insight

A professional headshot has the potential to create a positive impression for yourself before any face-to-face interaction. While there’s little we can do to fix a crooked nose, or a cockeyed gaze (aside from a little photoshop magic), our facial expressions tell an entire story to our viewers.

When choosing an expression for a headshot, figure out 2 things:

What is the purpose of these photos?

Will they appear on your company website? Or will they appear on a more personal platform such as LinkedIn?

What do you want these photos to convey on your behalf?

Do you want these photos to reflect the same values of your brand or business? Whatever the message, our photographers can help direct your photoshoot to ensure values such as confidence, charisma, trustworthiness and approachability come through in the final headshot.

There are 3 S’s that work as a surefire way to achieve the desired effect.

Serious
Smirk
Smile

These 3 basic facial expressions comprise the most commonly-seen headshots in corporate communications. These three expressions represent 3 key values, with a serious expression conveying confidence, a smirk conveying approachability and a smile conveying trustworthiness. Aside from that, going through the 3 expressions progressively allows your mind and face to relax, enabling a more natural smile.

While a photographer will be able to prepare you for the perfect headshot, a quick tip you can use immediately is to take a deep breath, look directly into the camera, and think about a descriptive word that you would want to hear in response to your picture.

However, if you simply can’t muster up a natural expression in front of a camera, there is always hope in the power of candid photography. With more corporate entities featuring candid portraits in their communications, there is hope for even the most camera-shy of us all.