S.C. photographers participate in ‘10,000 Headshots’ initiative

Hundreds of photographers across the country made an impact Wednesday through the ''10,000 Headshots' photo initiative.

Columbia, S.C. (WOLO) — Hundreds of photographers across the country, including here in South Carolina, made an impact Wednesday through the ‘10,000 Headshots’ photo initiative.

This was the largest, single-day initiative that provided thousands of Americans new, professional headshots free of charge.

“So when you have a professional headshot, it says I’ve invested in myself, I’m taking this seriously,” said Mary Denman, one of the photographers participating.

Anyone who is unemployed could register for a headshot photo shoot.

“As a group, there are 200 of us, who have come together to give away headshots to people who have lost their jobs due to COVID. We are just trying to give back to the community and help people get back to work,” said Denman.

“I think when people get a visual of you, they can kind of tell who you are. And so I think that’ll be a great benefit,” said John Geiger, who received headshots.

Denman was one of two photographers in the state participating in the initiative.

“There were two of us photographers who were going to shoot in South Carolina, and we both live in Greenville. So I volunteered to come here, so that we could cover more of the state and make it more accessible to people,” said Denman.

Having a professional headshot can make you stand out as a potential job candidate.

“It was a nice benefit to us as job seekers, and I’ve never had them done. I needed something done on my websites, like Indeed and LinkedIn. So it was a great opportunity and it was affordable,” said Geiger.

“It just brings a lot of joy to my heart. It makes me know this is why I love what I do, I love working with people and helping them see themselves in a different, better and stronger way,” said Denman. “We’re going to figure out if there’s anything else going forward that we can do to help. But we really do want to give people hope there are other people who care if you’ve lost your job. And don’t give up.”

Participants got the headshots digitally, and could immediately update their LinkedIn or professional profiles.

For more information on the initiative, click here.