Benefits of Hiring a Professional Headshots Photography Service
Make your best first impression, enhance your personal brand
Ready to book a session?
or have a question?
✉ photo@paulstreit.com
Click my email address, it will open an email on your computer / phone – click the phone # button to call me from your phone)
My guarantee – if you’re not satisfied with your headshots, I’ll reshoot your session at no charge!
If you are a professional in any type of career path, you likely need headshots to promote yourself in one place or another. Headshots are commonly seen online today, but they have been in use by professionals since long before the internet dominated our lives. No matter where you want to use your professional headshots to promote yourself, one thing is for sure – you need to work with a professional headshots photography service to get the best possible results.
There is something ironic about how the quality of headshots has gone down as technology has improved. With everyone having easy access to a camera, casual headshots have become the norm. That might be fine for your personal Instagram profile, but it won’t do you much good in a professional setting. For that, you’ll want to work with a professional headshot photographer like myself to make sure you are putting your best foot forward out into the world.
This page will dive into everything there is to like about having headshots taken professionally. When you are ready to get started, simply reach out to me directly, and let’s chat about your needs. I look forward to serving you!
Why Professional Headshots Matter
As an individual, you can think of your professional headshot as the cornerstone of all of your marketing and branding efforts. Anything you are trying to do to carve out a niche for yourself in a market is going to come back to the headshot that is attached to your work.
This is a concept that is seen throughout many different areas of the market. For example, if you are a real estate agent, your business is based on personal relationships, and you’ll be making a first impression through your headshot in many cases. Along the same lines, consultants who want to form connections with businesses that they can serve will want to have quality headshots available to use in many different applications. The uses for good headshots are many, and you might not even realize how many different places you can put them to use until you start to put them into action.
READY TO book a session?
or have a question?
✉ photo@paulstreit.com
Click my email address, it will open an email on your computer / phone – click the phone # button to call me from your phone)
My guarantee – if you’re not satisfied with your headshots, I’ll reshoot your session at no charge!
Four Big Advantages of Using a Professional Headshot Photographer
So, if headshots are important, it stands to reason that you should put as much time and effort into them as you put into other parts of your marketing strategy. After all, it wouldn’t make much sense to distribute your headshot to as many places as possible if that image was quickly taken and not properly edited and polished.
If you are looking for concrete reasons why you should invest in a session with a professional headshot photographer, the four points below will give you clarity.
- It’s all about quality. Without a doubt, this is the starting point for your motivation to work with a professional photographer for your headshots. Yes, the camera in your phone can do a decent job of taking a snapshot, but it is a far cry from what you will get from the equipment – and expertise – of a professional. If you want your headshots to look as good as possible in all possible formats, there is no doubt that you are going to need to hire help. Once the image is captured, work like color correction, retouching, and other little adjustments can be made to make sure the finished product is something you will absolutely love.
- Look like a pro. The primary hurdle that you need to clear when trying to advance your career is building trust with people who have not worked with you previously. They don’t know if you are up to the challenge of whatever work you’ll be doing, so they need every possible signal that you are worthy of their trust. Is a good headshot all they need to see to build that trust? Of course not – but it’s an important starting point. From the headshot, they can move into other things like your biography and experience, and pretty soon you may be able to form a meaningful, lasting connection.
- You’ll actually save time. One of the objections that some people have about taking professional headshots is the time commitment. This one is misguided, as it is actually the other way around – you’ll save time when you have a professional working for you. Your chosen headshot photographer is going to do all of the work related to the session, and all you have to do is show up at the right time and smile for the camera. If your time is in high demand and you are trying to figure out when you can squeeze in headshots, know that using a professional is the fastest way to make it happen.
- Build something that lasts. Most likely, your goal isn’t just to get one or two clients in the short term, or get one new job. Instead, you want to build an impressive career over time, gradually moving up from one rung to the next. That’s what branding with professional-quality headshots can help you do. Investing in good headshots today, and then updating them periodically moving forward to accurately represent your changing appearance, is a smart way to create a foundation for your career.
Two Inspiring Case Studies
Perhaps the best way to understand the value of headshots is to look at case studies that highlight people who have been successful with using their headshots to further their careers. I’ve been fortunate enough to work with many professionals in this situation and I would like to share stories from two individuals who saw their session with me pay off in a big way.
First, let’s chat about Sarah. A marketing professional by trade, Sarah was looking for a new opportunity to move her career forward, and despite ample qualifications, she was struggling to get opportunities to interview simply due to the crowded job market. By adding a professional headshot to her portfolio, suddenly the number of interview calls went up, and she soon landed her dream job! It was an amazing and well-deserved turn of events after taking a seemingly simple step in scheduling a professional headshot session.
The story was similar for John, the owner of a small consulting company. He too was great at his work, but like many consultants, found himself battling for contracts and having a hard time staying booked up. Through the use of a professional headshot photographer, he was able to highlight his professionalism and started getting many new customers and connections with business associations. There is no doubt that headshots can make a huge difference!
Are Professional Headshots Really Better Than Amateur Versions?
This one is easy – yes. Professional headshots are better than casual photos that you use for your headshots, and the race isn’t even close. You don’t even have to be an expert in photography to notice and understand the differences between the two. Simply looking at amateur and professional photographs side by side will be all you need to do in order to see how striking the difference can be.
There are such stark differences between these two types of headshots for multiple reasons. First and foremost is the experience of the photographer. When you work with a pro, you’ll benefit from that individual’s years of experience and training. There are skills related to things like lighting, framing, backgrounds, and more that just can’t be picked up quickly by the average person. Unless you happen to be trained in photography, don’t expect to get the kinds of results that you’ll see from a professional session.
You’ll also notice a difference because you will be more at ease and able to smile brightly for the camera when you have a professional photographer running the show. Instead of trying to worry about everything all at once, and feeling like you are over your head, you put your trust in the hired photographer and just play your role as the subject of the images. It always works better this way!
Picking the Right Professional Headshot Photographer
Once you have decided that a professional photographer is surely the way to go on this project, the next step is to pick one for the job. I’d love for that to be me, of course, and I’m highly qualified for the job based on these points –
- Tons of experience. You can browse my website to see many different headshots I have taken through the years. I’ve been doing this for a long time and that experience will be on your side to ensure great results.
- The right equipment. Good equipment is essential in this field and I invest in my business to make sure I can get the job done for my clients time after time.
- Fair pricing. It’s not always a good idea to go with the lowest possible price when booking a photo session, but you also don’t want to pay more than what is necessary. I treat my clients fairly and offer appropriate rates for the service I deliver.
Put the Wheels in Motion Today
The longer you spend thinking about whether or not you want to have professional headshots taken, the longer you will have to go without using those headshots to advance your career. Get off the sidelines today by giving me a call at 415-309-4688 to discuss your goals and needs for this project.
Don’t worry if you aren’t exactly sure what you want to get out of a headshot session when you call – that’s the case for many of my clients. I’ll be happy to walk you through what to expect in the process, how it all works, what the costs look like, and more. By the end of our chat, you’ll feel confident in moving forward and we can figure out a time that is convenient for your schedule. I can’t wait to hear from you!
