Q. I’m planning some new press coverage and speaking engagements over the next twelve months; do I need professional profile pictures for these as well?

Absolutely! When you’re featured in external publications, you are competing for attention with other businesses and entrepreneurs. Journalists, PRs and event organisers really want great looking images in their media, and people who supply them are treated more favourably. For example, supplying an interesting, high-quality image will get your press release closer to the front page than a bad one, and not supplying one at all could see your news buried in the middle.

If you are speaking at an event, then that is great for your profile. You’re clearly an expert in what you do; otherwise you wouldn’t be invited to share your knowledge with a paying audience. So when the event brochures and flyers are being prepared, have some professional images ready to give to the publishers. In some brochures, I’ve seen certain speakers given a full-page feature, where their image is larger, so having a clear, professional profile picture will look so much better than making do with a blurry smartphone image.

Octavia Goredema, founder, Twenty Ten Club & Crash Course City: 

"I took the leap and scheduled my first professional portrait session last year and it was the best decision I could have made.  I've used the profile shots captured extensively for magazine and online media coverage opportunities and they've generated great feedback. It was well worth the investment."

Advice on getting the best business portraits for you and your business

Consider the style of images that suit you and your audiences. You may even want different styles if you are marketing your business to diverse sectors. Think about matters such as a casual or formal look, a shoot in the studio, office or another outside location, colour or black-and-white images; confirming these details will help reflect the character of you and your business.   

Pick a photo that suits the publication you’re appearing in; companies regularly use different photos depending on where they will appear; headshots for online and printed profiles, portraits that tell a story (e.g. introducing new headquarters) in another. You also need to be clear on the image dimensions; it’s disappointing to have a great panoramic image that you can’t use on LinkedIn, even if you crop it down to a square.

Check out online portfolios for the quality of existing work. You want to see if their style suits how you want to look, where they are based, or if they only work in a studio or can work on location as well.

Establish the location of your shoot, whether any clothing changes can be made (if you want different looks in your set of pictures), and how long the shoot will be. It will also help the photographer if you say you need print- or online-sized files (or both) so they can give you ready-to-use images. If you need them to meet a deadline, give your photographer plenty of notice so they can help you meet it.

Enjoy It!
When we’re in a great mood, it shows on our face, no matter what happens. So if you look relaxed and content, that will help you look approachable and confident. That’s not easy for some when they’re looking at a lens – I know, I photograph camera-shy people all the time - yet, being anxious or nervous will make you look anxious, tense and even a little cross, which isn’t the impression you want to give people. Pro photographers are experienced in working with all kinds of people and will help you look better in their images.

This article was written by Natalie Lawrence, a published corporate portrait photographer whose work regularly appears in corporate publications and the media. She is also the founder of Profile Picture Sessions, a series of studio sessions across London, where she creates magazine-quality Profile Pictures for businesspeople to use for networking and promotional use