 

Smiling is the key to any profile!

Edited by TheArtist
  • Like 1
Posted

Department store photographers are ALL over the map. Some are the pits, some are fantastic. Actually, the high $$$$ photgraphers can be quite variable too. Portrait photography is a creative and interactive art form, so I guess it's no surprise that results can be different.

  • Author
Posted

I don't know how much I'd spend. I'm not sure what is generally charged. I saw a web site for shooting personal profile photos. The photographers charged about $125. I guess I'd pay that.

 

No, I'm saying that good photographers aren't interesting in being the cheapest guy in town... and if that's what you tell them you're looking for it just pisses 'em off. My suggestion would be to try someone who shoots wedding candids in a journalistic style. Talk about what you're wanting and look at their work... then when you know have a good match ask for a quote. They'll probably be willing to negotiate a bit.

 

How much are you willing to spend?

Posted

Putting some time, effort and perhaps even some money into getting OLD pictures is a good investment.

 

 

I think more of akey here rather than how much you spend on a pro pics is how sharp they can get you looking before getting in front of the camera and what you are doing as the picture is being taken.

 

 

Pro pictures are fine, but it helps if they do not look posed and do not look like pro pics.

 

 

My suggestion is get some hot chick friend or relative to help you. Have her get you are groomed and polished up and in some stylish, well fitting, trendy clothes and get your hair trimmed up and styled well and then have her take a couple hundred pictures of you doing something interesting and something that would catch a female's eye.

 

 

If you take a couple hundred pics, at least a handful of them should turn out looking like a cross between a male model and the Marlboro Man.

×
×
  • Create New...