TUCSON, AZ – From haircuts to purchasing a simple pair of blue jeans, it seems women have to pay more for everyday items than men. Sometimes, in the case of haircuts for example, the higher price can be rationalized. Women are more particular about their hair and it is usually longer, which means hair dressers generally spend more time to cut and style it. Other times, the reasons for the big difference is more wishy washy and makes you wonder if women aren’t simply being taken advantage of. For instance, if the higher price tag for a pair of blues jeans comes down to the simple equation of supply and demand, then why not simply increase the supply of blue jeans for women and decrease the supply for men? All of this kind of leads one to believe in the so-called “pink tax.” All is not lost, however.
I am here to tell you, places where women actually fair better than men do exist. And, not so coincidentally, I just happen to be one of those places. No, I do not charge women less than men for headshots. That’s not my scene. However, I do generally spend more time taking and editing your photos. In fact, on average, I estimate that I spend about twenty-five percent more time photographing and editing the images for my female clients than my male clients. Why? The main reason is hair. Women typically have more of it. So what do we do with it? How will it look best? My goal is to find out, regardless of how long it takes.
Click on any of the images below to open Light Box viewing.
Headshots of Women – My thanks to all the lovely ladies above for agreeing to let me use their images. I offer several studio backgrounds. For more samples and information on the backgrounds I have available, please visit the Business Portraits page and everything headshots related in the main section of my website.
If you have long flowing hair, will it look best to have it all draped down the back, in front on both sides of your face or just to one side? Often, the answer is unknown to the client and myself until we the extra step of taking an assortment of pictures and view the early results on my desktop monitor. Then we take it from there.
Because women’s hair is generally longer men’s, it usually takes longer to edit, sometimes much longer. That’s because there’s always going to be stray hairs in places you do not want them to be. This is where digital airbrushing comes in. Sometimes I might even have to add a hair extension or two. Other times, I’ve been asked to clip off or rearranged a flocks of hair. Mind you, all of this stuff is done post shoot, with Photoshop, but none of it gets done without the expressed wishes of my clients. (By the way, the digital haircuts and hair extensions are totally free, courtesy of Paul Van Helden Photography.)
The point is, I do not care if I have to spend a little more time with this person or that person. I treat all of my clients the equally. Some men have long hair and some women have short hair too. It is the nature of being a headshot photographer. I love doing it and I wouldn’t change a thing about it. It pleases me very much to be able to say that, at Paul Van Helden Photography, women generally make out better than men do. There are not many businesses that can say that.
For more information about my headshots and my prices for headshots, please visits the Headshots pages of my website.
Thanks for reading.
