Purpose of a Corporate Headshot
A corporate headshot serves the same basic purpose as any other business portrait. Simply put, they are photographs of a businessperson, with the focus being on the head, face and shoulders. They are used for business networking as individuals or as part of their company’s marketing materials to promote services or a brand identity. The only real difference being that often times, corporate headshots will take place in the business office in order to accommodate a large number of team members’ busy schedules or to incorporate company logos into the images.
Keeping Current
Updating company headshots periodically (every year or two) allows business professionals to show who they are right now. Outdated images from 10 + years ago create false impressions. Current headshots present a more honest and accurate depiction of whom their colleagues are dealing with. Updated headshots show that an organization is keeping up with the times and staying relevant in their industry when it comes to doing business.
Marketing and Promotion
A corporate headshot helps personalalize a company and its promotions by showing the human side of the business through the faces of it’s representatives. This is especially important in industries where face-to-face communication is essential, such as in real estate. The value of a high-quality headshot is in its ability to be used throughout a complete marketing and promotion package, such as on a business website, business cards, newsletters, email blasts and brochures, or to market individual appearances, such as for the author of a published magazine article or on a projected image serving as a backdrop for a public speaker.
Professionalism
Why invest in professionally photographed headshot? Simple, when a businessperson represents themselves with out-of-focus, badly lit images in non-corporate environments it looks inappropriate. Professionally taken photos that are clear, natural-looking with balanced lighting are the industry standard and the best way to present a company’s representatives. Focusing exclusively on the person’s face gives little opportunity for judgment or criticism of the person’s clothing or environment as often seen in a personal non-professional image.
Identity and Networking
In today’s business market, most companies utilize social and business networking sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to connect with other businesses, potential clients or employers. Company headshots present the faces of an organization — and its brand image — to the world and can be highly utilized on a company’s social networking site, or on the personal page of a company representative, as part of the company’s brand identity to create recognition. For example, the photos may be used as avatars in a worker’s email account, so each email she sends is accompanied by a thumbnail of her headshot to put a face with the name.
