In case you don't know it yet, people 'Google' you. If you're in the habit of meeting business people 'blindly,' then you know the importance of having updated professional headshots.
This fact was evident in one of the business meetings I had. The person I was supposed to meet entered the cafe and at the start, I wasn't sure it was him but I smiled anyway. He didn't smile back so I thought I was probably wrong. Oh well, no harm in trying.
Then I saw him on the phone seemingly looking through something and then looked around the room. In a minute or so, I saw him in front of me and said hi. He first apologised and then told me that he went to my website to see how I looked like and then realised that I was the person who smiled at him. This was the screen he looked at in our website.
At Identity Headshots, we have been espousing believability and truth in our photos. Sure, we need to present ourselves well but it must be to a level of credibility both in the photo and in person. This is an approach that not many will be able to readily accept as we are constantly bombarded with the notion of flawlessness and perfection (from a personal perspective) on social media. How we look like on a normal business day (I'm sure you get into a grooming routine before you go to your workplace) should not be far from how we look on our photo. For instance, I am not a person who wears a lot of make up due to allergies so I feel I should not be seen in heavy make up on my photo.
Regarding hairstyles, I have a pretty straightforward style so I kept it similar to that. I remember my very first professional headshot when I had some curls when I didn't have those everyday and it felt off so I changed that photo straight away. The photo below is what I'm talking about.
If you or someone you know is involved in a business or profession where those blind business meetings happen on a regular basis, it pays to check your LinkedIn, website and even the photos of yourself that come up on Google. If it's far from reality, then it pays to get that headshot updated asap. Just for fun, I 'Googled' myself and this is what came out. You should try it sometime.
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