Serious question: what is your business portrait?
Is it a selfie?
A cropped photo from a group picture?
Is it blurry?
Can we see your full face?
When using social media, what is your profile picture, a logo, or a photo? Did you know people relate and engage more with a personal photo than a logo? Especially if you decide on a personal business brand - where the business is YOU.
I want to share my journey regarding having a "professional" business portrait.
The images below are mine from the past 8 years. I've used them as my business portraits for my social media accounts.
The first one is from college. (the black and white image with the Blackmagic camera) I went to GCU and a friend took this photo. We were working on our capstone project. I was the director of photography for this project and I LOVE this photo. The reason why it was my profile picture for my FB page for a long time.
The second one was taken two years later. (where I'm wearing a light blue shirt and looking through the camera) You can't even see my face. A friend and I went out to scout a new location in Gilbert and we had a great time taking photos. This was a difficult time for me, but I was making the best of it.
The third was for my LinkedIn account. (I'm wearing a white shirt with my glasses on) I was updating it and thought it was time for a new portrait where you can see my face. I took that one on my phone and it turned out good.
The fourth photo was my professional self-portrait. (My hair is short and I'm taking your picture with my hands) The goal for this one was for my YouTube channel. I wanted to be a YouTuber, but that did not work out.
The fifth photo was a selfie I took when I started working with ListerPros. (my hair is off to the side and a bit curly, still wearing my glasses) I liked how I looked in this photo, so I wanted it to be my profile pic for a bit.
The sixth photo was from the Israel trip I took two years ago. However, this photo is too far and you can't see me.
The seventh is also a selfie. This was when I joined Boutique Breakthrough 2.0. The time I decided to step up my photography business approach.
The eighth photo is when my sister and I went to a financial convention in LA. Another selfie. This trip was very educational and fun.
The last photo is from my trip to Nashville for a Summer Business camp. This was last summer. That was also a very educational, eye-opening, and fun trip.
3 Reasons to Get a Professional Business Portrait
All of these images above are good, but not great as a business portrait. My selfies and travel photos hold a lot of history and have a good story behind them. They have good memories. However, a business portrait is the first impression people see of you online. Below are the three things why a good professional portrait is important:
Shows you're confident and mean business.
You showcase your personality.
Helps to build trust with your potential clients.
Take a moment and think about every time you visit a business's website. And you go to the About page. You expect to see a photo of the team, the CEO, or the owner, right?
What would your impression be if the team photo was blurry?
Or if the only image of the owner is a selfie?
Now, take a look at your social media profile photo. Do you see your face clearly? Is there a lot happening in the background? Maybe it is a photo from your last vacation? But it shows your personality. And when your friends on FB change their profile picture, you get to see their confidence and personality.
Friend, if you're a business owner or use social media to talk about your professional services (fitness, photography, landscaping, real estate, venue decoration, DJ, etc) or sell products (skincare, cakes, dresses, florals, etc) I would love to help you have a great business portrait.
Contact me via email, janet@janetgarciatrujillo.com with the subject line, "Business Portrait". I would to help you.
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