The Science Behind Your Headshot: It’s a Matter of Trust

Someone meeting you for the first time on your web site will form a snap decision about you within the first few fractions of a second. That decision is based on and biased by character traits that people see when looking at your face. According to Alexander Todorov of Princeton University, certain desirable character traits, like attractiveness and intelligence, correlate with a quick assessment of trustworthiness. (http://goo.gl/tnncaS)

When you are crafting your next headshot, you should make sure that you come across as trustworthy as possible. That way, anyone meeting you for the first time via your headshot will form a most positive and desirable opinion about you. And then they will want to do business with you. Coming across as trustworthy is a matter of paying attention to small nuances of your stance and expression – things that we often aren’t aware of in ourselves.

We have built our headshot program around awareness of those nuances, and we will guide you down to the most minute detail. You can be sure that a C1M headshot will show you in the most favorable possible light.

Next week we’ll be looking at how someone’s subconscious first impression of you biases and guides the conscious impression you make on someone.

More on Executive Portraits and Business Headshots …

Walter Schnecker, CPP

Walter Schnecker is the owner of C1M Photography, LLC, in Amherst NH. He specializes in Executive Business Headshots and crafts hundreds of headshots each year for businesspeople in a wide range of professions.

Learning about the subtleties that impact perception helped Duncan project his personality in a new way.

“The most important part of my session was Walter mentioning the subtleties and the way the potential audience perceives those subtleties in a photo – how small changes make a difference in how someone looking at my headshot will feel about me. It made me think about the way I presented myself. It was great to be able to find someone that could connect with me and who I am and put that into photography.”

Duncan, Bedford, NH