Yesterday I shared a blog post about the need to make sure that YOU are represented well online by having a realistic and powerful professional headshot.  Before we know it, we will be in the 2020’s, and it isn’t OK anymore for you to just post a picture of yourself.  Last night I was scrolling through my LinkedIn account and was amazed at how many professionals find the worst selfie they could have found and are now using it as their introduction to the world.  Literally – would you be excited to do business with someone who uses a non-professional image of themselves to represent themselves online?  It would be like calling a company and someone answering the phone with “what do you want?”.

You can do better.

When you decide to invest in getting a professional headshot picture taken of yourself, there are a few things to consider to make sure that your images are as close as possible to what you want as a customer.

Emotional Projection of your Professional Headshot

A professional headshot is the opportunity to make a first impression.  It is pretty simple when you think about it, but what kind of look do you want for an image that will be your potential customer’s first impression of you?  Do you want a picture that shows you as confident, powerful and in charge – or do you want a more reserved, friendly and approachable style of an image?  Knowing what kind of impression you want to make to a potential customer is the first step to making sure your professional headshot is perfect.

Clothing Makes the Man or Women in Professional Headshots

Your professional headshot session comes with the opportunity to take images in both business and business casual attire.  Take this opportunity to make sure that you bring a change of clothing – or at least can loosen a tie or jacket for a few different looks.  Feel free to bring a couple of different options that are not too busy or have crazy prints on them so that they don’t distract from your face.  There is no sense in paying for professional photographs if everyone will be looking at the print that is on your shirt or tie.  Please make sure your clothing is ironed or at least wrinkle free and try not to slop coffee on yourself before your session – lol.  It happens, but do try to be careful.  Also, if you have a lint roller, bring it.  It is amazing how many little fibres you can collect on your clothing through the course of a morning.

Personal Hygiene and Professional Headshot Photography Sessions

I need to stress this bullet because there are fundamental things that go unnoticed by us each day – and sorry men…you guys especially seem to ignore the obvious that can influence your look for your professional headshot.  If a clean appearance is essential to your headshot, please make sure you are shaved (unless you have facial hair – then please make sure it is groomed and oiled if necessary), and the hair between your eyebrows and stray nose/ear hair is removed.  If you are a rugged type of guy it is fine to be yourself – I a not suggesting that you should look like a different person, but if you are thinking in the back of your mind “she can photoshop that out”, please take care of it before your professional headshot photography session with Suzanne Taylor Photography.  Also, please brush your teeth – plaque shows up in photos and having a yellow rim around your teeth can be quite difficult to remove depending on the condition of your teeth and the shape of them.  I have seen a lot of this over the years in family sessions and really – it is just a great way to feel good about yourself for the day.

One more thing as well, if you dye your hair – please make sure you don’t have roots unless it is part of your style and that your hair is done exactly how you want it to look in your pictures.

Make Sure Your Tummy is Happy Before Your Professional Headshot Photography Session

Make sure to have a snack or a meal before so that you are not distracted by a hungry tummy.  We as adults are pretty used to suppressing our hunger through the day, but when you need to look relaxed, happy and in control, it can be challenging with your stomach growling at you.  Making sure you pack a snack is a sure fire way to make sure that you are ready psychologically and physically for your professional headshot session.

Giving yourself the gift of a professional appearance is something that is so small in the grand scheme of business.  The amount of money we spend day to day on things that we consider necessary but then decide that something like a professional photo is unnecessary is frankly rather silly.  If you have made it through to the end of this blog post, I would assume that you are definitely considering having a professional headshot captured by Suzanne Taylor Photography.  It is the right decision for anyone in business and by following the above tips, you will be doing everything you can to put your best foot forward and make sure that the image people see of you reflects the person that you know you are.

Warmly,
Suzie
XO

Like My Work?  Follow me on Social Media!!!
Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter