Pixiq

Think twice when you’re posting an image that will be seen by pros and potential clients. 

No tongues please. I’m talking about your professional image here! How do you want to appear when you’re being vetted for a magazine photo spread? An on-going commercial shoot for a corporation? A contract to publish your landscapes in a coffee table book?

If fame and fortune come knocking - even just a moderate size job - you don’t want to be embarrassed by pictures with your tongue hanging out that find their way into websites that speak to your professional persona. I don’t mean you have to clean up your Facebook pages; nobody is going to mistake a photographer for a conventional suit! No need to be straight laced, up tight 9 to 5 mainstream. 

Glass ceilings and real time competition are rampant in our profession. There are so many wanna-be’s and also-ran’s. Everybody is a photographer. You need to use every possible opportunity to paint yourself as a pro worthy of hire. Imaginative, yes, but attentive, careful, skilled with work ethic that can be counted on. You know you can produce great images, but appearances often speak louder, and you can’t leave clients with the impression you’re a light-weight.

I’ve done my share of sass, and I’d really hate to be classed as deadly dull. Everybody makes faces for the camera. Maybe lots of times. But here’s my point - if all you’ve got that makes you look different is your tongue hanging out, you’re not ready to play with big kids. My experience says that the pro can’t go anywhere, not even the grocery, without encountering a client. You’re going to be on show wherever you are in real life or on the web.

Of course it’s expected that you’re a bit unconventional, a bit outrageous, creative and on the edge. Tongues can be a good thing. Silliness to entice kid portrait expressions is not just ok, it’s a necessity. Making faces is a style and a valid portrait product for 5-year olds. Major change in attitude if you’re dealing with a serious topic, a cause you believe in. Now’s the time to put your tongue back in your mouth. You want both yourself and your subject to be held in high regard.

This an actual picture posted by organizers of themselves on an important equal rights website. I'm passionate about this charity. The site and people will remain nameless, but this photo makes me angry and very unhappy. Why would anyone disrespect a cause that is being fought for all over the world? 

Your image matters. A lot. I dare say your image is most sacred and most serious, just like what the preacher says at weddings.

You’re married to the picture of you that you place in front of the public. You want respect; you won't earn it this way.