With online presence in today’s society playing such a huge role in the successes of businesses, the photo on your company website or social media profile is often your first introduction to prospective clients, customers and business associates.
When someone sees your profile photo online they will make assumptions based on what they see, and so it is more important than ever that your photo presents you and your company in a positive light.
All too often businesses will spend time and money on defining their brand, designing their website, writing the content, optimising their SEO but then neglect their images. We all know the popular phrase “a photo speaks 1000 words”.
What does your current profile photo say about you?
If you’re using a holiday snap on Linked In, what impression does this give to a potential client?
If you are serious about your business it is important to present a professional image, it is also important that your profile photo looks like you and reflects how you do business so you should consider the message you would like your professional headshot to convey? (eg. confidence, friendliness, approachability, warmth, fun, trust, caring, perhaps even that you’re someone a little different, wacky, quirky…).
Think of your headshot as a first face-to-face meeting, how would you present yourself at this meeting?
But what’s the point of hiring a professional photographer when you have a very good camera and could ask your husband/wife/daughter/business partner/friend to take a perfectly good shot for you?
You pay a professional photographer for their expertise in working with light (whether it be natural light or an expensive studio set-up) to bring out the very best in skin tones, their artistic eye and knowledge about how to position you to capture your best angle and their ability to catch the natural, spontaneous expressions during conversation that make you look confident/friendly/approachable, etc.
A good professional photographer will put you at ease so that you are relaxed in front of their camera. A relaxed subject will result in a natural photo with a confident smile with some personality that will create a great first impression! It will show potential clients that you care about your business, that you are professional and that you care about the details!
Flip it the other way, if your amateurish profile photo (or even worse, lack of profile photo) indicates that you don’t appear to care about the details of your own businesses image, why should a potential client have confidence that you would install higher standards when dealing with their contract?
It may take a little time to create the right image (a professional photographer won’t just capture ‘one’ lucky shot!) but a professional will have the skills and equipment needed to meet your brief, whether you’re a powerful chief executive of an international brand or the owner of a small creative start-up.
If you are interested in updating your profile photo, have a look at our business packages or give us a call to chat about your own requirements.