If you are not a performer or model, headshots may be a concept that you are just not familiar with and when it comes to careers outside of the spotlight, they intuitively seem unnecessary. However, in the age of websites and social media the right picture can either whisper or scream a thousand words directly to the ear of your customers.
So what is the right picture?
The right picture, is a picture of you and/or your employees (if you have any). It has been proven that pictures of human beings can not only increase site traffic, but can also increase the number of page views that translate into actual sales. The internet is an arena that people always approach with an inherent sense of skepticism. This culture of distrust makes people less likely to take advantage of your goods and services as they constantly second guess themselves and look over their shoulders. Thus, one way to increase your sales is to cultivate trust between you and your clients. This is exactly what the business headshot does; it exploits the basic psychology of face-to-face interaction fostering trustworthiness. By letting your potential customers know what the person on the other side of the computer screen looks like, you are effectively fostering trust in the most basic and human way.
This correlation between faces and sales is not simply a marketing myth but rather a principle that has been put to the scientific test and thus far has passed. Links to studies and peer-reviewed papers that demonstrate this correlation as well as some of the results of real world A/B tests that tested this hypothesis can be found here.
Why opt for a professional business photographer?
Even though headshots can foster trust that does not mean it cannot also breed suspicion. Stock images, unfocused frames, poorly lit selfies or poor quality photographs can all end up working against you. In this era of Photoshop and scams, if your photo looks sketchy it may give off an air of illegitimacy, thus a photograph that’s professionally done can only end up being an asset to your marketing and sales efforts. Professional photographers may offer packages like this one from Kelly Williams, a professional Business Photographer Mckinney Tx. The benefit of packages like this are the number of local location options that they offer, because often the background of your picture can end up being just as important as your image.
Importance of background
Where you take your headshot can be as much a tool to cultivate trust as your face. Taking your headshots at well-known areas in the city/ town your office resides, can add an air of legitimacy for those familiar with the area. Thus package deals like this one offered by the Business Photographer in Mckinney Tx, are a great option if your offices are located in that area.
Headshots and photographs are no longer only a staple in the careers of those on the stage or on the business end of a camera; they have evolved into a tool that can be utilised in this era of screens to improve customer experience and to sow the seeds of trust necessary to attract and keep clients.