How Portrait Photography Enhances Your Business – There’s a reason every prominent entrepreneur has a photo somewhere to represent them.
You’ve probably come to notice by now that most books — fact or fiction — include a photo of the author in one of the flaps or on the back cover. Music albums usually feature the artist somewhere, real estate agents love to pass out their personal contact cards, and everywhere you go on the Internet, the head honchos of businesses large and small always include an “About Me” section on their websites with an example of their very best headshot photography to show that they do, in fact, exist. Why is this? Seattle portrait photography and pro headshot photographer Lara Grauer advises her clients on a wide spectrum of reasons that successful people show their faces to the world.
Before we touch on that, you should know that Seattle photographer Lara Grauer offers two kinds of photography: portrait and headshot. Headshot photography is the kind that you’ll see on business cards, brochures and anywhere that a formal appearance is expected. A headshot is designed to emphasize the professionalism of the service provider, focusing less on expressiveness and more on the securely defined persona of a suit-and-tie business-owner whom you can trust. Meanwhile, portrait photography focuses on the more human and expressive side of the individual and is usually featured inside book covers or on album covers for music and art in general.
The one point that both have in common is the purpose of hiring a Seattle photographer in the first place. Whether you’re aiming for a dedicated Seattle headshot photographer, discrete Seattle portrait photographer or a talented name that specializes in both, it’s important to show your face to the world that you’re marketing your brand to. Let’s go over the most compelling reasons that Seattle photographer Lara Grauer offers an essential service to you as a burgeoning entrepreneur.
1. It establishes professional trust and comfort.
Businesses know that they need to sell an image of trust before prospective clients will give them a chance. Remember that your clients are separating with their spare time and hard-earned money to pursue what you’re offering, and this limitation will lead many of them to perform checks on your reputation or at least get an idea of who you are behind the brand name. Seattle photographer Lara Grauer can help capture the perfect headshot that says, “I’m real and I’m serious about my services.”
It may sound strange but think of buying from a new business as walking into an unfamiliar room. Without a headshot or portrait to establish a sense of legitimacy, clients may feel like they’re walking into this room with the lights off. Seattle photographer Lara Grauer can flip those lights on with a snapshot of your finest self to help clients fortify a position of security and familiarity. This boils down to a principle of human instinct where we must know who we’re dealing with before we feel safe with them.
2. It adds a much-needed semblance of the human element for clients and employees alike.
If you’ve ever been in the backroom of a Walmart, you might know that pictures of Sam Walton are usually plastered somewhere in one of the many junctions of employee traffic. Why do they do this? I’m no analyst, but most professional Seattle photographers worth their salt would tell you that it boils down to the human element: helping you connect with the company on a personal level. This point is interesting because it’s not just relevant between clients and the business; it also helps boost morale among your employees by reminding them that their role isn’t just another cog in the stodgy and grayscale landscape of corporate machinery.
One of the newest fears of our time is that computers and machines will replace people. With systems that are designed to automate schedules, payments and fees as well as answer common questions, the fear of wasting time or being misled due to an error is a potent argument for the trustworthiness of a business in Seattle. This affects your employees just as much as your clients, so it’s important to let a professional Seattle photographer capture the light in your eyes and quell those insecurities. More people will want to buy from you and work for you when they see spirit in your brand, and the finest way to show it off is with a headshot or portrait that says, “I care.”
3. It builds recognition and brand bonding.
If there’s one thing Lara Grauer knows about business, it’s that clients usually aren’t interested in having a relationship with their brands of choice. However, they will establish loyalty with a track record of successful services, and a friendly face on a business card can go lengths to promoting brand recognition. As iconic as brand logos can be, nobody’s arguing the influence of portrait photography in the case of T-Mobile with the ever-expressive John Legere making his face an instantly recognizable icon of what his company is all about.
4. It communicates style and attitude.
This goes hand-in-hand with the previous point on brand bonding. Let me ask you something: Are you more likely to trust an entertainment brand in Seattle that’s run by someone who doesn’t seem very entertained? Just as there are businesses where the hard-edged professionalism that a Seattle headshot photographer captures is important, the expressive side that’s snapped by a Seattle portrait photographer is necessary for businesses that need a more let-your-hair-down look to draw in their clients. However, a nice headshot photo can work similarly with just the right amount of expressiveness to say, “I’m an easygoing guy or gal, and you can trust me with your problems.”
Do your clients prefer a high-energy face or one that’s more stern and serious? A Seattle photographer can help you stop time on just the right look to inspire confidence in your clients.
5. It inspires confidence in you, the business-owner.
We’ve been beating on the tenets of client and employee confidence, but what of you, the owner? Lara Grauer aims to inspire confidence in all her clients by setting them up with the right attire, lighting, scenery, position and emotion for a bullseye headshot or portrait that’s custom-tailored to meet your demographic’s needs while staying true to your individuality. Without this confidence, you can’t lead a business in Seattle, and without a face to represent it, neither clients nor employees will be drawn to your influence. A solid Seattle photographer can add gravity to your orbit and bring hopeful faces to your doorstep with a snapshot of your greatest qualities.
If you ever find yourself doubting Lara Grauer’s advice from one professional to another, you need only look at her own web presence. Lara presents herself in photographs with various shades of expressiveness and professional seriousness, each saying a thousand words about who she is and what her mission is. As a business-owner herself, she’s making positive impressions on her clients by showing that she’s real, she’s passionate, and she’s confident in what she does. There’s very little in the world that’s more assuring to someone than a face that effectively guarantees that everything will turn out to your highest hopes and expectations.
A Seattle photographer of the finest caliber can deliver that for your business, and Seattle photographer Lara Grauer is up to the task.