The Impact of Professional Corporate Portraits on Your Online Presence
The best professional corporate portraits have an invaluable impact on your online presence. They create a more powerful first impression and inspire clients to connect more deeply with you and your brand. Your online presence is often the first opportunity to connect with future clients, and you do this by allowing them to get a personal, heartfelt, and impressionable sense of who you are and Your Why.
Gail Moody-Byrd, VP of Marketing at LinkedIn
Vance Spencer, Co-founder at Framework Ventures
Alfred Cheung, CEO/Founder at GoodMojo.Us
In fact, the impression from a website's About page is so essential that HubSpot considers it the second-most important website tab. A corporate photographer’s ultimate mission is to orchestrate sessions that elicit their clients’ most approachable, tangible expressions so the target audience feels an instant connection and wants to engage.
That immediate interest and sense of trust immediately sets well-branded imaging apart from the competition.
Use Portraits That Convey Your Brand’s Story
What better way to help prospects gain a sense of who you are than investing in headshots that demonstrate a multi-faceted impression of your personality? In a single photo session, we'll curate a variety of outfits, looks, and props that yield a range of unique images you can use on your website - as well as marketing materials, LinkedIn, additional social media platforms, and all other visual content used to build brand recognition.
The pictures you select for your website, social media engagement, and marketing efforts must be so much more than just a basic likeness of your face—or run-of-the-mill headshots that might as well have had the same face cut/pasted onto each one since they lack nuance or variations of authentic expression. Those images are a dime a dozen, and they say absolutely nothing about the people posed inside them. They lack a story and the ability to engage with your niche community.
Jordan Stark, Partner at Next Step Partners
Next Step Partners Team
Lisa Blossner, Partner at Next Step Partners
You will be absolutely amazed when you find the photographer who brings the You of you into the forefront, eliciting the expressions, natural movements, and postures that close friends and family would identify from a mile away. That level of authenticity in photo form elevates a photo from "the everyday professional image" to "a personally branded portrait" in a single session.
Those are the types of images that set you apart from your competition and ignite curiosity in your target market.
Since attention spans are short, and the average person looks at a web page for less than a minute (Forbes.com), you need professional headshots (and photos of team members) that convey branded visuals in your "voice."
Suruchi Gupta, Founder and CEO at GIANT Protocol
3 Immediate Benefits of Photos That Make Notable Impressions
Here are three immediate benefits of investing in photos imbued with the essence of who you are. The typical headshots most often seen on websites and professional profiles are figuratively two-dimensional. While some subjects appear more photogenic than others, there is nothing to feel or learn from them because the photographer couldn’t elicit the client’s/brand’s essence during the session.
Photographers who have this ability know that everyone is photogenic when they’re relaxed, open and in the right environment, and create results that:
1. Spark instant connection
Let's revisit the fact that roughly 9 out of 10 people visit websites before narrowing their prospective choices. Why do they do that? What are they looking for?
Marketing guru Seth Godin describes the internet as a connection machine, stating, "In the connection economy, there's a dividing line between two kinds of projects: those that exist to create connections and those that don't."
In about 54 seconds or less, prospects take a single look at your website - and the About page - marking that dividing line for themselves: does your website and imaging help them connect? Or not?
As corporate brand photographers, our job is to set the stage for capturing various images that allow your personality to emerge on film. When we do that, the results automatically catalyze a spark of connection for the right (target audience) viewers. And, I promise, you'll love every photograph we produce together.
2. They elicit more website & social media views
When customers seek your services or products, they go through a review process. They comb through competitors' websites, scan About pages, and study brand images for value, authenticity, personality, and some sign that this person (this company) is the best fit for them.
If your photos are interesting and personal, and you go the extra mile to make that first impression, it's noticed. People come back. They want to take another look. Prospects and clients share your website with others, and they're more likely to follow you on social networks. Ultimately, that leads to an exponential boost in your online presence and reputation.
3. It builds consumer confidence
Consistency in branding, expertise, and credibility is one way to build confidence in your brand. But, building genuine consumer confidence requires personal connections. Today's consumers want to feel personally invested in the brands they follow and support.
That's hard to do if they feel they don't really know you. Your success relies on presenting yourself in a way that stands out from industry counterparts because your brand image is just vulnerable enough to convey your spirit - without sacrificing professionalism or power.
Suruchi Gupta, Founder and CEO at GIANT Protocol
The "Right" Professional Headshot Photographer Defined
Photographers offering corporate headshot services are a dime a dozen, so what does it mean to partner with the "right" photographer?
Their portfolio elicits an immediate impression
First, when you look at a prospective photographer's portfolio, their photographs should elicit an instantly positive impact. You should feel, "Wow!" You should want to learn more about the individual in the photo and what they do (if that isn't already evident via other elements in the shot.
Your lasting impression should be a yearning desire to look as authentic and unique as their subjects when it's your turn to sit, stand, or move in front of the camera.
Every image supports a values-based narrative
Their images should be more than two-dimensional - the proverbial portrait in a polyester business suit, arms crossed over the chest. You're looking for a professional photographer whose visuals capture snapshots of a larger narrative.
The personalities of their subjects feel tangible - as if you could initiate a conversation right now and have a sense of how that person would animate and respond to your queries.
You can entrust your brand identity to them
Creative, forward-thinking business owners and founders are passionate about what they do. What a travesty to then have all that energy and flow stymied by a passable - but uninspiring - image of yourself (and your brand!). Or, worse, to leave with images that make you shrink rather than shine.
The "right" photographer for you understands this. She'll work patiently and intuitively during your sessions, finding endless ways to bring the essence of You and Your Brand to the forefront of every image.
You'll leave your consultations and photo shoots feeling inspired and energized!
Zain Oke, Board Member
Zain Oke, General Manager
Zain Oke, Finance Executive
Jennifer Graham Photography Creates Professional Corporate Portraits With A Story
My photography goes deeper and broader than the average corporate headshot and the latest buzzwords or trends. When I work with clients, I use my expertise, experience, and artistry to create photo session landscapes that foster visual connection and your audience's desire to learn more.
If you're looking for a fresh new take on your professional corporate portraits, I invite you to schedule an exploratory session with me at Jennifer Graham Photography. Not only am I passionate about what I do, but I have a gift for creating a space during my photography sessions where people feel seen, heard, understood, and safe.
You'll be amazed at how quickly you feel at ease and excited to be in front of my camera. Let's start making professional headshots that foster connection and engagement with the clients who are meant to be yours.