If a Picture Is Worth 1,000 Words, What Do Your Online Business Photos Say About You?

     

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If a Picture Is Worth 1,000 Words, What Do Your Online Business Photos Say About You?

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When I was still a single guy with aspirations of meeting the woman of my dreams, I joined a matchmaking website. I uploaded a great profile and uploaded a picture of myself…scanned straight from my driver’s license!

Among the lovely ladies I had my eye on from the outset was Rivkah F. from Baltimore, Maryland. I checked out her profile often and even dropped her a line. It went ignored.

Several months later, not getting the responses I had hoped for, I sought out the services of a professional photographer. A set of 100 photos cost me $75.

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I uploaded two of the new shots onto the site and PRESTO! Within 24 hours, Rivkah wrote to me!

I asked her why she had ignored my initial attempts at contacting her. She laughed then, as we laugh now when re-telling the story to friends…"You looked like an axe-murderer," she stated!

I’m not the handsomest guy out there by a long-shot and still wonder why this marvelous creature said "Yes" when I proposed. All I know is that had I continued with the "goony" DMV photo, I never would have met her! Now Rivkah and I are happily, blissfully married! She loves me and she loves our dog "Halva!"

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What Do Your Photos Say About You?

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I asked a photographer, for the purposes of this article what she sees as necessary in photos used for the purpose of websites and profiles. Her answer:

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Authoritative. Trustworthy. Natural. Congenial. Friendly. Affable. Aprroachable. Honorable. Smiling. Polite. Open. Serious but not too. Ethical. Dependable. Credible. And valid!

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Things which shouldn’t be present:

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Smirking. Staring. Somber. Forlorn. Frozen. Goony. Gloomy. Suspicious. Cagey. Stiff. Inflexible.

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Photos are hugely important in business! The value of them in attracting customers and clients quite simply can not be understated! They are worth a thousand words. The question is which thousand words you want to convey and which thousand words you are presently conveying.

Taking the time to get the perfect photo which represents you, by yourself, with the help of a friend, or with the assistance of a pro, is worth the time and effort.

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The Generic Silhouette No-No!

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"I can’t for the life of me understand," stated the photographer when I broached the subject, "why people still insist on using the generic silhouette! I see it on LinkedIn, on O-Desk and all over the place! With everybody having a cellphone camera, why not take a picture? Have a friend take a shot. If you need a professional photographer, it’s dirt cheap!" 

It’s true I believe. When people read a blog or are looking for someone to do business with, they are looking for a human being. They are looking for those thousand words! They are looking for a known quantity, and with a generic silhouette, nothing is known. 

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Personally, when I visit a website or a business profile site, I skip over the generics completely. And when I visit a social networking site where people post their blogs or business articles, I skip over every blogger with a generic silhouette avatar!

A business deal can be won or confounded by a good or bad photo. It can be the maker or the breaker. It can stop someone in their tracks before they even consider whether or not to contact you!

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What do your photos say about you?

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Yonatan Maisel is a business blogger and author. He started a business blog one year ago. 90% of his new clients now find their way to him as a direct result of having read one or more posts. Unfortunately for the foreseeable future, Yonatan is not accepting new clients. He is a regular contributor at http://www.bizsugar.com/ and here at www.jobshuk.com.

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Image credits: mugshot: weirdpics.com; question mark: mozy.com;