My name is Maris Ehlers, and I own Maris Ehlers Photography in Hanover. I am a lifestyle photographer, which means I photograph the various stages and milestones of every day life, including newborns, children, families, high school seniors, weddings and yes, even business professionals. I have been a professional photographer for over fifteen years, but my experience doesn’t stop there. I am a former marketing executive, and spent a good portion of my marketing career learning to promote brands, people, products and services.
As a small business owner, I help my professional head shot clients do the very same thing. I have a unique understanding of professional imagery. I understand that you ARE your brand, and I know that your image matters.
While I no longer live in the corporate world, I thoroughly enjoy working with executives, authors and creative professionals to create powerful imagery that will help them promote their services, their projects and products. In a nutshell, I enjoy helping them promote themselves.
It’s a competitive world out there, and in the noisy space called social media, imagery can be one of the most important ways to set yourself apart from the rest. Why? Because it’s often the very first impression you will make on a potential employer or customer, and most people do not realize that. Having a great profile picture can make the difference between having someone remember you or not. People will also make assumptions about you based on your professional profile images. Pretty big ones, in fact.
Upon viewing your profile picture on a business card, website or social media profile (like Linkedin, for example), a person can and often does ask themselves the following types of questions and decides the answers before they either contact you or move on.
1. Would they get along well with you?
2. Are you trustworthy?
3. Are you competent?
4. Are you an expert in your field?
That’s the power of imagery. If you are a business professional that is trying to project yourself as being any of these things, then the picture(s) you use to promote yourself MUST convey that you ARE these things.
You also need to know that its not just potential employers that are researching you online and making assumptions about your professional capabilities. Potential customers research people they are looking to do business with all of the time. The first thing they will see, before your experience, before the testimonials from happy clients will be your image. Right there at the top of the page.
What does your image say about you?
Look for our follow up post, “Do You Need a New Head Shot?” right here on the North Wright County website next week.