Why Your Business Needs Good Headshots
When thinking of marketing photography for your business, perhaps your mind jumps to high-quality images of your employees doing what they do best at your company. Or even beautifully shot and rendered images of your products. But, quite often, headshots tend to fall by the wayside. This is something that I think needs mending. Using high-quality headshots of your team with authentic marketing photography in mind can highlight your company’s human side and even reinforce the values behind your brand.
No matter what sector your business is in, shining light on the employees that make up your company is essential. Professional headshots have a way of helping potential customers feel comfortable choosing your company over another. They can be the key to earning your customers’ trust by being as honest as possible about your business.
Professional Headshots and why you need them
Trust is a rational act and empathy is instinctively triggered by human contact. So, high-quality portraits that get to the essence of the people who make up the business can go a long way to achieving that trust.
I was recently approached by a young creative designer, Jay Taylor of Taylor Digital Media. He had been commissioned by a dental practice in Glasgow to help them with overhauling their entire website and brand. As we discussed the objectives of the marketing photography in mind, it quickly became apparent that we shared a mutual appreciation of the power of good photography. In fact, many of the values discussed above were very much at the forefront of what they were trying to achieve.
We decided that business headshots of the staff were essential. We also knew we needed natural, candid shots of the employees at work in order to show the genuine and relatable nature of the practice to potential customers.
As a professional corporate photographer, I specialize in headshots for businesses as well as authentic, real-life marketing photography. So, this was a perfect fit for my style of work. The shoot was to include headshots of key personnel in the practice as well as real-life photography of the practice in action.
Most of the team wore their dental scrubs, branded with the company logo, in their headshots. This made deciding what to wear for the day of the shoot a non-issue. However, with portraits and headshots in uniform, there’s one less factor to highlight the individuality of the sitter. This means the expression and pose of the sitter become all the more important, not to mention the importance of great teeth and a winning smile for everyone working in a dental practise!
Showing the human side of your company
There are many reasons why professional headshots of your team are a good idea for your website and marketing materials. Here are a few that stand out:
- Professional headshots lead to familiarity and trust. They allow the client to build up a picture of the warm, personable staff they are about to meet. Building that relationship prior to the client contacting your company is an absolute must!
- First impressions count! If a potential client is yet to decide whether or not to use your services, a positive connection to the look of your staff will make them much more likely to sign up.
- Finally, well thought out, high-quality headshots serve to reinforce a company’s commitment to quality and professionalism.
Corporate Headshots
Now, I’m not saying having professional headshots for your company will make or break your business. But, I am saying they are a great idea when it comes to marketing your business. Having quality headshots of you and your staff will help to make those client connections that a business needs to thrive. If getting professional headshots for your company is something that interests your marketing department, please don’t hesitate to get in touch! And with that, I’ll leave you with a testimonial from Jay Taylor after our work was done:
“I really enjoyed my time working with Ashley. I engaged him to take photos for a client of mine — a dental practice. The brief was to make professional shots of the practice’s staff. He created some incredibly stunning shots and we were all very impressed with his mobile, pop-up studio for the staff headshots. His ideas for the practice shots were creative and very interesting and he managed to fulfill my brief entirely. He just seemed to understand exactly what I wanted for my client and delivered some really great photography. The shoot was professional, his guidance was brilliant and the turn around time for the shots was very impressive. Overall, he exceeded the expectations of both myself and my client and I look forward to working with him again soon!”
