7 Reasons to Get Professional Headshots

Jan 4

As a professional portrait photographer, my schedule is jammed packed with High School seniors and families in the warm months and through the fall. But those other months get busy with professional headshots. I’ve helped all sorts of professionals up their online professional game with intentional, personal, professional headshots. There are a lot of reasons why this is crucial to everyone so whether you work as an employee, own a business big or small or just have an online presence, KEEP READING!

There are lots of reasons to get professional headshots or to update them

Here are 7 reasons but all it takes is a quick Google Search of “Why are professional headshots important” and you’ll find all sorts of articles.

#1

#1 Your first impression means everything!

In 2012, the Cognition And Emotion Journal published an interesting study on facial features. The research showed that you make your decision to trust someone within 100 milliseconds of seeing their face. You can read the full article by clicking on the image.

Since most of the business we do with anyone requires trust, it’s crucial that we make that 1st 100 millisecond count! Can you imagine walking into a high end clothing store to buy a nice suit and the person helping you is in dirty sweat pants? Your impression of that business as a whole would plummet!

#2 It’s a great way to show your personality!

Ok, this picture was just him being silly when we took it (he’s actually a pastor!!), but you get the point! Sometimes we hire someone or are willing to work with someone when we know our personalities are going to gel. A headshot says a lot about how approachable you are or how confident you are in your position.

#3 Your portrait can help tell the story of what you sell or what your business offers.

If you were on a website looking at a long list of therapists, seeing this image would immediately tell you without saying a word that this professional uses a dog in her sessions. What you sell or offer for service is important to convey visually and can help someone make a clear decision in a world of many options.

#4 Consistency in your brand is critical

There was an old saying that someone needed to see your work 7 times before they decided to hire you. Now with social media competing for our every attention, that number has skyrocketed. So it’s crucial that our brand looks the same in all the places. Your headshot should be a current image of you on LinkedIn, your website and any other social media platform you use. That recognition greatly increases your consumers ability to identify you and trust you.

#5 You will stand out amongst your competition

How often do we sit and compare businesses by just what we see visually online. Whenever I am on LinkedIn and see a professional with a poorly lit iPhone photo for their profile pic, I often cruise right past it. I also notice that my eye stays longer on profile pictures that look professional with good lighting, posing and background.

Yes it can!!! The more you tag your images with your business information, the more it is out there on the web for people to find. Be intentional about the links to your images. And let’s be honest… the better you feel about your headshot, the more you want to show it off.

One of the biggest reasons people don’t get a professional portrait is their own self image and not liking how they look. When we don’t feel good about ourselves, we then project that outward. That can effect how we do business and what types of clients we attract. But when you feel great, your confidence can grow, changing the trajectory of your business!

Many times I’ve taken a headshot for someone, both men and women, and when I show them the image on the back of the camera, they gasp. They like what they see! Having a knowledgable photographer that knows lighting, the correct lens to use, and posing can make a world of difference!

See how that works? That’s me, showing what I doing for a profession. You can see by my smile that I’m super friendly and crazy awesome to work with! 😜 I love this picture of myself so I’m not ashamed to show it to you.