Is it me?

TBE partnership with Thrings

Over the years, John Davies’ Is it me? has become a favourite of TBE for its wit and camaraderie. This time it’s lights, camera… mild panic.

We had a serious trauma in the office recently. A day of dread and fear which no one really looks forward to. 

Was it HMRC? Was it the Solicitors Regulatory Authority? Was it Dyno-Rod? No, no and no – it was far worse. It was a photographer! 

The headshots for our website and for general publicity needed to be updated. I think the last time mine was taken was about 10 years ago. I can’t be certain but if you were to look at my previous profile on our website, I had a little bit of colour in my whiskers. 

Sadly, that colouring has faded into a Father Christmas-esque white over time so a refresh was probably necessary. After all, we don’t want to be the law firm equivalent of that person on a dating app who uses a photo taken in better, fitter, and full head of hairier times!

I don’t know if you’ve been through this recently, but photography day is quite the palaver in this day and age. In olden times we all know where we stood. Suits, a tie if you’re a bloke, smart shoes etc. 

These days the world has gone mad. Ties are optional, jackets are optional and footwear is miscellaneous. Its chaos. There are still some rules, for example patterns can be difficult for the camera to cope with so a plain frock is best, but it’s largely a personal choice event. 

And then there is the dreaded smile. Not too much, not too little and hopefully not too crazy. It needs to be warm and professional but in my case it’s often more ‘Here’s Johnny!’ from The Shining. The more I think about it the worse it gets and the pressure mounts as the mouth gets dryer. Teeth or no teeth? Hands in or out of pockets? Glasses or contact lenses? Too many choices.

Interestingly I did manage to pull off a couple of decent poses, but sadly I can’t use them. 

For my slot I decided to take my ‘thinking pipe’ with me. I don’t smoke, in fact I’ve never smoked, and my pipe has never been lit in anger, but I do occasionally use it when I’m thinking large, brilliant and serious thoughts. It’s an old friend and a trusted companion. 

At first the photographer said that I couldn’t use the pipe but after some persuasion I had a few pipe-shots taken, they are better than my pipeless ones.

I’m informed by our marketing team that a pipe, even a virgin pipe, probably isn’t website acceptable. So, there it is, I managed to get a couple of shots which I like, and my mum likes, but I can’t use them.

What do I do now though? Would anyone, apart from my mum, like to see a pipe shot? I could be persuaded to share. What do you think? LinkedIn? 

The only thing photography day has fully confirmed is that I have a great face for radio…

John Davies,

Senior Corporate Partner,
Thrings

e: jdavies@thrings.com
t: 01793 412634

Connect with me on LinkedIn.