What Do Your Headshots Say About Your Business?

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We live in a world where images are everything. Your business is being judged immediately by the first impression. People’s attention is unfocused and divided. If clients don’t like what they see, they quickly click elsewhere.

So what first impression are you giving to potential clients by your business headshots? If “pictures are worth a thousand words”, what are you saying with your images?

If you haven’t considered your media in years, it is time to take a critical look to really see what you are presenting to the world. Here are things to consider as you judge your own business headshots.

Business headshots put a human face to your company. Having no staff photos makes a company look like it lacks identity. This can be a problem when you are trying to project confidence to make a sale.

Does your staff come across as being professional or trustworthy? Do they look accomplished, seasoned and can be taken seriously?

Are you projecting the right image for your branding story? For instance, do you work in a formal or casual environment? Do your headshots align with this story?

What is the reputation you want to build? Do your employee photos support that goal?

If after answering these important questions, you feel your photos are lacking, here are some tips to help remedy the situation.

TIP #1

Start by knowing your ideal client

Once you understand who your ideal client is, the easier it is to attract them by the business headshots you take. Here are some great photo examples that can be used to attract certain clientele.

Business Portrait of a brown haired woman wearing a blue jacket and black top leaning against a grey bench in front of white curtains

feminine

Casual

Business-like

Business Portrait of a blond curly haired woman wearing black and a floral top with belt in front of a black backdrop

creative

Business Portrait of a man wearing blue plaid and a white cowboy hat standing in a field of dried grass and mountains with dog

pet-lover

Business Portrait of a blond woman wearing black standing in a white dinning room setting with candles

personal or relatable

Tip #2

Understand what makes a bad business headshot

Business portraits must be clearly focused and up-to-date. Nothing hurts credibility more than when a client walks in to meet a professional expecting someone who is 20 years younger from their outdated headshot.

Avoid taking photos from weird angles and they must be cropped properly. Here are some photo examples that can repel and hurt your business image.

terrible backgrounds

weird angles

over styling

Over photoshopped

bad lighting

bad poses

tip #3

Get everyone on board with your vision

Tip #1 is what you want. Tip #2 is what you don’t want. This message must be clearly given to all employees so they know what image they need to portray. The photographer also needs to understand the end goal in order to provide the needed images that capture the branding story.

tip #4

What to wear

Once you understand Tip #1 & #2, it becomes much easier to figure out what individuals need to wear to a business headshot photoshoot.

Each individual must be intentional to dress the part. They need to put in the extra effort for their appearance including pressing clothing, doing hair and make-up and whatever it takes to look their best.

Remember that solid or neutral colours are best unless the vision for the branding story dictates otherwise.

Bring a couple of different looks with extra jackes, ties or jewelry or anything else for easy, quick changes. This gives the photographer a bit more freedom to capture the right image.

A business portrait photoshoot is a collaborative event between business owners, employees and the photographer. The better prepared for this process, the better outcome to ensure you are capturing that great first impression for your company. The tips in this post are the things that any business can bring to the table.

At Aviva Studios, we have over 24 years of photography experience and would love to partake in this collaborative process with you.

Let us show you how we can provide your company with the images you need for a great first impression. Visit our next blog post to see what the professional photographers do to capture just the right image.