Your Headshot Is a Career Move

Because what your headshot says about you matters.

“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” — Anaïs Nin

In The Power of Being Seen, we explored how psychology plays a role in shaping the first impressions people have of you. In How a Professional Headshot Can Transform Your Brand, we explored how your image helps to tell your story and build trust through consistency across LinkedIn, business profiles, and social media.

This third article brings it all together. It’s where psychology and branding meet. The right headshot becomes a strategic career move that introduces you to the world with presence.

Look, facts are facts. You’re being judged on LinkedIn, business profiles, and social media. Use it to your advantage. Before someone reads your resume or hears your pitch, they’ve already made a decision. A confident, refined headshot builds trust because it shows you care about how you’re seen.

Presence Over Performance

You know the camera doesn’t lie. It reads your hesitation instantly. Forced or awkward smiles, you know the ones you learned as a kid, saying cheese or posing for yearbook photos, don’t impress. They cost you credibility because they make you look uncomfortable. Do you really think people can’t tell when you put on that, let’s call it, camera smile? They can see it a mile away. It reads fake, unconfident, and performative.

Presence builds trust, not perfection. When your image matches who you are, you project confidence and authority without saying a word.

Your headshot isn’t something you do because someone told you to. It’s how you define yourself. It’s how you begin to tell your story. It’s how people notice you. It’s the difference between someone leaning in and saying I need to know more or scrolling past another generic image or worse, no image at all.

Psychology in Action

The camera sees more than a face. It reads your emotions, your discomfort, and your lack of confidence. It knows when you’re faking it. You might think you’re hiding your nerves or forcing confidence, but the truth always finds its way through the lens.

That’s psychology in action. Every small cue matters: your eyes, posture, breath, and the way you hold still when you feel seen. When those elements align, people don’t just see your face. They feel your presence, and the images start to tell your story.

Confidence isn’t loud. It doesn’t need to be performative. It lives in stillness. In how you hold space. That calmness that tells people you know who you are and where you are going. That’s what helps you build trust and your brand. The right headshot captures that moment when those elements align. The second you stop posing and start being, that’s when presence takes over. That’s when people remember you.

Your Headshot Is Your Reputation

“Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room.” — Jeff Bezos

Think of your headshot, your smile, your expression. Every micro expression says something about how you carry yourself and how you show up. All those small details you think don’t matter actually do. The effort you put into your headshot tells people you take yourself seriously. The wrong headshots, you know, the casual ones taken at the beach or surrounded by distractions, make them hesitate.

You already have the skills. You’ve done the work. Your headshot should reflect that. When your image matches your level, people notice. If it doesn’t, they question it, and that moment of hesitation can cost you.

Your headshot shapes how people talk about you when you’re not in the room. It’s your visual handshake, your first impression, and the reputation that follows you everywhere you show up, all in one frame.

Stay Recognizable

Look, consistency matters. When your headshots have that you feel across every platform, from LinkedIn to your website to speaking events and press features, it shows you’re intentional about how you show up. People trust what feels familiar.

That doesn’t mean you have to use the same headshot everywhere. It means your images need to carry the same energy. Whether you’re in different outfits or different locations, they still have to feel like you.

That kind of recognition builds connections. The more consistent your images are, the faster people remember you. They start to associate your face with your name, your work, and your standard. That’s how credibility is built.

Time to Show Up Ready

I can give you fluff, a sales pitch, or whatever, but I’ve already covered what happens above and in my other articles. Now it’s up to you. You have to decide how you want to be seen. You have to decide if you’re going to invest in who you are and how you want to show up.

Picture this. Someone searches your name. Before they read a single word on your profile, they see your beach picture, or worse, they can’t find you in that cropped, outdated image. Maybe there’s no image at all. That picture, or the absence of one, tells them everything they need to know. It says you lack confidence because you don’t take yourself seriously enough to be seen.

You’ve already done the work. You’ve started to build your reputation. You’ve created something worth paying attention to. Your image needs to show that. It’s the logo of you as the brand. It needs to feel intentional, to carry your story, and to reflect someone who knows exactly who they are and what they bring to the table.

It’s time to show up ready.

Written by Maicol Osorio, founder of Maicol Photography.

For professionals who know presence matters.