It’s back to school time for the kids… but it’s also the time of year that you are probably thinking about ramping up your business for the 2nd half of the year. Today is the beginning of a 3 part blog series on Head Shots and Personal Branding. Today I am covering whether or not you really need a professional Head Shot. Will that seat belt selfie work? What about that image you just cropped yourself out of? Not sure… check out the article below and then keep an eye out for the other two parts later this week.
Why do I need a professional head shot? How is this different than a selfie, or having your friend take a quick picture?
A head shot is really your visual representation of your business. It’s the first impression that your business is making with your audience. I cannot stress how important it is to have a professional head shot just because you want to portray yourself as a professional, as a legitimate business owner. I see so many photos on Facebook and LinkedIn, where they are selfies or photos that their head has been cut out of group photos and the lighting is bad or it’s blurry and it just doesn’t give a good first impression for your business. I think the importance of having a professional take your picture, have you look presentable with your hair and your makeup and your styling all done in a professional way, sort of distinguishes you from the newbies, or the hobbyist. It’s a way so you can communicate that you are the real deal. A legitimate business owner who is ready to work with you and be an expert in your field.
Why is it important to be the face of your business?
Often times business entrepreneurs hide behind their logos or the websites. It’s so important to build a relationship with your audience. Your industry, much like mine, is probably overly saturated. There’s a thousand photographers, there’s a thousand coaches, a thousand realtors. The best way to make that connection, to build that relationship, is to actually show up and put your face out there. Portray yourself as a professional and also to humanize your business. If you just see a logo or you’re just reading text, you’re not going to get that “know, like, and trust factor”. When you are actually showing a photo, even if it’s a head shot, there’s a spark, or there’s some personality there that people look at and say, “You know, I like her. I want to learn more about her.” We live in a visual world, so people might remember you and even if they’re not in their journey to hire you right now, they might refer you, or when they’re ready, they’ll remember you, because you had that face to your brand.
What is the difference between Head Shots and Personal Branding Images?
Head shots are pretty straight forward. Sometimes you just need a quick head shot session because you have changed your hairstyle or transformed your body. Head Shots can be done in ½ an hour. We will choose your location, talk about what you will wear and give you several image choices to focus primarily on YOU. Personal Branding is very different because these tell a story and give you images that you can use ongoing in your social media. While you still have your traditional head shots – we will also sprinkle in photos to show kind of the behind the scenes, what it is like to work with you, your products and your inspirations. Where you are going, and who you’re working with makes you more authentic, makes you more real. It allows for this daily dialogue that you can have with your audience. f you can’t do Personal Branding photography, which is more of that storytelling, cohesive collection of images, then definitely invest in just a head shot, which is probably going to be at a much lower price point, just because, again, we all need that one professional photo to make sure that we portray ourselves as legitimate and we can use that across the board for our about page, on our website, all of our social media. That just builds awareness and builds our faces, like something memorable that people remember. I would definitely encourage people to invest in — If you can’t do anything else, definitely invest in the head shot.
How do I stand out from my over-saturated market?
A big thing about Personal Branding photography, I would say, is figure out how you are different, and then brainstorm with your photographer. Discuss ways to visualize what sets you apart. At the end of the day, you’re all in these industries that are saturated. It’s just what it is. If we can visually communicate how — Not only what we do, and how it feels, and where we work, but how we’re different, why you would come to me, versus someone else, I think that would be the tipping point for a lot of people. Think outside that box a little bit.
Are you interested in booking a head shot session? Click this link and let’s chat a little bit about what you are looking for. Send me more info on Head Shots and Personal Branding
Part 2
How to prepare for your head shots or personal branding session