Business Photography – First impressions count.
People searching for you online make their minds up about who you are based on your profile. The single most important factor in your profile is your head shot.
Studies run by associations and independents alike find that people make a decision on whether or not they like you within 100 milliseconds.
The image on your website or social media sites, such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, has a big influence on whether people want to connect with you or not.
Common mistakes:
- No photo. Being anonymous is the single biggest mistake you can make. Everyone is naturally suspicious of anonymity.
- Old Photo. We all are getting old, that’s life! The online photo must look like you now.
- Using a photo of a family, pet or car. It demonstrates lack of professionalism.
- Photo cropped from a party. Not only it’s not a flattering image (red eyes, drunken face), it again demonstrates that you are not a professional person, and you are trying to fit in your private life into a professional setting
- Looking away – not connecting – turning people off
- Not smiling – smile is the most important business tool, if you want to connect with your audience, smile is very important.
- DYI Photo – Often people think they can do it yourself, without actually understanding lighting and posing – and it very often does not produce the desired result.
Tips for success:
Here is what you need to do for successful on-line appearance:
- invest in your image
- create your brand
- have a variety of images – different but consistent
- be yourself, and be recognizable
- project confidence and approachability
- make use of the professional images on different platforms – business cards, social media, web, etc, etc.
- ladies, have your make-up done professionally for your business portrait