Anytime you communicate with another business associate or co-worker you are representing yourself and your business or the company you work for. This is why having a professional appearance in the workplace is important. The same philosophy goes for professional portraits it is important to make sure that they are clean and are an accurate representation of yourself while still maintaining professional standards. Using your phone to take a selfie of yourself is not going to cut it. Here is why you need to get a professional portrait for yourself.
It’s a Representation of You and the Business
Business websites look better and feel more natural when there are head shots of the staff included. These parts of the website are included to introduce the staff to the people who will be customers or clients etc. It is a good way to make people feel comfortable and more personal with you and the business. The biography or about page on a company’s website is often one of the most visited parts of the website. So it is important that the company is adequately represented in the manner that best fits their professional standards and ideals. Professional portraits go a long way in fostering a sense of professionalism and friendliness in visitors to your page.
Consistent Professionalism
Consistency looks professional. If there are is a large staff then it is important that all of the portraits are consistent with one another. You don’t want to be the one guy or girl on the about page with an unprofessional selfie as your portrait. Consistency makes visitors and potential customers and other business peers view you as a professional. This goes for social media pages, and anywhere else that your portrait may appear. If you are going to have a portrait make sure that you use the same portrait everywhere. This consistency is important. You took the time to take professional portraits now make sure that you are using it wherever your picture appears in a professional context.
Email Signatures and Social Media
Should you use your portrait in your email signature? You may wonder if it is appropriate, and the answer is yes you should if you have a professional looking portrait. Having your face appear at the end of your emails makes your communications more personable, it gives a person who has never met you face to face a chance to feel like they know you which can be a huge advantage when it comes to your business efforts. The important thing that you need to remember about using your professional portrait in your email signature or on your social media platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook, is that you need to be consistent. Use the same image for everything. Inconsistency is unprofessional.
We have looked at a number of very valid reasons for why having a professional portrait is so important to your professional appearance and business efforts, but we haven’t explored any tips to help you make sure you actually take good professional portraits. So here are some tips to keep in mind when getting professional portraits done.
- NO SELFIES!!
- Dress professionally, you can decide if you want a more relaxed look or a formal look
- Think about the background and your business’s color schemes
- Do you want a head shot or a more creative portrait
- If you are shooting a lot of people make sure there is consistency in creative portrait or headshot and color background etc
- Hire a professional photographer, they make all the difference, you won’t be able to get a portrait as professional looking as they can, if you want to look like a professional you need to hire a professional