Plan B

Before you get “delete happy” during your next portrait session…

…be open to Plan B.

During a recent image review session with a speaker client, we started the process by scanning through the headshots. 

As we critically observed each image, there were some clear winners in terms of photos that could easily be slotted in a new profile picture or speaker one sheet option. 

And then, there were others that didn’t feel quite right to be used as her primary photo.

While her expressions conveyed genuine and important aspects of her personality, they fell outside the confident and approachable spectrum required for an official headshot.

But, rather than delete those photos, I suggested to her that we hold onto them. 

When she asked why, I told her that while the expression and emotional sentiment of these images don’t work as the front door image to her entire online presence, Plan A, they do still carry immense value in an alternative way.

How?

Well, the photo is still high-quality and the expression is genuine, so, with some technical adjustments, the photos can serve to fill other holes in her marketing and promotion strategy. 

And then, I showed her what I meant with one specific image. It was a shot where her body was dead center. 

I cropped and moved her to the left and converted the color into black and white. The result looked and felt very different from the original.

I then suggested to her that while the emotion this expression conveys isn’t headshot worthy, it is now optimized as an asset that can be used on social media, at the very least. 

All she needs to do is share a story with this photo that compliments the emotional sentiment of the expression on her face, and the image and story is ready to post.

In addition, if she’d like to add text and branding onto the photo, the whole right side of the shot is open for her to do so based on cropping and moving her to the left of center. 

While she thought this was some type of magic trick, this is actually a fairly common way that I repurpose and stretch out the value of images taken during a lifestyle portrait session. 

You see, the goal for any of these sessions is to create as much visual variety as possible from image-to-image. 

While there are plenty of obvious photos to delete - the shot is out of focus, eyes are closed, mouth, eyes and eyebrows are doing something crazy, etc. - there are plenty of other photos which can be slightly edited in order to create a different look from the other shots in the album. 

After all, what’s the point of having a stack of images that look and feel similar in the same album?

Once you use one of them, the other similar ones are useless as they’re basically carbon copies.

But, if they’re cropped slightly differently and the color changes to black and white, all of a sudden, they each have their own character and style inherent to them.

Which means these visual assets are in play for a variety of needs. 

The 2 keys?  

One, work with a photographer that understands this concept of editing duplicate images in their camera roll in this manner in order to create visual variety and maximize your investment in the photos. 

And two, your design team is able to visualize how to leverage this massive variety in ways that benefit your personal brand, overall. 

Keep this in mind the next time you invest in a branded lifestyle portrait session. 

Don’t get all trash happy and eliminate every photo that initially fits the bill in terms of why it was originally shot. They could be repurposed in a way that ultimately adds tremendous value to your marketing efforts. 

After all, that’s why we always need a Plan B, right? :) 

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