There is a new show I’ve become addicted to on the Nat Geo channel that I’ve been DVRing (yes, I’ll admit it, I’ve been watching far too much TV these last months, but in my defense much of it has been during the endless hours of bouncing on a yoga ball with a cranky newborn). The show is called Brain Games. Google it, I’m willing to bet if you are reading this post you’ll become addicted, too…
Anyway, this last episode I watched had to do with first impressions. In one game they brought out two portraits, competing politicians in an election. In each case, they had people guess which person had won their election, and if you hadn’t seen the pictures they had used to run on you might be surprised to know that 70% of the time the viewers got it right. So essentially they could predict who would win an election just by taking a survey of candidate photos. Yep, you read that right, no longer do we have to learn about candidates’ platforms or what they stand for, we can just predict based on which person looks the most kind, relatable, confident and trustworthy. Seriously…
But then, of course as a photographer, I was paying attention to the photos in the Brain Games. And yes, you guessed it, every one of the winners had very obviously spent time on their appearance, facial expression and had spent the time and money on a good photographer.
And of course I started thinking of my clients: dancers, dance companies and fitness professionals. When you go to an audition do you put that image forward? Are you presenting yourself that way to your clients? Do you market your company with a look that says ‘you won’t be sorry if you spend your rare night out being entertained by us’??
What are you saying by the images of yourself that you put out there?
Oh boy, seems it’s time to shed this baby weight and get some new shots myself .. Ahhhhh! my peanut butter/chocolate Soy Delicious at 2 am, it’s time for us to part, I’ll miss you so…!
Tagged: brainwaves, business, marketing, photography
