Many people never think to have a professional headshot made for personal reasons. Self representation and personal branding are concepts that elude many people, but the fact is that people often judge one another based on first impressions or ongoing impressions. Whether for dating, friendship or for business, the internet is often the first impression people have of us these days, and so our online images are a large part of how we introduce ourselves to others and continually put ourselves into their minds. It’s been said “A picture’s worth a thousand words,” and that is an important quote to remember when deciding what kind of story you want to tell about yourself.
Job Seeking or Business
Today, I want to focus on personal headshots, but I do elaborate on different types of corporate and business headshots in another post here. Having a professional headshot is a strong tool in representing yourself well to potential employers and business partners or customers. It can increase revenue, salary offers and responses.
Social Media Profiles
Having a professional headshot for social media profiles is a good way to represent yourself well. It’s almost like a shortcut to gaining respect with peers of all sorts, because even friends, family and acquaintances study our faces to decide how they feel about a person. Put your best face forward with professional posing, makeup, clothing and lighting. You may not be selling a product to your friends, family or online acquaintances, but you are “selling” yourself to them.
Dating Profile Pictures
It’s no surprise that dating is a lot like selling. You might think you want to find someone that just “likes you for you,” but you will never know if they might if you can’t get through the online window to meet them in person. When you are scrolling through online photos, notice your own judgments based on other people’s photos. Here is a great article with tips for good dating profile photos. Having professional images says you care enough about yourself to represent yourself well, and that means you are likely to want to care about them and represent them well, too.
Family Albums and Gifts
Professional portraits for family memories are a more common concept to many people. Professional images of you looking your best make great gifts to family members and / or are good things to send along in the mail to loved ones you don’t get to see very often.
Hopefully, you’re ready to put your best face forward and book a headshot session. I’d like to invite you to read another blog post that will help you prepare for your photo session.
