Kevin Thom - Hamilton, Toronto, Ontario Photographer

I did a portrait shoot with Ana the other day, to take some photos for her personal use and for use as profile pictures on social networking sites. As with all of the portrait shoots I do, I try to get a versatile range of images to illustrate the many different but genuine sides of a person. She was nervous at first, but as she discovered, photo shoots can be lots of fun. Before we even finished this shoot, she was bubbling with excitement, already plotting what kinds of things to wear in her next shoot! I may have created a photo shoot addict…

Here's a photo I took that Laura Hollick uses as her profile image. I love that it quickly illustrates her unique style and beauty.

If you’ve been on the Internet at all in the last few years, you’ll have been asked at least once to provide a profile picture. Whether you’re surfing social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, chatting on instant messaging progams like MSN Live Messenger, Google Talk, Skype, or flirting it up on dating sites like eHarmony, Lavalife, Match.com, you’re going to be encouraged to upload an image to represent you. And why not? Your profile picture is your online face. It has the power to instantly tell the viewer more about you than your name or anything you can write about yourself.

Experts on personal branding say that you should pick one photo and use that consistently to represent yourself online, no matter where you register. I can buy that as a strategy for personal branding, especially for people who are online for professional purposes. Other people treat the profile picture more casually, like an article of clothing or as an accessory that can change with their moods or needs.

I always love it when my friends and clients use the photos I’ve taken of them as their Facebook profile photos. Whether they’re candid snapshots, promotional photos or headshots, it’s an honor to know that I’ve captured something about them that they’re proud to show to the world.

I’m considering creating a photo package for people who want me to make online profile pics for them. In the name of market research, I’ve made a super-sophisticated, mega-scientific little poll about profile pictures. I’d love to have your input. You can check as many answers as you want.

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