Professional Branding
In today’s highly competitive world, personal branding plays a vital role in getting you to where you want to be, both in work and socially. Your profile picture is key to building your brand, and should not be trusted to an amateur snapshot or selfie. If you want to stand out from the crowd and be noticed, then consider engaging a professional photographer who is trained in subtle arts of ensuring their clients look great in their profile photographs.
It is surprising how quickly we can form an opinion of a person from just a brief glance at a photograph. Some psychologist claim that it takes just a fraction of a second to form a first impression, and once we have formed one it is difficult to shake it off. Some of the elements of that impression include, amongst many others, trustworthiness, social status, intelligence, attractiveness, lifestyle, likeability and friendliness.
Of course, it all depends on what it is you want to achieve. If you are looking to further your career or connect with potential business colleagues and clients, then your focus is likely to be on your LinkedIn profile. Certainly, you will need a profile picture as not having one is generally viewed as indicating low motivation and you might not even show up in their search algorithm, but a professional quality shot that ticks all the right boxes will be far more effective than a snapshot.
If you are also using other social media sites such as Facebook, then while you might wish to use different and more casual shots, it is important that these are consistent with your LinkedIn profile. The same goes for your personal website, after all a serious potential employer will try to construct an overall impression of you. While each picture might be different and emphasise different aspects of your personality, it is essential that they should all be authentic and portray the real you.
Bringing out the real you
What would you like your personal portrait to say? Perhaps the message might be “trust me” or perhaps “connect with me”, perhaps it might even say “hire me”. Certainly, you will want it to create confidence in your viewers that you are the kind of person they are looking for, as an employee, as a colleague, or even to connect with socially. To achieve any or all of these, it is important that your picture should bring out your true essence. It’s not simply about enhancing the way you look. Of course, it is important that you look your best, but you should look your best in a way that is real and not artificial. The last thing you want is to create disappointment in the other person should you ever get to meet them in real life, which could be a job interview or even a date.
A good photographer will always work with you to discover who you are and what it is you want to say about yourself before and during your photo shoot. This is entirely different from what you can achieve in a snapshot or selfie. Not only will your photographer ensure that your professional portrait makes you look good, but that you will look good in that special unique way that brings out the best elements of your personality and forms the right impression with your audience.
So why not let us tell your true story at Fotkaplus? We guarantee that your profile image will make you stand out from the crowd and get noticed, making the very best of you.
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