As the mom of twin toddlers, my life of work, family, and other obligations has left me harried and weary. I cannot remember the last time I took some beauty time for myself and, quite honestly, am a teeny bit intimidated by the idea. But I would love the opportunity for this portrait session which, among other things, would remind me of the beauty and energy of who I was before becoming “mommy.
Read moreModel Call!
Lisa Damico Portraits is looking for TWO female models 21 or older (all shapes & sizes welcome) for a beauty portraiture photo shoot. No modeling experience necessary!
Your shoot would take place on a weekend at 10 AM or 1 PM at the Lisa Damico Portraits studio in Arlington, VA. If you’re interested, please LIKE or COMMENT on this post AND then email me at lisa@lisadamicoportraits.com stating WHY you want to model (milestone birthday year, recent weight loss, relationship change, etc.) with a photo of yourself attached.
I look forward to hearing from you!
~ Lisa
2014!
As 2014 quickly comes to a close, I wanted to take a moment to look back on the year and remember of all of the old friends, new friends, and family I got to photograph. Getting to play a part in making them feel beautiful, helping them to get new jobs and promotions with great headshots, and capturing their special memories made 2014 a fabulous year for Lisa Damico Portraits. Can't wait for more great times in 2015!
With love,
Lisa
Online Dating? 11 Photo Tips for Men
As a photographer and former online dater myself, the hundreds of online dating photos I came across made quite an impression on me. There were so many people I wanted to message, not to express romantic intentions, but instead to say, "I'm sure you're a very nice guy, but by posting that bad mirror selfie, you make me think you have no friends or family who care enough to hold a camera for you. Please let me take a better photo of you!" In defense of the mirror selfie guy, it's easy to flip through photos of people you don't know and say yay or nay fairly quickly (on average women spend all of 84 seconds evaluating an entire profile1). But, actually coming up with photos that accurately represent who you are and at the same time are likely to give you your best chance of finding love is easier said than done.
With that in mind, here's a list of concrete tips to help men who are new to the online dating scene as well as seasoned veterans (don't worry ladies, your tips are coming next week!).
First, there are the obvious ones which serve as a list of "don'ts":
1. Don't show yourself surrounded by other women (it doesn't matter if it's your sister, don't do it).
2. No computer photos or bathroom mirrors. Let's make that no mirrors at all (case in point below).
3. No shirtless photos unless you're in really good shape, and want to be "that guy" who posts a shirtless photo.
4. Don't use a photo in which you're so far away that your potential love interest can't tell what you look like - same thing applies to close-up photos with sunglasses and a hat.
Now for the less evident, more interesting tips:
5. Man's best friend really is man's best friend. An OKCupid study found that men shown with animals receive more messages that any other type of photo. (If you have any doubt of this, Men and Their Dogs will cure you of it.) Close runners up are photos of men showing off muscles or doing something interesting.
6. Don't give priority to travel, drinking, or outdoors photos. The same study found those to be less likely to generate messages.
7. Ditch the cell phone camera. According to another OKCupid study, photos taken with camera phones are found to be the least attractive (DSLR photos are the most attractive - cue shameless plug for hiring a professional photographer).
8. Natural light is best if you don't want to look older than you are. The same study determined that using a photo taken with a flash made the subject look seven years older than they actually were.
9. Look away from the camera and don't smile.A 2011 study in emotion showed that women prefer photos of men who were not smiling and looked proud. Researchers believe that this might have to do with the fact that pride is associated with masculinity.
10. Think twice before putting on that suit. Photos of men dressed up fared worse than normal clothes photos according to this OKCupid analysis.
11. To the left, to the left...A Wake Forest University study determined that photos that showed the left side of the face were viewed as more pleasant than those that showed the right.
12. Make sure you have at least four photos on your profile. According to 2013 stats compiled by eHarmony, people who had four or more photos on their profile received the most communication from their matches.
13. While you're at it, make sure one of those shows your full body. A Zoosk's study of almost 4,000 subscribers reported that those who included a full body shot received 203% more messages than those that showed less.
15 Reasons to Update Your Headshot Photo
You've seen the announcement for the headshot mini-marathon session, but perhaps you're still on the fence about whether to sign up. The group photo from that conference you attended a couple years back where you cropped out your coworkers has served you pretty well. You're rocking a power suit in it - what more could a future employer ask for?? In the event that the more you think about your current headshot photo, the more doubts you have, I encourage you to read through the list of 15 reasons why you should get a new headshot.
1. You're ready to show your best self to the world.
2. Perhaps you got some fabulous new glasses.
3. Or, finally grew out that beard.
4. You got a new hairdo.
5. You've been working out hard this summer and want to show off the fit new you.
6. It's the end of summer, which means you've been soaking up the rays all summer and are glowing.
7. You've changed jobs.
8. You're job searching.
9. You want to look like a million bucks and have a salary to match.
10. You might be asked for a headshot tomorrow and you don't have one.
11. You started writing a blog and you wouldn't be a real blogger without a headshot.
12. Perhaps 10 years or so have passed between now and when the headshot you're currently using was taken.
13. Your current headshot is a selfie.
14. You want to look and feel like a model... and you will, once the Best Face Forward hair and makeup artists are done with you.
15. You want one of those 5 limited spots.
If you answered yes to any of the above 15, book your session with Lisa Damico Portraits by calling 540-798-9547 or emailing lisadamicoportraits@gmail.com.
11 Tips for Women to Create a Successful Online Dating Photo Portfolio
From analyzing study results, AnswerLab researchers reported the following conclusions: · Women are more careful consumers in online dating than their male counterparts.
- Women spend more time evaluating a potential partner's profile information.
- Women spent an average of 84 seconds evaluating a profile to assess if it was a match, while men spent an average of 58 seconds.
· Men tend to focus on the profile photo.
- Not only do they spend less time than women evaluating profiles, men spend more of their time assessing a potential partner's picture.
- In some instances, men spent as much as 65 percent more of their time than women looking at the profile photos.
· The layout of the profile page affects viewer consumption and overall impressions of the page.
- A profile that showcased personality at the top of the page was perceived as more personal.
- A profile that prominently displayed a list of traits was perceived as more businesslike.
Photo Attractiveness by Camera Make & Class
Least attractive - camera phones - by far most attractive dSLR (Canon is second most popular which is what I have)
The flash adds 7 years - good thing I'm a natural light photographer
http://blog.okcupid.com/index.php/dont-be-ugly-by-accident/
A 2011 study in emotion also showed that men liked smiling images of women that conveyed happiness, while women opted for the unsmiling male images that portrayed pride. Researchers believe that this might have to do with the fact that pride is associated with masculinity, while happiness corresponds to femininity.
According to Zoosk, men whose photos show them in the rugged outdoors receive 19 percent more messages. Women, on the other hand, should stay indoors: Outdoor shots lead to 40 percent fewer messages.
Four or more is the luckiest number According to 2013 stats compiled by eHarmony
They also discovered that landscape and 3x4 portrait photos were the most appealing to users. Cropping someone out was not only obvious, but a turn-off. Extreme closeups bad
The most important thing is to put at least one picture in your profile. EHarmony claims that individuals who have photos are nine times more likely to get nice messages in their inbox than those who prefer to avoid photographic proof they exist.
http://www.eharmony.com/dating-advice/using-eharmony/profile-photos-better-dates-heres-why/#.VCtzZPldWSo
full face closeup, full body, waist up, your passion, your favorite place
no costumes, no bathroom mirrors, no computer photos
Online Dating Photos for Women Part I
Eye contact - flirting with the camera best followed by smiling
Least popular photos - posing with animal, drinking alcohol, doing something interesting
Most popular photos - MySpace, in bed, outdoors
"In terms of getting new messages, the MySpace shot is the single most effective photo type for women."
Photos in which you're doing something interesting, with an animal, or travel photos are more likely to lead to a conversation
"The more men who say you're hot, the more messages you get."
"Men who think you're cute actually subtract from your message count."
"Take whatever you think some guys don't like—and play it up. As you've probably already noticed, women with tattoos and piercings seem to have an intuitive grasp of this principle. They show off what makes them different, and who cares if some people don't like it. And they get lots of attention from men."
Online Dating Photos for Men Part II
"Men’s photos are most effective when they look away from the camera and don’t smile"
"It’s interesting that while making flirty eye contact is relatively okay for men, flirting away from the camera is the worst thing they, too, can do."
Most popular photos - with an animal, showing off muscles, doing something interesting
Zoosk - not a selfie, full body (203% more messages)
having more than one person, posing with animals - fewer messages
Least popular photos - travel photo, drinking, outdoors
No shirt (if you're in good shape), all dressed up get fewer messages
http://www.glamour.com/sex-love-life/blogs/smitten/2012/02/want-to-know-how-much-time-men
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20120207006032/en/Tobii-Technology-AB-Catch-Valentine%E2%80%99s-Eye-Online#.VDV4NPnF-no
Photo Credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/87690240@N03/14473041907/">j0sh (www.pixael.com)</a> via <a href="http://compfight.com">Compfight</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">cc</a>
The Mathematics of Beauty 2011 OkCupid
http://blog.okcupid.com/index.php/the-mathematics-of-beauty/
https://d3vzoqlbg2i3a3.cloudfront.net/static//2013/12/photo1.jpg