5 Simple Ways Professional Headshots Can Increase Your Influence

By nature, humans are judgy.  We can’t help it and don't mean anything by it, it is just ingrained in our DNA.  Survival instincts developed over how many millions of years have trained humans to be able to quickly determine if someone is a friend or foe.  These snap judgments, based mostly on visuals, help you determine if someone can be trusted.  The default is mistrust and it all happens automatically, almost instantaneously and it kept our ancestors alive and thriving.

Believe it or not, fast-forward to today's business world and the same applies.  

When meeting new people, we default to the “stranger danger” assumption.  This is an issue for those wanting to meet others and gain their trust and get some new business.

“But wait!” you say “I meet new people all the time and it’s fine.  They don't chase me away with a stick!”  Correct. But we humans have also got really good at the “easy let down” so if you are not watching for it, you may not realize that you are not being trusted.

With a bit of knowledge, you can open up a new world of what is essentially human nature hacks to help people “judge” you the right way!

Let’s look at the first time someone sees you.  This can be in person but 9 times out of 10, the very first time they see you, it’s a photo.

Google your name. What images come up?

If there are no current headshots, or worse yet, no professional headshots at all, then read on to find out what you are missing out on.

Professional headshots can...

1 - Connecting You, Without You

Our species are very visual.  We love images.  

In this day and age of online connections and social media, headshots are a great way we can introduce ourselves without actually being there. 

The moment a prospective client sees an image of you online or on a business card, they automatically start connecting with you.

Within 7 seconds of first seeing your face, they are determining if you are “Friend or Foe”.

They are wondering if you should be allowed to come any closer.  In their head, they are thinking…

Positive Picture = Positive Connection = Trust = OK, they can come closer

Or does your photo give off negative vibes?

Fake Smile = Unsure Connection = No Trusted = Keep them at a distance.

2 - Establishing Trust

Trust is assessed even quicker than friend or foe.  

Within 1/10 of a second, someone seeing an image of you is determining if they should trust you.  Trust is based on several variables.

One important variable is if, and how, you are smiling.

There was a study done on how people smile compared to how an observer trusted the person.  Images were shown to people with different types of smiles and it was determined that in the images where someone is smiling with both their mouth AND their eyes, there was a higher correlation of trust given.  And all of this happens in literally less than a blink of an eye!!  

This is what people refer to as a “gut feeling” about someone they have only just seen for but a moment.

3 - Multiple Viewings

Not unlike when we buy something online, the more images we can see the more likely we are to purchase that item.  Think Amazon.  Lots of images. Different angles and the Zoom.

The same goes for us. The more people see of us, the more opportunity they have to “judge us”. This means there are more opportunities to establish trust.

This is why Infinite Eye Headshot Session includes multiple downloads to take full advantage of the Multiple Viewings Phenomenon.  We want you to have more connections and a more positive impact!  (points 4 and 5 expand on this!!)

4 - Social Media Variety

Taking point three a bit further, this easy hack can really help.  

Chances are that you are on several Social Media platforms - Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and of course LinkedIn.

Having different profile images for each platform can do amazing things for you, such as building trust (mentioned in point 3), but also make you stand out in a positive way.

Remember, the more images they see of you, the more they get to know you.  And if the images they see trigger a positive response, they then start to like you which is then translated into them trusting you.

Most people will not understand the science behind this but now you do!  Read on as we have one more for you!

5 - Staying Top of Mind

We are not done with the power of Social Media just yet!  Here is another easy trick for you.

Think back to what happens when you post a new profile pic.  You get comments from friends or connections saying something like “Great picture”  or “Love it” or even a few of these “ ♡ ♡ ♡” 

We all love those, don’t we?  But have you ever asked why we get those comments?

When you upload a new profile pic, the platform sees that as an “important event” and shares that image with your connections in their feeds.

When they see your new great-looking headshot, it triggers the “friend” response in their brains and they leave a positive comment or emoji letting you know they like it. Cool!

Not all who see it will “interact” with your post, but all who see it WILL subconsciously connect with your image.

Remember the equation in point 1..

Positive Picture = Positive Connection = Trust = OK, they can come closer

Pretty wild, right!!

Thanks for reading 5 Simple Ways Professional Headshots Increase Your Influence & Make You Money.