Why you need a business headshot

There’s a really simple reason why you need a business headshot and that’s to make a good first impression for both you and your business. With that in mind the headshot needs to be a good photograph and this is why.

According to a study in the Cognition and Emotion Journal, (Who do you trust? The impact of facial and emotional behaviour on decision making) it takes less than 100 milliseconds to make a decision about a person’s face. So when people first see you online they will have started to form an opinion about you before even realising that they’re doing it. This is why it’s so important to get the headshot right.

There are so many questions to consider from the background of your headshot to wondering if you should wear a tie, to should you smile and many more details. Details that all fall under the umbrella of a good first impression.

If your headshot is a hastily taken portrait photographed by your friend at a party or a cropped version of you taken at a wedding it won’t deliver the right message. It looks naff, sloppy and unprofessional and that’s the message that people read. That bathroom selfie that you spent ages perfecting has more effort thrown into it but it’s photographed in a room with a toilet, what’s the message there? 

Then there’s the theory that you should fold your arms and look serious to present yourself as confident and powerful. More like pompous and arrogant. People related to people that smile so smile. The tip is to make yourself look as nice as possible so that you can impress the subconscious of your prospective clients or investors.

When you leave the house to go to work, a meeting or a job interview you make yourself look as presentable as possible. Try to remember that before you even get an opportunity to meet someone in real life they will have already seen you and framed an opinion about you online.

So if you would wear a nice jacket, a clean pair of shoes and smile on your face for an important occasion you need to make sure that you look as well presented online otherwise you might not get invited.

Written by Paul Tschornow

If you want to find out more about creating some commercial photography content for your business then you know what to do – get in touch and we’ll have a chat about what you need and how we can make that happen for you.

Photo Heads can mostly be found photographing in London, sometimes in Bristol and occasionally elsewhere but we do travel throughout the UK and Europe. Don’t forget to follow @thephotoheads on Instagram.