What is Your Look/Brand?

Understanding your branding, target audience, and how/where the images will be used are essential to the impact of your headshot. In addition to deciding things such as background color that is complementary to where the images will be used (eg, website, collateral material, LinkedIn), or the best clothing styles, it’s important to understand what you want to convey with your expression.

For example, a criminal attorney likely wants to convey confidence, power, and experience – friendliness is not necessarily high on the list. Contrast that with a researcher which is looking to take their career to the next level where you want to convey confidence with approachability, and perhaps a more friendly, business casual look. You may also want to have a more subtle dramatic look for the attorney vs. a brighter look for the researcher.

Your industry, your role, what you value, along with the “norms” are all important elements to consider for your brand. Think about who will be viewing your image, and what is the message you want to convey, and discuss this with your photographer before you go to the studio.