Of all the doubts I've had about myself throughout life, the one thing I have never questioned is choosing to rock the silver. I absolutely love my gray hair. But I admit that sometimes when I see a picture of myself, I am less than impressed.
How could I feel so positive and then have it all blown away by a photo? One could go into all the psychological ramifcations, but I think much of the problem is simpler and less introspective. Lighting! Most artificial lighting used in photography does not flatter our shiny silvers.
I had an executive portrait done at work that I posted on my LinkedIn profile. At first I was impressed by the professionalism of a studio shot. My skin looked amazing! But I kept going back to it, and it didn't look like me. My hair looked muddy, and my smile looked fake. I thought, who would want to connect with this person?
Everyone tells you to have a serious image on LinkedIn, but I decided it was more important for my energy to come through. And yes, for my hair to look good. I think my blog photo does all that. I took the photo myself with my tripod in my backyard. The blog photo is now my LinkedIn photo, and everytime I see my profile, I think, yes, I would want to connect with this person. Not that I am looking, but I would hire her, too!
The point is if you are already gray or thinking about going gray -- don't judge yourself by indoor pictures. Lighting is not always your friend. I don't think this means that everytime you are indoors, you look awful. When you are multi-dimensional and moving, the light will capture your colors and spirit.
But there's something about still photography that captures the worst and dulls gray hair. That's why they pay people lots of money to make models look amazing. Mere mortals have backyards and balconies. However, I have decided to invest in a better camera, so if I learn anything new, I'll come back and share the results.
Whatever color your hair is, take some time today to admire your inner beauty and know that all the goodness inside is reflected in your lovely self.
