Professional Portraits: What does it mean
to look professional?

 

Once upon a time professionals wanted to look serious in their professional portraits. Very serious.  Gravitas.  Frequently even mean and heartless.  But, fortunately, things have changed.

Today even the most powerful professional wants to look friendly and approachable. Your pose and body language can show good posture, but should not be too formal or stiff. That kind of posture might look great on a recruiting poster for the U.S. Marines, but it’s not right for the managing  partner of a law firm. You want your prospective clients to feel that they will be relaxed and comfortable working with you.

How Professional Portraits Are Used in
Marketing & Image Building

Modern marketing is frequently called ‘trust marketing’.  People do business with people they know, like, and trust. And in many cases, this process begins with the professional portrait of you they see on your firm’s website.

As a photographer, when I shoot a professional portrait I have several specific objectives.  The first set of objectives is how the person looks in the portrait.  As I mentioned above, I first want them to look friendly and approachable. Then I want them to look knowledgeable and competent.  This, after all, is what the professional brings to the market.

Then there is the attitude of self-confidence. You know what you’re doing and feel comfortable doing it.  When this attitude is combined with friendliness and likeability, it will never come across as arrogant or smug.

What kind of professional portrait creates the right impression?

The final component of how you should appear in your professional portrait is to look upscale.  It’s more of a look than who you are as a person.  I’ve shot very successful, powerful professionals who did not look upscale, and I’ve shot young neophyte professionals who did.

A big part of it is how you dress, your grooming, and your body language.  Even if this doesn’t quite work out right during the shoot, a highly skilled photographer/retoucher who knows what and how to do it can give the finished professional portrait the upscale look in post-production.

How your professional portrait works is not just about you.

My second set of objectives is not so much about how the professionals look in their portraits, but how the portrait itself looks. I still see professional portrait photographers using backgrounds that were already dated in the ‘90s.  I’ve seen bad and unflattering lighting and color balance.  Unattractive cropping of professional portraits is an epidemic.

A professional portrait that looks cheap or amateurish says more about the professional than it does about the photographer.  It is the professional’s name that is on the picture. Since people do judge books by their covers, it is wise to create a good cover.

Dressing for a Professional Portrait

Men should shoot their professional portraits in at least two different ways.  They should shoot one with a coat and tie. Darker colors work better for the jacket, light colors, especially white or powder blue for the shirt, and a medium to dark color for the tie, especially wine colors. Solids, stripes, dots work best.  No pictorial patterns on the ties.  Super decorative ties are more for the bon vivant rather than the professional.

The shirt collar should fit and button well. Higher collars are best for older men to hide wrinkles on the neck.

Women should wear a blazer or suit jacket and a nice blouse without distracting patterns. Most female professionals and executives don’t want anything too tight or low-cut.  Keep jewelry to a minimum. Most necklaces and pins should be avoided.

Grooming for Your Professional Portrait

Men should get their hair cut or styled a day or two before the shoot.  Pay attention to hair on or around the neck, ears, and nose. Get a close shave the day before the shoot.

Women should style their hair before the shoot, wearing a simple, modern, and professional look. Nothing too flat or too glamorous. Make-up should be a light, day look.  Light coat of foundation, very light mascara if any, natural lip color, and powder.  Avoid eye liner, eye shadow, blusher, or dark lip liner. Viewers should see you, not your make-up. Make-up problems and skin problems can be easily fixed in post-production.

Variations in Professional Portraits

In addition to the more formal portrait, I usually suggest shooting one or two variations. During the last 5-6 years it has become really popular to also shoot a more casual look. This is usually done without a tie and with the shirt collar open.  Some professionals also do some poses with the coat off as well.

Another important variation is the working portrait. This is usually done without a jacket and sometimes without a tie. It shows you actually doing client work. Sometimes a partner is working with a younger associate on solving a problem with a client. Sometimes a group of professional pose together.

There’s a payoff to getting the details right.

Public relations is a critically important part of the marketing of all professional firms, large and small.  And one of the biggest components of good public relations is impressions management. I find it puzzling when I go into a firm’s office, which has been carefully designed and decorated to convey an upscale professional look and then go on that firm’s website, which is often seenby people before they visit the offices, only to find sloppy, downscale professional portraits.

The right imagery impresses clients and potential clients, and it inspires employees and service personnel.

 

You can check out more samples and find more info on the website:

www.ExecutivePortraitsChicago.com

 

© 2011 John Manning • All rights reserved.