ban the word “JUST” from your vocabulary. 🧠

Time and time again, I get requests like “I need JUST a professional headshot” or “I need JUST a testimonial video for my company” or “I need JUST a quick overhaul of my website”.

In relation with a request for professional services, the word “JUST” represents an oxymoron.
And this oxymoron actually happens in the customer’s mind.

Let’s take the example of a corporate headshot.
In the buyer’s mind, it only takes a blink of a second to snap a picture on the smartphone. And it’s immediately there, ready to use. That’s the “JUST” in their request.

What this customer forgets is addressing the request to a trained professional who dedicates a lot of time in improving his game. It takes experience to know how to read the lighting and analysing the facial structure for the best angles, all in the glimpse of a second.

Finally, it’s all about the expression. Keeping the session light and easy for the customer, who might be overwhelmed handling the psychological stress of being exposed in front of a high-end lens and in a professional photo studio setting. After this, comes the thorough pre-selection of images by the professional eye. And only upon the final choice of the buyer, the chosen images are taken care of in the editing process. Because these images are edited individually by hand — that’s where more than “JUST” a thing happens and that the final images come to life.

To conclude this, I highly recommend banning the word “JUST” from your vocabulary when it comes to buying services from professionals.

Instead, I highly recommend asking yourself how much value you get from your new pictures.
More specifically how much they will help you with your career, your self-esteem and even for your private life.

With the growing importance for high-quality visuals, what would you settle for:
asking for “JUST” or requesting “QUALITY” ?

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below and follow my personal hashtag #popyourimage for more.