Does your headshot give the right impression?

Does your headshot give the right impression?  Does it make a great first impression? 

...Or does it need updating?!  Is it failing your business?  Not giving the right impression to all your potential customers and clients? 

Here are my 3 essential things your business headshot should have, so it is a great headshot that also works effectively for you, and gives the right impression of you and your business...

Why do you need your headshot to give the right impression?

Your headshot is the most important out of the whole range of photos you need to use for your business.  

It is most likely the first thing people will see – including potential clients and customers, potential employers, colleagues and collaborators, even journalists when you pitch for PR, as well as the friends and acquaintances who you want to bring into your audience. 

Whenever anyone googles you or searches for you in social media, it is your headshot, your profile photo, that gives them a first impression of you.

That first impression is extremely important, even if we don't want it to be, and want someone to get to know us!  But we all make snap judgements on first meeting someone or seeing them online.  And if your headshot/profile photo is a blurry selfie, or your pet, or you on a night out, that really isn't giving the professional, capable, welcoming look that you are after.

So you see, having a good headshot as your profile photo really is essential.  You don't want to be perceived as unprofessional or lazy or uncaring about your business because of how you look online, do you?

So your headshot needs to work effectively for you and your business, and work for you, not against you. 

It needs to give the right first impression. 

And it will do that, if it has these three things: It needs to look professional.  It needs to look like you.  And it needs to look like part of your brand.

Let’s talk about each of those a little bit more…

Does your headshot give the right impression? #1: Does it look like you?

Your headshot needs to look be you, as I said above - not your baby, children, pet, a holiday or wedding photo, you cropped from a photo with friends on a night out etc etc., or your logo either by the way, it needs to be you!  It's what people will see when they find you online, so they need to know they've found the right person.

So be brave and swap that favourite photo of someone else, and put one of you out there instead.

And your headshot needs to look like you – and you need to be recognisable!  Even if that is still on zoom, let alone real life, people need to know they are talking to the same person that they have seen online, and know it is still you.   So it needs to be a photo of you, that is recognisable as you.

So if you’ve got a new hair style, changed your look, or changed your weight, it’s time to update your headshot.  Sadly we all get older too of course, so if you’re still using a headshot from several years ago, then it’s definitely time for a newer one that looks more like you do now.  (You don’t want people to think ‘oh she’s aged really badly’ when they meet you after seeing your photo do you?!). 

Does your headshot give the right impression? #2: Does it look professional?

Does your headshot photo look good?  Is it clear, and well lit, not out of focus, or blurry? 

And do YOU look good?  Are you wearing something that suits you, that gives the right look you want to have in your business photos?  Are you posed nicely, and have a friendly and welcoming expression? 

Do you look confident and capable, or however you want to look in your headshot?

A professionally taken headshot (or one that looks professional even if you/a friend or relative have taken it) will show that you are serious about your business, that you are a professional.  Getting a professional to taking it though will result in a better photo, as they'll know how to pose you and capture you looking your best, as well as having the technical skill.  And they will be able to bring out your personality too, so that you really do look like you, on a really good day, and feel like you too.

Does your headshot give the right impression? #3: Does it look like part of your brand?

Your headshot also needs to look like part of your brand. 

Even just a head and shoulders headshot photo can still be a part of your brand, and help to build you a strong brand too, that's recognisable and memorable as you. 

Plus using a photo of you, not your logo or anything else, will really help you to build a more personal brand too.  Be clear what your brand style is, your brand visual identity and your brand photography style, and get your headshot photographer to match that in your headshot.  Whether that’s light and bright, dark and moody, colourful, more soft and muted, the right photography and editing style will really help, along with the right backdrop, and what you wear. 

Oh and if you can get a brand colour or two into the photo too, either in the location/backdrop or your outfit, then bonus points for you!

Here’s one of mine – it looks like me, it’s less than a couple of years old, I’m wearing one of my brand colours, which contrasts with the backdrop in my brand style and which is also a brand colour, I like how I look, the whole look and feel of the photo suits me and suits my brand  >>  it works effectively for my business, and gives the right impression of me and my business.

So, does your headshot give the right impression? 

Take a good impartial look at your current headshot / set of headshots.  Are they working for you in the right way, looking good, attracting your ideal clients/customers, and building your brand? 

Do they have all three of these essential things?  Are they up to date enough and look like you?  Do they look professional enough, and give the right impression of you and your business that you want them to?  Are they aligned with the rest of your brand?

Hopefully they do, but if not, it’s time to get them updated.  Especially if they no longer look quite how you do now.  Or even if you just aren't that keen on them.  It's time to get some that you love!

...Finally, here's how I can help you get a headshot that gives the right impression! 

If you're anywhere near me I'd love to take some new headshots of you!  I'm based just outside Sevenoaks in Kent.  There's a few options for you.

1) I run occasional headshot days in a couple of locations in Sevenoaks, where you can book a time and come along for a short photo session, The Headshot Plan, for headshots and a few mini branding type photos (or it can be booked separately at a location of your choice).  Find out more here: Headshot Day 

2) The Mini Headshot Plan is available if you literally just need a couple of new headshots.  This can be booked at a Headshot Day, or separately.  Find out more here: Headshot Photos

3) All my branding photo sessions come with headshots included too!  Find out more here: Capture Your Brand

4) If you're not ready to invest in a professional photo shoot quite yet, my selfie course will help you take a much better photo of yourself that you can use as your headshot in the meantime!  From Selfie Shy To Selfie Star

5) Need a confidence boost before getting in front of my camera (or someone else's!)? - then you need my Conquer Your On-Camera Confidence course ;) 

Have fun getting a headshot that works effectively for your business and makes the right impression!  When you have it ready, here's my blog on 7 ways to use your new headshots so you can make the most of them😊

Next Steps:

- Want to know more about how to take a better looking selfie?  Here's the selfie course link again: From Selfie Shy To Selfie Star.

- Need a confidence boost before taking any selfies or having some branding photos taken of you? Take my Conquer Your On-Camera Confidence course.

- Interested in finding out more about my branding photography or headshot packages?  Here you go: Capture Your Brand.  

- Ready for more personal mentoring, brand, visibility and marketing strategies that work for you, a community of fellow ambitious introverts, training, and accountability to put it all into action?  Come and join my Brand Plan membership, and get support to show up, stand out, and sell more🤩

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Blog topics / categories: 

#All About Branding Photos, Headshots And Selfies

[This blog was first written in April 2021, then transferred to this website and updated, February 2024]