a peek inside the fishbowl

1 | Patti

June 5th, 2010 at 4:38 pm

I like number 1 like you smiling, teeth showing great photo!?

2 | Nat

June 5th, 2010 at 4:45 pm

I think 1 is the best shot.
But, I wonder, if you want all those things above if you might convey that something other than a suit?

3 | andrea

June 5th, 2010 at 4:54 pm

I can’t reveal what it’s for just yet, and that’s making it difficult. I guess my primary goal is to look professional – but not TOO professional – if you know what I mean. I’m not applying to be a banker! :)

4 | Don (foodiePrints)

June 5th, 2010 at 5:23 pm

You’ve a pretty smile Andrea. I vote for #1.

5 | Marla

June 5th, 2010 at 5:53 pm

I think you have a pretty smile in #1, but your eyes are smiling more in #2.

That said, I think you’re wonderful and I adore you and want the best for you – so if y’all are up for a do-over with your new hair…

6 | Trish

June 5th, 2010 at 6:42 pm

Love the alternative shot (of Piper looking confident in her cone of shame), but Number 1 still gets my vote. Smile is lovely, lighting is flattering, and effect is friendly but still professional. Number 3 has harsher shadows & highlights and not as kind to skin texture.

7 | Judy

June 5th, 2010 at 7:16 pm

#1 is a good choice #3 is my second.

You can always photoshop that poof in the back out of the first one!

Good luck with whatever this mystery is!

8 | Jennifer

June 5th, 2010 at 7:25 pm

Definetly number 1.

9 | andrea

June 5th, 2010 at 8:10 pm

This has been interesting!
Should I tell you what my fave pic is? Maybe I will wait a bit so I don’t rock the vote. Mark doesn’t like the one I do. Weird eh?

So far four of you have voted for retakes – which is fine – but I wish I knew why. Is it the poof? My pointy nose? (And don’t say lighting/contrast, because that can be fixed to a certain degree.)

10 | sherry

June 5th, 2010 at 8:26 pm

I love the first one and if the hair is bugging you I think you could do a really nice crop that won’t show the “poof” section.

11 | Nadine C.

June 5th, 2010 at 8:39 pm

I would definitely trust the person in the #3 photo with my money and that’s why I think that one is a tad too serious…The first one is superbe and says :”I am having the time of my life being a writer and I absolutely enjoy sharing my stories with all my readers !”

12 | Trish Barr

June 6th, 2010 at 5:32 am

None of the above. They don’t seem like you. The top one could do in a pinch if you cropped the suit. It just doesn’t seem genuine

13 | Amy @ Muddy Boots

June 6th, 2010 at 6:57 am

I voted for redo. When I saw these on flickr, I noticed the poof right away. Strangely, it wouldn’t bother me as much if you weren’t in a suit. They don’t match. If the suit must stay, could you use a different colour shirt? Black and white seems so waiterish… or waitressish. Could you use a tank or cami (hate that word) under the suit coat with some more interesting jewelry? Would that totally not fit the look you need?

If these have the possibility of being seen everywhere, it’s best to get it right.

14 | andrea

June 6th, 2010 at 7:17 am

I’m not typically in a suit, am I? But it does relay a level of seriousness that other garments don’t. I’m unsure about it.

And the poof can be cropped, right? Like this…

15 | Laura Quirk

June 6th, 2010 at 8:21 am

#1 is the one! Love the teeth!

16 | Marla

June 6th, 2010 at 12:01 pm

It’s not the pouf – it’s that it’s just not “done”, and I believe people like to see done in a portrait used for professional purposes. Also, black and white are usually considered too harsh for photos, so I’d like to see colour too, but I didn’t say that earlier.

17 | Marla

June 6th, 2010 at 12:13 pm

Oh, oops! I hit send too soon.

It’s not that I’m super-critical, but I notice things because this is what Steve does for his work. Your blouse is classic – but the (Is that pin-tuck? Seams?) detail on the front of it it makes it look wrinkled and I took a minute to peer closely to see what that was. And the black and white and red and brown at the bottom with your pale hair and complexion (which looks great!) up top means the whole photo looks bottom-heavy; and my eye goes to the red in the background because every other colour is neutral.

Whenever people are on TV or photographed in print, they’re usually told not to wear black and white because of what it does to reflecting and absorbing the light, and you’d likely have an all-over even more flattering picture if you wore colours that played up your complexion and colouring and didn’t contrast so much with each other. But also, in nearly every portrait photographer’s top ten tips for what to wear, they say a white shirt will draw the eye only to the shirt. I think that’s true.

That’s why! And because I like you!

But I have changed my mind, and prefer your smile in number one now. You do have nice teeth!

18 | Or how about this one? >> a peek inside the fishbowl

June 6th, 2010 at 1:11 pm

[…] If you’re just tuning in, I happen to be having a small nervous breakdown about a photo I need to submit this week. […]

19 | LO

June 8th, 2010 at 4:57 pm

p.s. well not really since my other comment is in your latest post agreeing that the new pic is the best:)
when I had to pic a head shot for media i went thru the same thing and ended up using a photo I already had. It was from a special event and so I had ‘really good’ hair which meant it wasn’t big and curly but sleek and in an up do. This has pros in that I was not always recognizable from it and sometimes that does come in handy:)