Every headshot is now a magazine cover image

When we first started taking headshots in 2005, the bar was set pretty low. It wasn’t uncommon to see the same photo on your LinkedIn profile, website bio and ID badge because that’s just what a headshot was.

If you were C-Suite level or getting a write-up in Crain’s your photo might look a little more jazzed:

But thanks to years of social media images upping the game, your glorified ID badge photo just isn’t cutting it anymore. Images of everyone’s faces are everywhere and constantly competing to stand out among the crowd. If you want likes, clicks, or even someone to just plain take you seriously now your photo must make people stop scrolling.

Influencers post photos of themselves looking flawless, wearing ridiculously flattering clothes, posing effortlessly, and standing on a rolling hillside of sunflowers or gesturing toward a glittering cityscape. They do this to stop you from scrolling with an awesome picture that ultimately sells you something. Maybe it’s the newest moisturizer, charcoal grill, or luxury car. If the background is a super clean shower then damn, I want my shower to look like that shower, so I’ll buy that special squeegee / CBD oil combo, sure.

Wherever your headshot is going and whatever you’re using it for, you’re selling something just like today’s Instagram influencers are selling something. Instead of selling Abercrombie’s latest Fall collection tartan scarf or Rolex’s newest Submariner, you’re selling yourself. Your personal brand.

So how do you sell yourself in a headshot?

When we’re taking headshots and executive portraits, we have a great method we love.

Choose three words that you want to pop into someone’s head when they see your photo.

For example:

Knowledgeable

Confident

Friendly

Or:

Dynamic

Celebrity

Stylish

Use your words to craft the photo

Now keep your three words in mind when assembling the main elements of the photo, which are the:

Clothing

Background

Lighting

Posing

Facial expressions

Each of these elements have to help you not only look like you at your best self, but also embody the three words you want people to use to describe you in that photo.

We just did this for ourselves

A few weeks ago, the core team at Organic Headshots spent a whole day taking portraits of each other. It was a great way to remind ourselves of what our clients go through when having their photos taken: the stress of choosing clothing, the feeling of trust in another person coaching you into poses and smiles while you’re staring down the barrel of a giant lens, and the feeling of terror when you look at a photo and hate it.

During our photo day, we kept bringing it back to our own three words that we each chose for ourselves and let the photographer do their best to embody in our picture.

Michelle’s words were: style, lighting, in charge

Genevieve’s words were: hip, inviting, healing advisor

Alexander’s words were: friendly, cool, modern

Kirstine’s words were: rockstar, knowledgeable, badass

Renata’s words were: fun, friendly, stylish

Devin’s words were: behind the scenes, fun, smart

And Bowie’s words were: hello when do we go home I’m hungry for dinner please let’s eat now

What did we learn?

We learned that being in front of the camera is HARD and it reminded us just how much our clients truly trust us and need us to help them get that great shot they can feel proud to show everyone. And we learned just how hard it can be to give someone else the reigns when crafting a photo of us. What helped to connect both the photographer and subject and get them on the same page were outlining those three words, which both of us could use to make sure we were hitting the goals of the photo.

And don’t worry, your words can be “small nose,” or “thin,” or “young and wrinkle-free,” if that’s what you need the photo to look like in order to feel confident. This process is just as much (if not more) about how YOU perceive the photos than how others perceive them. And we can always use green screen if you really need to be standing on a hill of rolling sunflowers to feel your best.