Why my business headshot sessions are like speed therapy

I like to think of corporate headshot sessions as a little bit like ‘speed therapy’. “Yeah sure, about as therapeutic as being made to hop naked through the office canteen!” I hear you say.

I know, you just want to get the torture over as quickly as possible so you can get back to doing battle with your inbox.

Some people ask me if they should smile or not. I’ll usually say it doesn’t matter too much. The main job of a professional portrait is to make you look approachable, confident and authentic. If a smile naturally emerges, great - but if it’s forced, it’ll look like it.

Often the best way of doing that, I’ve found, is by getting you to think about something that you’re proud of.

It could be something you’ve achieved in your career, or a hurdle you’ve overcome in your personal life. It could be a big thing, or as simple as having made it through Christmas without murdering any of your relatives.

It works because it’ll make you stop worrying about what your face is doing, and because it should elicit a genuine, positive emotion.

And that will make your face light up, naturally revealing that inner confidence we all have, even if for some of us it's a bit more below the surface. Somehow it creates just the right expression for your headshot.

And - this is where the therapy bit comes in! - it’s just a nice way of briefly stepping back from the thousands of tasks on your to-do list and taking a moment to give yourself a pat on the back for what you’ve achieved in life.

If that doesn’t work, I might get you to imagine I’m about to pour your favourite cocktail 🍸.

Drop me a line at julia@juliahawkins.com if you’d like to spruce up your Linkedin profile pic for 2024, or if you need to update your staff photo gallery.