The first impression counts.
A professional Headshot is your most important business card in modern social media and your online presence.
A fake and quirky smile or authentic confidence and approachability - it’s all about the unconscious power of a moment.
How satisfied are you with your actual Headshot?
Is it representing you in the exact way you want to be perceived by the public? Is it working it’s butt off for you and your success, just like you do everyday? Because it should.
Whenever someone types your name into a search engine or clicks on your online profile they should only find a headshot, that represents the best of what you are -
confident. professional. approachable.
We humans rely on visual cues. Within seconds after seeing a face we decide about sympathy or antipathy, success or failure of an encounter. And that is proven to be true also when looking at a photograph of somebody - instantly our subconscious makes an assessment of the person’s character and credibility. And that is why you have to be sure you can count on your headshot - it should be at least as professional and ambitious as yourself.
What exactly is a Headshot?
IT’S ALL ABOUT YOUR IMAGE
Definitely no Snapshot. But no Businessportrait either.
The classic portrait or a business portrait usually shows the subject within a certain surrounding or working environment. The background may be blurred sometimes, but still it adds a little bit of distraction. On the other hand, of course, in most cases this special context serves to tell a story about the person in the photograph.
A professional headshot is different - it concentrates purely on the person, furthermore the face. The focus of a headshot lies exlusively on the facial expression to convey the personality of the subject - nothing less than the ever so important first impression, that may be crucial for your further career. Another thing that is great about a good headshot is, that due to the clean and simple background without distracting elements, it’s perfectly suitable fur multiple purposes: your profile pic on social media like LinkedIn or facebook, your job application, your casting portfolio or your own website.
Modern communication is increasingly done via online social media. That is why you should never underestimate the importance of your headshot and it’s potential to help you build and maintain a professional reputation. The times are long gone, when it was enough to have your colleague take a quick snapshot with his phone, to put it up on your LinkedIn profile or your websites frontpage, so that people at least knew what you looked like. If someone is searching you online, the first thing they should find are headshots that represent you in your best kind of way.
And it is my goal to achieve that with you.
What can you expect?
As relaxed and good a time as possible, in which we get the best out of you together. Hardly anyone enjoys being in front of the camera and that is perfectly normal. But the few for whom it seems the most natural thing in the world are then called "photogenic". It's a pity, because that's a misconception and it's my job to change that. As a photographer, I provide the right light and work with you to make you "forget" the camera and elicit the expression you want with the right guidance and in a pleasant atmosphere.
A headshot session has no time limit. We can try several different outfits of your choice and also different simple and solid backgrounds - from clean white to tones of grey or even black.
During the shooting we have the possibility to check the shots on a screen to make sure we’re on the right track. The session isn’t done until we’re both satisfied with the results. And I can assure you - we won’t settle with mediocre.
WHO’S THE GUY BEHIND THE CAMERA?
In fact, at the time we get to read the „about me“ part we have already made assumptions on the person’s character… Because that’s what you inevitably did in the second you saw my picture the first time. Because as you already know: the first impression counts. So let’s see if the following fits into your assumptions or if you have to get to know me from scratch.
I have never been a centre of attention person. I have mostly preferred to let others take the stage and observe. The people. Their interaction, their looks and gestures. Not voyeuristic, but rather interested in understanding people. My original profession as an airline pilot and the impressions from all over the world that came with it certainly encouraged this pleasure in seeing. Therefore, I have been intensively involved in photography for several years. I have completed several courses to further my education and to advance my fascination and knowledge of the intricacies of portrait photography. Among others, I had the great pleasure of undergoing intensive training with one of the world's most renowned headshot photographers from New York: Peter Hurley, who with his headshot crew connects a great network of the most professional headshot photographers worldwide.
With every portrait or headshot I take, my fascination for this kind of photography is only growing even further. People who don’t know you will look at your headshot, that hopefully I took. To know about the effect a picture can have on somebody, makes this a big responsibility for me, but even more so: a big honor.
What else is there to know about me…? Well, together with my beautiful family I live very close to the castle gardens of Laxenburg - not too far from good old Vienna. My fiancée makes a „Guglhupf“ to die for. (Update! Since October 2021 we are officially husband and wife! I am excited and endlessly happy to have her by my side, as my best friend, my companion and homebase. By the way: have I mentioned, that she for sure is the best hair and makeup artist around? - www.schwarzmalerin.at). Also, I’m serious about good coffee, I love Thai food and my favourite sushi joint lies in a small town outside Tokio.
Okay, now you know a little about me to start with. If that raised your interest, I would be happy to hear from you and get to know you. And I would be even happier to work with you to create your best headshot so far. Because in the end, a good portrait can never be done by the photographer alone - it is always dependent on the chemistry and interaction between him and his subject - YOU.
All set?
What is it all about?
You probably know how diverse human facial expressions can be. But did you also know, that confidence comes from the eyes? Were you aware that your mouth is mainly responsible when it comes to open minded and approachable?
Doesn’t make sense? No worries, you’ll see what i mean as soon we start working. I will guide you through the session, giving you the coaching you need to nail the perfect mixture of confidence and approachability in your expression. And you know what? These techniques are not classified! A lot of the stuff you will hear during the session, will most probably help you to look good in photos, no matter when or where. Blogposts.
During the session we will take a break from time to time and check some of the shots on the spot, to make sure we’re on the right track.
How long will it take?
As i already said: there is no fixed timeframe - but no worries, we won’t take any longer than necessary, but at least as long until we’re both satisfied with the results.
And that is for a reason: The technical part of the shoot (the perfect light, body position, composition) are done in a few minutes. But as a matter of fact, the one little - but by far most important - ingredient to a great headshot usually takes a little more time to find: the right expression. There are cases when it’s a thing of just 20 minutes, but these „natural born headshot artists“ (NBHA’s) are definitely exceptional. In most cases it just takes a little to settle down in front of the camera. That is because most people, apart from NBHA’s suffer from PAS (picture avoidance syndrome), which is totally normal behaviour. A relaxed athmosphere and my coaching guidance will help you to get rid of PAS to finally get headshots that represent you in a confident and authentic way. Without the pressure of a time constraint.
That also gives us enough time to try all the different outfits you would like to wear in your headshots.
What’s next after the Shoot?
When all this is done, we make ourselves comfortable in front of the screen - preferably with a nice coffee - and go through all the pictures we have taken together, sifting out the results one by one. You can then directly choose your favourite picture(s), which will then be edited and retouched by me. You will receive the images as digital JPEG files, both in full resolution and web-optimised. This saves you the trouble of having to adjust the size and resolution of the photos for the various purposes (e.g. LinkedIn profile).
Where will all of this take place?
In fact, anywhere you want it to happen. I’m happy to invite you to my homestudio in our cozy flat, overlooking the rooftops of Laxenburg. (The view is great and you probably won’t find a better cappuccino in the area!) Alternatively I can bring my mobile studio to a location of your choosing - where ever you feel comfortable.
Sounds fine, but what are the costs?
Thesession fee is a flat € 210.- That includes:
ein Vorgespräch (telefonisch oder persönlich), um Bedürfnisse, Vorstellungen und allfällige Fragen sowie ausführliche Tipps zu Ihrer persönlichen Vorbereitung (Wahl der Garderobe, Make-Up …) zu klären
No time limit on your session
Unlimited outfit changes
Professional post session advice for your image selection
And of course, lots of fun creating great headshots together!
Directly after the session we will sit down together and select your favourite images. Per headshotyou finally want to take I charge € 39.- , including professional retouching and license fees.
My mobile studio equipment is quite heavy, so for on location shoots i need to charge an additional € 60.- Inside the greater Mödling area and Vienna districts south of the Blue Danube this includes travel costs. (nevertheless, costs for car parks have to be charged)
There is a 50% deposit upon booking a session. But as we all know, things can happen and life has its surprises, rescheduling is almost never a problem. In case you need to cancel your session you get your deposit refunded, as long as you notify me at least 48 hours before our session.
For women I suggest the services of the best hair and makeup artist around: Vroni. Die Kosten hierfür variieren ein wenig, da es darauf ankommt, ob sie nur zu Beginn der Session für das perfekt auf Sie abgestimmte Foto-Make-Up da ist, oder uns für die gesamte Session zur Seite stehen soll – als stets gut gelaunte Assistentin und um die Möglichkeit zu haben, Ihr Make-Up für unterschiedliche Looks nach Wunsch Stück für Stück zu intensivieren. …vielleicht haben wir ja auch Glück und sie hat gerade einen Guglhupf gebacken.
And because we ourselves are always evolving, our own headshot should always be kept up to date - that's why returning customers receive a 25% discount on the session fee!
The prices for B2B services may vary due to the respective type of use. Contact me for an individual offer!
Do you offer Package Pricing?
Long story short: no, I don’t.
And that is for one big reason: to get great results it is very important that we can all relax. A fixed timeframe makes that almost impossible. Just imagine: we’re in the flow of shooting, feeling that we’re on the right track, close to the perfect shot, but still not there yet, or for instance there’s still that one outfit left that has to be in the picture too - but we only got a few minutes left… still relaxed and comfortable? I don’t think so.
Plus, I want you to be in total control of how much you want to spend. I don't want you to pay for more than you need, and every person has different needs. Not offering package pricing makes sure you're not over committing or under committing in terms of how many images you require from the session. You can simply decide on the day. And if you only want to take a single image - perfectly fine! As long as you’re happy and proud of your new visual business card.
Do you offer group business and corporate shoots?
Of course I do! Don’t underestimate what a consistent and professional look in the headshots of your employees can do for the public perception of your business. I’m happy to bring my equipment to your location and provide a relaxed shooting experience for you and your employees. Please contact me for details.
Anything else?
You tell me! First of all, thank you very much for reading all the way down to here! If there’s anything I haven’t thought of, please don’t hesitate to contact me for further questions.
I’m looking forward to getting to know you!
