Professional headshots are not just for actresses and models. Every person in business needs a professional headshot.

A first impression is what a person thinks of you when they first meet you. It is the feeling they get or the initial evaluation that a person does of you when they first meet you. It can be done during a glance, in conversation, or even from a distance when someone looks at your body language.

People will judge you as a warm or cold personality very quickly. They also will evaluate your competency in how you present yourself.

Your headshot makes you real in the virtual world. Yet some people continue to leave their headshot blank on places like LinkedIn, or they don’t take it seriously when they do upload one. 

• Don’t use a selfie. Using a lousy headshot, you are making your first impression suffer.
• Don’t use images where you’ve cropped others out of the frame; it’s weird.
• Don’t use images with multiple people in the photo. 
• Don’t leave it blank – this makes you less accurate and more suspicious in the virtual world.

Your headshot should be just as polished as all your marketing materials if you want to leave that great first impression that portrays you as the sharp and competent expert you are.

As part of your branding, a photo of you that communicates your professionalism and approachability improves your messaging.

If your current LinkedIn headshot is from 10 years ago, it’s time to upgrade.

Believe it or not, a professional headshot can be quick and painless. If you work with your photographer to plan out all the details, it should take no time at all to capture the perfect headshot.