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 the subtle arts of ensuring their clients look great in their profile photographs.
The Power of First Impressions
It is surprising how quickly we can form an opinion of a person from just a brief glance at a photograph. Some psychologists 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
- 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. Not having a profile picture is generally viewed as indicating low motivation — and a professional quality shot that ticks all the right boxes will be far more effective than a snapshot.
Consistency Across Platforms
If you are also using other social media sites such as Facebook, 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 — 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 — you should look your best in a way that is real and not artificial.
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. 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.
