On the Internet, nobody knows who you are. You might have related at some level to that caption from an old magazine cartoon if you’re not fond at all of posting pictures of yourself online. After all, as long as you have a visible online presence, people won’t even bother to know what you look like in real life, right? You couldn’t be more wrong, especially if you have a website or business to run. While you might initially balk at the idea of putting your face on your website for other people to see, you may have to realize the importance of taking a headshot photograph of yourself sooner or later.
Why Should You Take a Headshot Photograph for Your Website?
Some people might be hesitant to upload pictures of themselves online mostly to protect their privacy and to avoid being discriminated. While such reasons are entirely understandable, the fact remains that people who might come across your online presence may naturally place their doubts on you if you don’t have any pictures of yourself uploaded on the Internet to prove your existence. Thus, it’s essential to take at least one headshot photo of yourself, especially if you have a website. Here are some reasons why you should take a headshot photo of yourself for your website.
1. Taking a headshot photo of yourself for your website gives it a personal touch.
Most people find it disturbing when they find out that an online presence on the Internet is, in fact, some random bot.
- A headshot photo of yourself for your website reassures people who visit it that they’re dealing with a human.
- People who visit your website would also tend to treat you the same way as if they stumbled upon you in the real world if you have a headshot photo of yourself there.
2. Taking a headshot photo of yourself for your website gives you a more distinct online presence.
Another person might have the same name as you do, which is a good reason to distinguish yourself from them.
- If both you and some random person who happens to share the same name as yours have your respective websites, but yours doesn’t have any pictures of yourself attached to it, people might confuse you for that other person and deal with them more instead.
- A headshot photo of yourself for your website sets you apart from anyone else with the same name as yours and lessens any confusion that might occur.
3. Taking a headshot photo of yourself for your website helps people remember who you are.
When being introduced to someone in the real world, most people manage to remember the face of a person even if they can barely remember the said person’s name.
- Once people see that your website has a headshot photo of yourself attached to it, they may tend to remember your face more the minute they start talking about your website even if they haven’t read much of its content yet.
- A headshot photo of yourself for your website also makes for instant branding as people would instantly associate your face with it.
How Can You Take Amazing Headshot Photographs for Your Website?
If you haven’t taken any headshot photographs of yourself for your website, now is an excellent time to do so. Below are some tips you could use to take amazing headshot photos of yourself for your website.
1. Devote at least a couple of hours of your free time to just taking headshot photos of yourself.
Taking just a single headshot photo of yourself and uploading it straight to your website just won’t do.
- Just setting up the location where you’ll take headshot photos of yourself already takes a considerable amount of time.
- Taking multiple headshot photos also consumes a considerable amount of time but makes it easier for you to choose which ones to discard and which one to use for your website.
- Not being in a hurry helps you focus more on taking headshot photos of yourself at your own pace.
2. Get enough rest before taking headshot photos of yourself.
Nothing spells awful like taking a headshot photo of yourself while you’re visibly exhausted.
- Taking a haggard headshot photo sends the wrong message to people that you could be a lazy person, lacking self-control.
- Being well-rested and seeing that in your photos gives off the impression that you’re very much in control of yourself.
3. Pick a location with adequate lighting and an uncluttered background for your headshot photos.
Whether you’ll be shooting indoors or outdoors, you should choose a location that’s ideal enough for taking headshot photos of yourself.
- When shooting outdoors, you should pick a location where sunlight doesn’t shine as directly so you won’t squint in your headshot photos.
- If you prefer to shoot indoors instead, you should fill the room with more than one artificial light source and turn off the flash of the camera you’ll be using to take your headshot photos.
- Regardless of where you’ll be shooting, the background you’ll be using while taking your headshot photos should be as plain and clean as possible so that people who would be looking at your headshot photos won’t get too distracted by it.
4. Choose a plain-colored, clean-looking outfit that you’re comfortable wearing.
When dressing up for your headshot photos, you should pick a set of plain and clean clothes from your wardrobe as well.
- Wearing plain and clean attire while taking your headshot photos gives off a more professional vibe and tells people that you should be taken seriously.
- Also, your plain and clean attire should give you enough comfort while wearing it so that your headshot photos can come out natural.
- You should also pick an outfit that’s appropriate enough for your website’s demographic, especially if the type of people who visit it place great emphasis on presenting one’s self appropriately.
- Try to avoid patterned clothing as it can distract the eyes from your face.
5. Look straight into the camera, but position yourself at a slight angle as well.
You would want people who visit your website to know that you’re a person they could comfortably approach in real life. You can do this with a slightly angled headshot photo of yourself where you’re looking directly at the camera.
- A well-taken headshot photo maintains eye contact with anyone who looks at it as it exudes confidence and builds trust, so you would want to focus your eyes onto the lens of the camera you’ll be using to take your headshot photos.
- However, while you would want to be taken seriously with the headshot photo you’ll be taking for your website, you wouldn’t want to overdo it by posing stiff.
- You should pose at a slight angle to make your headshot photos less stiff and more relaxed.
Having a visible online presence with your website is nice, but as some people would want to know a bit more about the owner behind it, you shouldn’t just settle for being a faceless online personality who happens to have a website. With these tips, you can start taking amazing headshot photographs of yourself that you can upload for your website, and watch as people who visit it take great comfort in the fact that it’s owned and managed by you, a human just like them. Are you ready to have professional headshots Chicago for your website?
Michael Schacht
Michael Schacht is a portrait photographer and photography educator based in Chicago Illinois. As owner/operator of 312 Elements Headshot Photography located in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood, Michael overseas the day to day operations and has had the opportunity to photograph thousands of corporate professionals over the last decade. Through his direction, attention to detail, and people skills, he’s helped these clients to craft a narrative around their personal brand. It’s his belief that the headshot is the modern dad business card and that a better headshot is essential for a better career. Michael, his wife Meghan and his two daughters reside in Tinley Park Illinois where he is a community leader and active participant in the local business sector. Michael studied business at Ball State university and photography with world renown headshot photographer, Peter Hurley. It was Hurley that trained Michael in the art of human expression. Michael is now a Headshot Crew certified Mentor and active member of the Headshot Crew community where he was named one of the top 20 headshot photographers in the world.