I’m one of them too, a woman of a certain age, and I’ll be happy to tell you what it is when we talk. No shame in this! Our kids are older, maybe even grown…and our faces show it. But our photographs don’t have to show every line, do they? Joe McNally, in his book The Moment it Clicks, tells his secret to photographing us, using as an example his photo session with Sophia Loren well after her movie career was over:1
“When lighting, especially women of a certain age, … think soft. Think of your light as a soft blanket that needs to wrap the face gently, open up the eyes, and eliminate shadows and lines….”
Joe McNally
Every woman can be photographed to show off their best features, to feel beautiful, while minimizing lines but not erasing them. After all, we enjoyed making those laugh lines, didn’t we? It’s in the lighting and the expression.
As working women, we are active in our community and business networks. We might run a business ourselves, and we need a great headshot that’s winsome and really “US.” Besides, most women change their hair style or color, or their look from year to year. Your headshot has to be the current YOU. For example, I’ve recently decided to let my hair grow into its natural color, embracing the gray. I’ve been keeping it shorter while going natural. I’ve had to update my own headshot so people will recognize me.