You have to look at it. New gravatar poll.

So the picture that’s been my face in social media for the last several years is a little dated. Or more accurately “carbon dated,” to quote Buffy. My bad.

Finally got around to getting something new and while not the pretty glamorized studio shots, at least these were taken this century.

YOU have to look at it in my profiles, via my comments and tweets, I figure I’ll let you help me decide.

I had thought of doing a few ‘do the glasses make me look smarter?’ shots but then, I rarely wear them when working with clients or going to networking meetings. Anyway..  my hair fell in Atlanta’s absurd heat and humidity and I’m squinting in the sun; these are ‘better’ than my Facebook pictures in which my face is completely obscured by sunglasses and baseball cap, so there’s that.

The choices are:

[stextbox id=”custom” float=”true” align=”right” width=”200″ bcolor=”000000″ bgcolor=”e2fcfd” image=”null”][poll id=”5″][/stextbox]

Option A: Might be my “favorite” which just means it’s decent enough and I look semi-professional I guess. Minimal squinting, I almost like my hair and when scaled down for Google and Twitter, this could work.

 

 

 

 

 

Option B: Off-angle look, which is semi-flattering. Also has a ‘could suffice for a LinkedIn picture’ look about it. B&W didn’t do these any favors, so color it is.

Option C: Extreme closeup, which I’d probably like if the camera was pulled back. To Cleveland. Least fave.

Big thanks to Atlanta-area photographer Gloria Stowers for her help, very patient as we tried tons of poses. Silly excuse for a blog post but WTH.

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20 thoughts on “You have to look at it. New gravatar poll.”

  1. I’d have to say B, but the background is a little distracting, maybe a neutral or more blurred background. If you reduce the size any you’ll start to have a problem with your hair disappearing or blending into the background. ‘A’ is really good too, ‘B’ just seems to have just a little more boldness to it.

    1. Thanks.. I plan on making the changes tomorrow. B will be the ‘official’ pic on my about page and LinkedIn since it does have that boldness; A will be the Twitter, Gravatar profile pics.

    1. Glad I put the picture to a vote, just to see what others think. Thanks for the vote. I may end up splitting the two pictures Marcus.. use one for LinkedIn and maybe the other for the profile pics.

    1. The hair fell, I’ve thought the same thing Shonali.. in some of these the hair looked ok but moving between poses, it fell or moved around. I did ask.. and for my Gravatar type photos, probably will crop. Thanks for your .02 cents. 🙂

  6. I would say B but I think you will need to crop it to show your face in Thumbnails. I had to do the same thing with mine. This isnt really important anyways, what really matters is that you look great and as Marianne said, confident. Lot less formal than the current one which also suits you more, great to see you Davina

    1. Thanks John, I too like the less formal. Next time I update this, take the time to do a studio shot, I think I’ll still keep it that way – casual and not a suit, something fun.

  7. Toss up between A & C; B is more formal than the others and I like the relaxed look. If I have to choose one, I will pick A. But they are all great. I remember when I finally got rid of that stiff looking one I had. My traffic picked up tremendously……………

    Thanks for sharing; enjoyed it.
    Bill Dorman recently posted..Things are definitely going to change around here

    1. I also thought B was formal, why I was thinking maybe LinkedIn and for my “About Me” page. I wouldn’t mind a studio shot Bill, but you’re right.. saying no to any stiff and stuffy pictures. 🙂

    1. Avatars are small Brankica and they need color, background. We had tried a few indoors but the flat, drab background just won’t work as well. Thanks so much.

  9. Crowdsourcing the headshot… I should have thought of that! 🙂 I say “B” but I would recommend cropping it before shrinking it to thumbnail size so that it is almost as “close” a shot as A. I like A too, but your expression seems more relaxed in B.

    Also, you have to teach me how to do the blog poll thing one day. Very cool!
    Adam recently posted..3 Small Business Ebooks Worth Buying

    1. Thanks Adam, I thought it was a clever idea to poll folks about the picture. And yeah, I may crop the picture a bit more for profile pictures like Google, Twitter. Think it’s the wp-poll plugin, then I just wrapped that in a frame to sort of box it. I am sure there are easier, better ways than mine.. it’s just the one I know.

    1. Confidence?! Damn but do I want to play poker with you someday. 😉 Yes it’s my fault that I don’t like how I photograph, but .. had to suck it up and get it done. Thanks Marianne. I figure I’ll let this ride a little while, then make the change in a week or so.

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