Is Your Headshot Helping or Hurting Your Business?
Having the right head shot in your marketing materials, email signature and social media profiles is a very important component to attracting more business. The style and quality of your head shot can say a lot about who you are and how you conduct your business. It’s only natural for customers to feel more comfortable working with someone who has a photo that looks both friendly and professional. This kind of photo will likely attract more business than a photo that is outdated or that has clearly been cropped. For business head shots, one of the most important rules of the road is hiring a professional. While selfies and cropped photos may work for personal social media accounts, hiring a professional photographer will make all the difference when it comes to business.
When searching for a professional photographer, be sure to look at a photographer’s previous work. A photographer may offer a great price, but if he or she doesn’t have a solid portfolio of head shots available for you to view, you may want to find someone else. Here are some other points to consider when it comes to taking a head shot that will help you win business:
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- Use a recent photo. Toss the 20-year-old glamour shots and keep head shots no more than three or four years old. While it may seem appealing to use a younger photo of yourself, potential customers who meet you face-to-face won’t recognize you.
- Go light on the retouches. While removing a blemish or two is OK, going overboard on effects and filters will remove a level of professionalism and create a misleading representation of yourself.
- Make sure your attire is professional but also similar to what you typically wear. If you attend client meetings in business casual attire, there’s no need to wear a suit in your head shot. However, no matter what you wear, make sure it looks clean and professional.
For more guidelines on great headshots, click here.
