Professional Headshots are part of the Marketing-Mix
Your professional headshots give you competitive advantage. And here is why. Two people are running from a Tiger. Niether can run faster than the Tiger, but the survivor only has to run faster than than the other person. The same principle applies for job interviews, client proposals and promotions. You do not have to be the best in the world – but you have to appear more suited to the role than other applicants. So why do professional headshots (in contrast to personal snaps) provide a competitive advantage?
1. Tailored for you
Your face is as individual as you. Everyone has a ‘best angle’, ‘best side’ and more flattering direction for light to strike their features. Getting these things right is what professional portraitists do from the start. Then they work on the elements that make the difference: body language, expression, and the smallest adjustments of muscle tone.
The process creates a sophisticated tailored image that presents the best possible version of you.
2. Tailored for your audience
Your audience is your market – the people who need your services – be they colleagues in the same firm, hiring managers or potential clients. And your audience has a distinct set of values – things that it values. Your audience is looking for someone who knows what it takes to perform well in their sector.
Your portrait needs to speak to these narratives. Professional headshots communicate subtle non-verbal messages that confirm you are the right person for the job.
3. Stand out from the crowd
Competing for promotion, a new position or new clients is no time for false modesty. You cannot afford to be ‘average’. Professional headshots provide images that lift you out of the crowd – let other candidates take the cheap options. A do-it-yourself AI generated headshot will only produce the average shot that everyone has. Don’t you deserve more? Professional headshots communicate your unique skills, making you the obvious person to interview.
4. Improve Your Visibility
Regularly changing your profile picture – on social media, internally and on other platforms creates content that algorithms love to chew on! Colleagues and friends will ‘like’ and comment on your new picture. And this activity gets picked up by various ranking engines. So you don’t simply make a splash with your mates – your profile will go up the rankings and become more visible to the people you want to impress.
5. React quickly
When big news happens you need to respond quickly and intelligently. Well constructed comment positions you as a thought leader. But your professional headshots must support the communication. Commenting on an ecological disaster is no time for a happy-smiley face and you don’t need to look concerned when announcing a contract win!
The fact is that we all need a library of images that support subtly different messages. And, if you’ve created a library of professional headshots – you are in a position to comment in a timely mannner.
So what is stopping you?
Many people don’t like having their picture taken. They have had poor experiences from family and friends who have wanted to do a ‘good job’ but simply haven’t got the training, experience or skills to produce good images that you can be proud of. It can create a negative feedback loop: one where you don’t feel confident in front of camera.
A professional portraitist will help you relax. They identify the real you and through nurture encouragement and positive feedback help you create a set of images you will be proud of, will impress your friends, colleagues and most importantly employers, managers and potential clients.
Working with a qualified professional photographer is fun, an experience you will enjoy. The most difficult part is getting in touch and you can do that right now.
