Why Professional Headshots Matter – Photographing Toowoomba South Candidate Susan Krause

Photographing a local politician is a different kind of pressure. As a Toowoomba headshot photographer, I’ve captured countless portraits, but knowing your work will appear on corflute signs, newspapers and television adds another layer of scrutiny. When I was asked to shoot campaign headshots for Susan Krause, Labor’s candidate for Toowoomba South, I felt those butterflies.

Photographing a local politician is a different kind of pressure. As a Toowoomba headshot photographer, I’ve captured countless portraits, but knowing your work will appear on corflute signs, newspapers and television adds another layer of scrutiny. When I was asked to shoot campaign headshots for Susan Krause, Labor’s candidate for Toowoomba South, I felt those butterflies.

Getting to Know Susan Krause

Susan was born in Brisbane and moved to Toowoomba at age 10. She has worked as a teacher’s aide, is a mother of three and is stepping into politics for the first time. We talked about her support for same‑sex marriage and her commitment to running a positive campaign. She told me, “I absolutely love meeting people and finding out what they want,” and emphasised her focus on education, health, job security and cost‑of‑living concerns for families in Toowoomba South.

Her opponent, sitting MP David Janetzki, welcomed the chance to debate the issues and highlighted many of the same challenges. Both candidates agree that cost‑of‑living pressures and local services need to be front and centrebridebook.com.

Why Susan Needed Professional Headshots

As a new candidate with a small public profile, Susan understood that professional images would help voters connect with her. Despite initial reluctance, I explained why investing in professional headshots isn’t just vanity — it’s essential for anyone trying to build trust and recognition. 

  

6 Benefits of Professional Headshots

1. A Strong First Impression
   In politics and business, people decide quickly whether to trust you. High‑quality headshots present you as confident and competent. Avoid cropping yourself from group photos or asking a friend with a nice phone to do the job.
2. Versatility Across Platforms
   A single set of images can be used on your website, corflute signs, social media profiles, press releases and blog posts. Consistency helps reinforce your brand.
3. Return on Investment
   While you might be tempted to spend campaign funds elsewhere, professional photos work for you 24/7 online and in print. As a photographer, I invest in my own headshots because they pay off over time.
4. Looking Your Best
   You don’t have to feel photogenic. With proper lighting and posing, a professional can bring out your best features and ensure the photos look natural, not staged.
5. Building Trust
   Voters study your face to see if you’re relatable and trustworthy. A professional portrait helps them make that connection.
6. Staying Up to Date
   We all change over time. Updating your headshots keeps your public image current and shows confidence in who you are now.

Final Thoughts

Working with Susan Krause reminded me that professional headshots for politicians aren’t about vanity — they’re about visibility and authenticity. If you’re a musician, artist, real‑estate agent or aspiring public figure in Toowoomba, don’t underestimate the power of a well‑crafted portrait. Explore more examples of corporate and campaign headshots on my website’s Corporate page.

These are the honest benefits to having a professional headshot taken.

1. You will have a professional appearance

First impressions are vital for politicians but everyone because you know how quickly people are turned off by poor quality photography and click away from a site if they’re not interested. There are so many candidates screaming for potential voters’ attention so you want your first impression to be a solid one.

You want to present yourself and yourself as decisive, important and indispensable.

As a candidate, you don’t want to use a picture of yourself that you cut out from another photo. You don’t want to ask a good friend who has an expensive camera to take a picture of you.

2. You will be able use your photos everywhere on the web.

If your day-to-day campianing doesn’t require you to hang out on the web constantly, you may not be aware of how many places you can use your headshot. Here are a few:

·         Your website

·         Coreflute signs

·         Your Facebook page

·         Leaving comments on blogs

·         On your own blog

·         Press realeases

3. But could I spend campaign funds another way??

 I balked at this very suggestion that was made to me . Everyone seems to calling themselves a photographer and iPhone do a OK job but the investment  of professional photographer will be worth every cent you pay.

And the investment will produce more than you will spend.

Myself as a professional I get my  headshots done by an amazing Toowoomba photographer Kat Cherry we have worked together many times. But my headshot photos work for 24 hours a day 7 days a week across many plat forms, not only digital but print as well.

4. I don’t feel particularly photogenic, that’s not a worry I can light you properly and ensure that you look your best.

Everyone is vain, and wanting to their best. But when I photograph you not will you look great but the photos will have natural feel. I told her  you’re in the hands of a professional, I can do amazing things with lighting, very expensive equipment. I love making people look their absolute best.

5. The public are always interested to see who they voting for.

When voters see your corflute signs or come to your website, they will study your face and see if they like you or can they trust you with their vote. Professional photography  provides them a chance to make the connection with you.

I always bring out your personality in the picture. It helps to make you more likable and approachable. I know lots of cool techniques that will help get the right angles, the correct head tilts.

6. Please keep your photos up to date.

As we get older we change. We change our hair color, our hair styles but we also change our level of confidence. We may not look as young as we would like, but we know who we are and updating our photos is vital to have a current photo. The confidence you develop by having regular  will come through in your photos.

There is a variety of tips online on what to wear and what not to wear. You’ll have to decide where do you want to picture taken.

I have done lots of headshots for politicians, musicians, locals artists and real-estate agents.  There other blog post I have written, on headshots I have done please free to explore my blog and see previous clients photos on my website under the corporate tab.

 http://www.davidrookphotographer.com/Corporate

David Rook Photographer.

Beautiful moments, naturally.