Greetings, beautiful people!

Next on the blog? Today, I’m taking a moment to share with you why professional headshots are so important for businesses! 😃

If you own or run a business, your face is associated with your business. That’s why having high quality, professional headshots is so essential.

Although it may seem to be a fast and easy method to produce acceptable headshots, using your phone camera to take your headshots is just not good enough. It is universally known that a first impression leaves a lasting impression - make it a great one with professional headshots.

Headshots are not just for celebrities, models, and movie stars. They are now commonly used by business professionals, entrepreneurs, actors, marketers, media personalities, authors, entertainers, and the like to market their businesses for success.

Are you a business owner, entrepreneur, or professional? Read on for key reasons you should use a professional photographer to take headshots for your visual brand.

Why You Should Use a Professional Photographer for Your Headshots

📌 Adds a Personal Touch to Your Business

Let’s face it. Before people buy from you, they have to buy into you. People want to see a photo of the person whom they are doing business with. Including a professional headshot on the “About” page of your website adds a personal touch to your business. This makes your business look more human, which encourages your customer base to remain loyal to your products and services.

📌 Makes Your Website and Overall Brand Look More Professional

Headshots reflect the quality of your company’s work and professionalism. Professional headshots on your website of you and your staff make it looks more professional, as well as your overall brand. Consistent usage of high quality headshots for your business will show your existing and potential clients that you and your brand are committed to being taken seriously as professional in the marketplace.

📌 Enhances Your “About” Page

Your “About” or biography page on your website typically receives the most web traffic. People visit this page to connect a face with your business - not just read about the business owner. Therefore, it is crucial to include headshots of your entire professional staff.

📌 Critical for Marketing and Branding Collateral

Your brand is not just based on your logo or tagline. It’s also about the feelings that your clients develop about your business. From online media to print materials, marketing collateral is a must for successful businesses. Your headshot is a significant part of this collateral to market your products and services for success.

📌 Horizontal vs. Vertical Headshots

With ever-changing design trends, online profiles, and social media, having both horizontal and vertical headshots is a good rule of thumb to showcase your authenticity, personality, confidence, and approachability.

A horizontal orientation allows for more room to fill up a page/screen or add graphics and text, provides more composition opportunities, and keeps your face as large as possible - making your photos more active visually. However, horizontal is not great for all situations. A vertical orientation is better suited as a body shot, can provide more formal or posed looks, and can be used to focus the attention of the viewer on just you as the subject without a distracting background.

Your professional photographer should make sure you and your physical characteristics are flattering in both headshot orientations. Overall, be sure to work with your photographer to ensure your headshots will serve as effective marketing tools for your business such that your needs are met for online and print materials.

Considerations for the Best Possible Headshots

Below are things you should consider for your professional headshots:

• Hire a professional photographer who is trained, understands lighting, and takes killer photographs - not someone that has a decent camera, knows a little about photography, and kind of dabbles with taking photos. A photo from the latest phone camera will not cut it either.

• Ensure you have the right support team. The professional photographer that you hire should have a talented support team (such as hair, makeup, and wardrobe styling) to help you plan the details of your photo shoot, as well as look and feel your best for headshots.

• Use professional headshots that depict what you look like now. What you look like should not be a mystery to people. You can mislead your potential clients by using photos when you were younger. Once trust is lost in your business, it’s really impossible to regain.

• Wear a pop of color. Avoid wearing all black and white. Instead, opt for wearing a colorful top, jacket, or tie.

• Plan on spending at least $500 to $1000. Investing in professional headshots can do wonders for your business. Spend the money. It’s worth it. Otherwise, your photos will make it look like you don’t care about your business.

• Consider having new headshots taken about every 1 to 2 years. A lot can happen in a year! Keep your headshots updated such that your brand, vision, and style are professional and modern, reflecting who you are today. Your headshots should allow people to recognize you when they meet you in person.

• Be sure to get high resolution photos that can be used for both online and print materials.

For more inspiration and tips to help you level up in your life, business, or career, stay close for new posts here on the KSimon Blog! You can also connect with me on Instagram @ksimonphotog!

Until next time,

Kimberly ❤️

📷 Metro Atlanta Lifestyle Content Creator | Wellness. Tech. Business. Leisure.