Before you update your headshot, do your homework!

Congrats! You’ve made the decision to either add a headshot to your LinkedIn Profile and/or business website. And if you haven’t had one done professionally or if it’s dated, you should. There have been tons of posts/articles written about why it’s important so I won’t bore you or try to sell you on doing so.

What I will talk about is doing your homework, which involves some thought as well as some research. And it’s important to do this BEFORE you start looking for a photographer (hopefully you’re not going to do a selfie or have a friend take a photo of you with your iPhone if you’ve gotten this far). You’ll be in a better position not only to select the right photographer for you, but also to have a good understanding of what you want the end result to look like.

First, think about where the image will be used and who will be the audience who will potentially see the image. If you’re a business owner, solopreneur, provider of services, and so on, the primary usage might be your business website, followed by LinkedIn, any directories you may be listed in, and so on. If you’re an employee, your company’s website, internal directory, LinkedIn profile. Some people give talks, present papers, write guest articles, or are otherwise active in terms of being visible – headshots are often needed as part of short biographies.

Next, think about the “looks” you want for those applications – they need not all be the same, in fact you may want different looks depending on the usage. For example, for an internal company database or website, you may want a more casual or relaxed/laughing look vs. your LinkedIn profile where you may want a more professional look. The looks should be based on who your “target audience” is and what impression/message you want to convey to that audience. Factored into that as well is the “norm” for that audience – for example, the look for a criminal or litigation attorney should be powerful, confident, and competent. This would translate to a more formal look with darker colors and business formal clothing. The expression should also convey confidence and power. Darker, neutral, plain backgrounds would also amplify the look of power. If this attorney also teaches at a law school, he/she might want images with a bit less emphasis on power (thought still powerful) and some elements of approachability. And if he/she were speaking at a conference on environmental law, or writing an article that would appear in an environmental journal, the look may also be a bit less on the power side with an added touch of approachability.

On the other hand, a medical practitioner wants to create a look that inspires confidence with compassion, approachability, and confidence for images that patients might see. If that same practitioner were speaking at a conference, or have written a paper/article, it may be more important to emphasize confidence and competence over compassion.

Now that you’ve better defined your need (you don’t have to have all the answers), you can look for a photographer that’s a good fit for you. Obviously you’ll want to see examples of their work paying careful attention to the lighting, how well people look, their expressions, and so on. You also understand their process, how their session is structured (eg, can you have multiple looks, clothing/background options, etc.), and most importantly how do they work with you to achieve the looks you’ve identified. You may also want to hear their input on the looks and offer alternatives you may not have thought of.

Visit www.barrybraunsteinphotography.com/blog for more info on headshots and headshot photography.