• Dress to the level you want to be. Exec’s shouldn’t be wearing t-shirts. Unless you already own Facebook.
• Be groomed. Comb your hair. Double check in the mirror.
• Have your makeup done, but not overdone. Goal is to avoid shine, not look like a clown.
• Put your chin down and forward. No one wants to look up your nose. Trust me.
• Turn ¼ around. This angle is your friend. It also helps you look 20lbs. lighter.
• Hold the sub – A giant 10 ft long sub. It does wonders to your shoulder lines.
• Be mentally prepared to laugh at yourself. Loosen up. Fake smiles are obviously fake.
• Floss. Better yet, brush.

• Wearing all of your favorite jewelry. Less is more. Remember Mr. T?
• Picking large patterns and loud colors. So distrac… hey look, plaid!
• Using props, especially if they have nothing to do with your job. We feel awkward with you.
• Posing with duck lips. This is never appropriate for anyone over 12 who wants to be taken seriously.
• Believing a selfie will look better than a professional photo. We can see your arm. We know you took it.
• Using a selfie stick. We can see the stick. We also know you took this.
• Skimping on hiring a good photographer. Having to re-do them won’t save you money or time.
• Photoshopping every detail of your face. It’s really obvious. You aren’t made of plastic!

Do you ever look at your website and think the photos are looking a little dated? Or what about your headshot?

Everything communicates and probably nothing is more powerful than a picture. Taking the time to get it right is really important.

Anyone can snap a photo, but planning for the best outcome is the difference maker. What shots do you need to tell the story you want to tell?

Lighting, hair, make-up, staging and post-production touch-ups can help your brand tell a great story.

This is one of the reasons I’m excited to have Tracy Kapela join our team as Art Director. We’ve worked with some great photographers over the last 25+ years and will continue to but we now have our own staff photographer as well.

Tracy and I met a few years ago when I hired her to shoot for the World’s Largest Brat Fest. If you really want to get to know someone, spend time in a cramped trailer with 6 other people at a hot festival with laptops, gear and wi-fi connectors and trust me, you’ll learn a lot about each other!

Tracy has a tremendous work ethic, a great eye, experience and real talent. I’m so glad she chose to join our team.

If you have an event coming up, need new headshots or want to new images or videos on your website, we can help and it will all be done here, in-house.

There are many choices out there but when it comes to having a complete marketing team all in one place, we’re unique in the marketplace. If you want to get the job done, you can go to a lot of places but if you want to get it done in a place where we will take into consideration the customer journey from start to finish, we should definitely talk.

Thanks for reading, for being part of our community and for helping get the word out for The Creative Company. We hope we inspire you to move forward with confidence.

-Laura

Tracy Kapela is the Art Director at The Creative Company in Madison, Wisconsin. Laura Gallagher is the President and Founder of The Creative Company.