The Power of Professional Headshots: Elevating Your Professional Presence
Professional Headshots: First Impressions in a Digital Age
In today's digital world, your online image can be just as important as your handshake was in the past. Professional headshots are not just a luxury; they're a crucial part of how professionals present themselves. In this post, we'll explore the transformative power of having a professional headshot and how it can elevate your professional persona.
Why Professional Headshots Matter
A professional headshot is often your first opportunity to make a lasting impression. With the rise of LinkedIn and other professional platforms, your headshot can dictate the perceived credibility and professionalism you convey. Well-crafted headshots can open doors to opportunities by giving you a leg up in the professional world.
Debunking Common Myths About Professional Headshots
Myth 1: My smartphone is good enough for my headshot.
While smartphone cameras have advanced, they lack the ability to capture the professional quality that a specialized camera can. Professional photographers not only use better equipment but also bring lighting and editing expertise that enhance the final image. A large part of what makes a great headshot great lays outside the camera itself, but is rather in the way trained professional knows how to take an image that is not only flattering, but that pays attention to all of the subtext and subconscious ways in which the image is communicating a message to its viewer. While a cell phone photo may be great for a personal social media channel that you are sharing images with friends and loved ones, for a professional image to benefit you it is incredibly important to make use of a professional to ensure you are not hurting yourself from the presence you project through your professional online space.
Myth 2: Professional headshots are too expensive.
While it’s true that headshot photography can feel a bit pricey to some, it is important to remember that they are also an investment that brings about real world results. Consider the potential lost opportunities from using a subpar headshot. A great headshot can be the difference between getting noticed or overlooked by recruiters, clients, and potential business partners.
The Professional Edge: What Makes a Great Headshot?
Great headshots share several key characteristics: clarity, appropriate background, professional attire, and a genuine expression. These elements, when combined skillfully, contribute to a headshot that conveys confidence and approachability. while these are all elements and characteristics that can in theory be captured with some luck on your side by yourself, or with a professional not trained in creating compelling headshots; finding the right professional who can achieve these results every time can be an investment that pays for itself many times over. You wouldn’t trust your company’s marketing budget, book keeping, sales, or other important operations to someone with no experience in the hopes that they did the job well even if there was a chance they could get it right; so why risk all of your online first impressions going poorly to an image that was not created by a professional who has specialized in helping people to put their best foot forward online?
Choosing the Right Photographer for Your Professional Headshots
Choosing a photographer who specializes in professional headshots is crucial. Specialization means they understand the nuances of lighting, pose, and expression that work best in a professional context as well as focusing on a process that helps you to feel relaxed and comfortable in front of a camera (A situation very few people naturally feel comfortable doing). This expertise and focus on creating a pleasant experience ensures your headshot will convey the right message about your professionalism and approachability.
Preparing for Your Headshot Session
Preparation can make the difference between a good headshot and a great one. Wear clothes that are professional and fit well. Prior to your session, discuss with your photographer any concerns or particular aspects you want to highlight in your headshot. At Connor Hibbs Photography we recommend that individuals where solid colors, or shirts and blouses that do not have overly small and intricate patterns as the intention behind the headshots are to draw the viewer’s eyes to you, your face, and your expression. We don’t want things that will be overly distracting. Grooming is a very important aspect to a highly professional headshot outcome. While we can absolutely help by photoshopping out a stray hair here and there, or fixing small blemishes on your skin, or clothing, it is important to come to your session looking put together and professional. If you are unsure of what exactly to wear it is never a bad idea to bring a couple of options that we are more than happy to provide our professionally trained insights towards to guide you in a direction that will get you the best results.
A great headshot depends a great deal on what YOU like the most about yourself as well. If you have particular feelings about things that you historically like about good photos you’ve seen of yourself, or have other concerns you should absolutely feel free to express those things to the person taking your photos.
At Connor Hibbs Photography, we specifically tether our camera to a computer while shooting so that we can instantaneously review images as they have been shot to allow for a more open dialogue between you and the photographer so that we can make sure you walk away with an image that you feel is a great looking and genuine version of the person you are.
How to Use Your Professional Headshots Effectively
Once you have a great headshot, use it consistently across all professional platforms. This consistency helps in building a recognizable personal brand. Whether it's LinkedIn, your company's website, or your email signature, a professional headshot will help you stand out. Studies have shown the ties between a person having seen names or faces of individuals in the past and their current perceptions of those individuals being significantly more positive. This “False Fame Effect” quite literally has an approximately 10% increase in positive feelings a person has towards an individual, or organization. By using your headshot consistently across several channels, people will not only form more positive first impressions of you, but will ultimately treat you more favorably in the future because you are more recognizable to them so consistent use of your headshot wherever you can reasonably include it will have a dramatic improvement on your professional outcomes.
Real Stories: Testimonials and Success Stories
We've seen numerous clients experience significant career advancements after updating their headshots. Marketing professionals from organizations we have served have on numerous occasions informed us that their implementation of staff headshots across their digital platforms has increased positive feedback from the clients they serve in customer surveys.
FAQs About Professional Headshots
1. What should I wear for my professional headshot?
Wearing an outfit that makes you feel confident and good about yourself is the best decision you can make when getting your professional headshot taken. When it comes to more practical advice it is generally recommended that you wear clothes that have a professional appearance that also don’t distract significantly from the most important aspect of a headshot: You. So neutrals, earth tones, or jewel tones in solid or not overly distracting patterns tend to work the best in images. If you feel unsure about any one look feel free to bring along more than one option and ask your photographer their professional opinion.
2. How often should I update my headshot?
The “how often” question can be a bit tricky. There are rules of thumb in the photography industry that recommends an individual get a new headshot every 2-3 years, though my personal feelings are that headshots should be updated as a person’s appearance varies by any meaningful amount since the purpose of a headshot is to be an initial impression for a person before they interact with you in other capacities in the real world. For a person this could range from anywhere between every 6 months and every 5 years or so.
For organizations doing full staff headshots the recommendation of 2-3 years has been a pretty typical and reasonable frequency for updating staff headshots.
3. Can professional headshots be taken outdoors?
Absolutely they can be if that is what is desired. That said: There are benefits and drawbacks to outdoor headshots. Benefits include signaling to other locally based people that you too live in the area. They can have a light and natural appearance to them and the inclusion of natural backgrounds can project certain messages to the viewer. The drawbacks to outdoor headshot photography include the potential for the background to distract from the individual’s face and expression, the potential for bad weather the day of the shoot resulting in a need to reschedule, and for larger organizations: less consistency across the headshots. With lighting conditions outdoors changing constantly it is impossible to guarantee similar looking headshots for all members of your staff and as such can result in less consistency in appearance when all staff images are looked at together which reduces the appearance of “consistency and reliability” of staff across your organization. While outdoor headshots are neither “good” or “bad” they do have benefits and drawbacks that are important to consider.
4. Should my headshot be in color or black and white?
While either black and white, or color headshots can be acceptable, contemporary trends and feelings often view color images as more “modern” and realistic. This sense of realism can communicate a lot about your outlook and approach to the world. Black and white images can project a sense of timelessness and consistency in their images which can be a beneficial thing to communicate in certain industries.
5. What backgrounds are best for professional headshots?
The best background is one that will help highlight the proper messaging a person wants for their headshot. Generally for studio headshots I tend to recommend a neutral background that ranges anywhere between pure white, light grey, dark grey, or black. Lighter tones can project a sense of friendliness and approachability that works very well in a lot of service based industries where darker backgrounds project authority and strength which can work well for institutional organizations and organizations in which a professional is an advocate for the people they serve. The use of canvasses with muted earth tones can also be a fantastic way to project a more established and institutional feel to images lending some additional authority to them. Background color decisions are a discussion that should be a conversation to have with your photographer to make sure you are communicating the right type of messages to the people you will be interacting with professionally.
6. How can I ensure my headshot looks like me on my best day?
Your headshot looking like you on your best day is something that is ultimately up to both you and your photographer. Photographers who prioritize conversational approaches to shooting will have a system in place to allow you to review images and discuss about what things you feel makes you look your best or things you want to make sure to highlight or hide. An experienced professional will have seen just about any request you have many times before and will be able to help get you into a pose and expression that helps you to highlight your best features. An experienced professional should also work to help you feel comfortable the day of while shooting. The best looking photos are ones in which you have a natural looking expression which can only be coaxed out of you if you feel comfortable in front of a camera. While this is an experience most of us do not have on a daily basis, it is also one that should not feel horribly uncomfortable either. A true professional will be able to help guide you towards an image that looks like you while being able to give appropriate and realistic post processing to help clean up any other minor blemishes that may be captured in camera to make you look naturally fantastic. Like you on your best day.
How do I move forward from here?
Are you ready to enhance your professional image? Book your professional headshot session with us today, or contact us for a free consultation to learn more about our full staff headshot packages.
With professional headshots, you're not just investing in a photo; you're investing in your professional future. Elevate your professional presence and open up new doors by booking your session today.