What is Photofeeler? They write “Photofeeler is a data science company. Our flagship product helps people land good jobs and life partners by optimizing their profile pictures.” As a professional photography company in Durham Region and Whitby I am going to show you the results from the BUSINESS side only – not the social and dating photo side of the application.
Photofeeler posits that your own friends and family are too biased to tell you the truth about your photo choice. Instead strangers are served your content to rate and the results are tabulated, along with comments you can write or choose from. As a frequent user of social media as a professional in this field this is true. I cannot tell you how many selfies, cut off chins, foreheads, filtered, over or under exposed, badly lit and completely unprofessional photos I see on business profiles across Facebook and Instagram business pages.
That distinction is important, because your business profile is not the same as your personal profile. Also, not all jobs need the same level of business profile shots – for example, a banker and a graphic designer at an up and coming agency often require completely different looks, styles and approaches. So for the purpose of my albeit short and sweet comparison note we are comparing these under the BUSINESS category in the application on Photofeeler.
The tool provides three areas by which your photo is rated by other users, these include what does the photo say about the person’s competency (COMPETENT), likability (LIKABLE) and influence (INFLUENTIAL). They also rate how many entries are needed to create a STANDARD sample so that you gather enough opinions. For a strong sample (20 seems to be the magic number here) we opted to gather 20-22 opinions for each option below.
So I ran two photos through the tool to see how my professional headshot (created by the amazing skills of Melissa Maahs Photography) did against a selfie I took the same day against the same wall with my iPhone 6. I let them both run through with the filters BUSINESS and my job title as PHOTOGRAPHER. The tests were run on the free option and ran between 3 and 10 p.m. EST.
Here are the results of the iPhone 6 SELFIE versus the PROFESSIONAL photo. Noting that the comments are by users and not professional photographers who do not know me or Melissa.
SELFIE (using an iPhone 6/rear camera)
This photo was taken on the same day, same hair, with my sunglasses on when we had finished up the shoot. I like that I could use the selfie against the professional shot to show the reactions they generated.
Comments:
“This is kind of a bad quality photo considering you are a photographer…” ( I agree, this was a taken as a behind the scenes shot with my phone)
“Great photo!”
“Photo seems a bit unprofessional to me.”
Things to consider from the SELFIE example:
The quality of the photo is less because the capabilities of the Canon camera far out pace my old iPhone 6 specifications.
The image is a selfie, it is informal and I am wearing glasses (eyes are everything in a portrait as are catch lights).
All the ratings are below average which is not the message I want to give current, potential and future clients about my abilities, skills and services.
PROFESSIONAL (Canon 5D Miii with 135 mm lens)
Comments:
“Would prefer if they were smiling more.”
“Great photo!”
“Great photo!”
“Great background!”
“Photo seems professional to me.”
“Nailed it!”
Things to consider from the PRO example:
High quality execution by a professional who understands light, her gear and posing. This is why I use a pro when doing my headshots for my own photography business.
The ratings now reflect the impression I want to give current, potential and future clients about my abilities, skills and services.
Guilliana came to me with a request to add some polish to her headshot for use in her company intranet, social media profile photos – especially her LinkedIn. Many clients come with this same brief but have no idea how to achieve it. What was special with Gullianna is she knew exactly the image she wanted to create. We got down to work and achieve her goal of a professional, classic look.
For a headshot we always recommend by passing the “phone selfie” – especially on LinkedIn. A professional headshot should be updated every two years either in studio or on location with a professional eye for posing, catch lights (the lights in the eyes) and and over all understanding of light. Couple that with a professional touch to the skin creates a strong, professional end result.
The end result was achieved with one outfit by simply removing her jacket to create two different but equally classic looks. The necklace worked well with the blouse but conflicted with the collar of the jacket so we removed it. Simple but effective posing gives her 3 strong looks with smiles and the extra non smile rounded off her final look.
If you are looking to update your headshot or need a quote for a team, please contact us through our connect page form.
Kirsten McGoey, Visual Storyteller | Whitby, Ontario; Greater Toronto Area
Location Shown: 601 Dundas St. W. Whitby, ON L1N 2N3 (second location in Orono)
Phone: 905.665.6020
The Village Bakeshop in Whitby is run by Cory Vreeker, son Gary and Carol Vreeker who own both the Orono and Whitby shops.
The shop is full of treats – many of the owners Dutch heritage and many made with the finest, freshest ingredients. Gather at the counter for fresh soups and sandwiches. The glass cabinets are laden with treats from pastries, donuts, small cakes, breads, and delicious fudge. Aisles are packed with delicacies from Europe, not just the Netherlands, but rest assured you can find the right packages to make traditional Oma’s soups and other Dutch delicacies. The deli is full of meats and cheeses of all varieties.
To learn more about capturing images for your business: Capture the experience
Join us for a trip through some of our favourite images from our 19 shoot, 13 day creation period that culminated in the 2018 Explore and Experience Whitby magazine.
This portfolio reel showcases some of our favourites from shoots with – Kb, Antonio’s Deli, A Tavola, The Goodberry, Little Beasts Brewing Company, the Town Brewery, the Brock Street Brewery, 5 Paddles Brewery, Penney and Company, M & R Catering, Port Whitby Marina, Butchie’s, Cupcake Junkie, The Village Bakery, trail images from the new Cullen trail to the Ashburn bike aid kiosk, Brooklin Vintage Decor, historical downtown buildings and our friends at the Station Gallery.
This is the fifth post in a series of blog posts highlight the past few years of creating strong, impactful images for clientele through my Corporate business and the editorial work I create for East of the City magazine. In this series I will introduce you to some amazing human beings who run their own business(es) and shape the business landscape in the Durham Region.
When I first walked into the warm ambiance of The Country Cheese Co. I was impacted by the way Tammy and her team interact with customers. There is an unmistakable warmth in her demeanour and the customer response is relaxed, people laughing and enjoying one of my favourite things in the world – cheese.
The store environment reminds me of a tasting room for cheese or wines – the light is darker and warm, the smells surround you and entice you.
289 Kingston Road East Unit 3, Ajax, ONL1Z 0K5, Canada
http://countrycheesecompany.com/
Country Cheese Company provides hand cut artisan and farmstead cheeses from across Canada and abroad, including:
artisan cheese boards for events of all sizes
gift baskets & boxes for that special occasion
artisan cheese panini sandwiches
We offer a variety of accompaniments, mainly locally and CANADIAN MADE products including:
Charcuterie and Pâté
Artisan made and Gluten Free Crackers
Chutney, Jam and Spreads
Raw Honey
Chocolates
Locally made Cheese Boards
If you are looking to create powerful images that make your business STAND OUT in a crowd contact us to tell your story. We create colourful, focused and professionally executed photographic images that stand the test of time.
What is Photofeeler? They write “Photofeeler is a data science company. Our flagship product helps people land good jobs and life partners by optimizing their profile pictures.” As a professional photography company in Durham Region and Whitby I am going to show you the results from the BUSINESS side only – not the social and dating photo side of the application.
That distinction is important, because your business profile is not the same as your personal profile. Also, not all jobs need the same level of business profile shots – for example, a banker and a graphic designer at an up and coming agency often require completely different looks, styles and approaches. So for the purpose of my albeit short and sweet comparison note we are comparing these under the BUSINESS category in the application on Photofeeler.
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