11 benefits of professional headshots

Very few people wake up thinking: “I’d absolutely love to spend an hour having my photograph taken today.” I get it.

Most people book headshots because they need one. Maybe their LinkedIn photo is seven years old, they’re launching an online business and don’t want to make it completely faceless, or their acting agent has gently suggested it’s time for an update. Whatever the reason, booking in with somewhere like Studio Nottingham occurs usually more out of necessity than excitement.

The practical reason for booking a headshot is usually obvious. The less obvious benefits tend to reveal themselves afterwards. So here are eleven things I think professional headshots genuinely achieve:

1. People recognise you

This sounds almost too obvious to mention, but people forget that your headshot shouldn’t introduce a version of yourself which is too far away from reality. When meeting you in person after checking out your presence online, a good headshot just ensures people think: “that’s exactly who I was expecting to meet.”

Whether you’re walking into an audition, a client meeting or a networking event, recognition inevitably builds trust.

2. You stop avoiding LinkedIn

You update your experience, add another job, rewrite your bio… and quietly ignore the profile picture because it still shows the version of you from 2019. We’ve all done it.

But a good, up-to-date headshot removes that tiny moment of embarrassment every time you log in.

3. You look more approachable

Professional doesn’t have to mean serious. Some of the strongest portraits I’ve taken are the ones where people look relaxed and approachable. Those sorts of people are generally easier to trust.

4. It gives you confidence

I know “confidence” is one of those words us photographers love throwing around. But there is something surprisingly reassuring about having a photograph of yourself, up your sleeve or in your camera roll, that you actually like.

It just removes the temptation to crop yourself out of group photos, use a holiday snap from six years ago or find other weird workarounds to avoid requiring professional image.

5. Your photograph starts working for you

Once you’ve taken it, your headshot can appears in more places than you probably realise: LinkedIn, company websites, email signatures, press articles, conference programmes, podcasts marketing, speaking events.

Your photograph quietly represents you long before you arrive.

6. It saves you time

Once you’ve got a set of professional images, you’re no longer endlessly searching your camera roll for “that one photo where I don’t completely hate how I look.” You can just have a folder saved down with your favourite shots – easy.

7. You don’t need to apologise for your photo anymore

I think we’ve all heard someone say, “Ignore the terrible photo”. You shouldn’t have to.

8. It feels like you

The best professional headshots aren’t the ones where somebody looks dramatically better than they do in real life. They’re the ones where friends say, “That’s such a good photo of you.”

9. It grows with your career

The more visible your work becomes and further you get in your career, the more often people will ask for a photograph. Journalists, event organisers, podcast hosts, awards ceremonies, internal communications, the list goes on.

Having a selection of professional portraits ready to go is one of those things you don’t appreciate until somebody asks for one at 4pm on a Friday.

10. It reminds you that you’re probably more photogenic than you think

Most people aren’t ‘unphotogenic’. They’ve simply never had somebody show them what good lighting, direction and a relaxed environment can do. I promise.

11. It becomes the photo you stop thinking about

You stop worrying about it. You upload it everywhere. People recognise you. Nobody comments on how different you look.

It simply becomes the photograph that quietly represents you while you get on with everything else. And I think that’s exactly what a headshot should do.