Did you know that it takes people just one tenth of a second to make their minds up about someone based on their appearance? Without even exchanging a single word, people judge others on important traits such as likability and competence based on one short glance, and an even longer glance only serves to confirm that opinion. This means that your online photos are a vital part of your offer to potential clients.
Welcome to the Good Enough Counsellors podcast, where this week I’m continuing my series on writing your directory profiles. To tie in with the last few episodes where I’ve been talking about turning up online and being willing to be seen, in this week’s episode, we’re going to be looking at something that is vitally important for your profile, and that’s your profile picture.
Nowadays many clients’ first encounter with a therapist will be online rather than in person or on the phone. And the profile photo is often the first and even only visual element that a client will see. This means it is crucial to making a first impression that counts. Listen on to learn what makes a good profile photo.
First, let’s consider what happens when a potential client clicks through on a directory.
They’re usually invited to input their location and issue, and then they’re confronted by a long list of therapists. 23,000 on Counselling Directory if you click on online therapists in July 2024. So clients need to be able to quickly filter the results, and the profile photo can be an important part of helping clients to investigate a profile more deeply.
Communicating Counselling Values Through Your Photo
It’s often said that a picture can speak a thousand words, and there’s scientific reasons why that’s the case. Our brains are wired to process visuals much faster than text, in a matter of milliseconds, rather than the time it takes to read and understand text based information.
Images convey a lot of information very quickly, complexities that can be difficult to describe in words. And if you’ve ever tried to describe a photo for the purposes of accessibility, you’ll know what I mean. Images also tap into our memories, experience and culture very quickly, and evoke an emotional response. So they tend to grab our attention, especially when we’re faced with a lot of information to filter. Additionally, we tend to remember images better than text, so a profile photo may help when someone is scrolling and wants to return to a particular profile.
Let’s think about what factors might influence clients to make a choice of which profile they want to investigate in more depth. I think, first and foremost, they’re going to be looking for someone who they can trust. This means they’ll be looking for signs of the following.
Competence. They need to know their therapist has the knowledge and skills to help them.They’ll want to know their therapist is a professional with appropriate boundaries.
Next, warmth and empathy. If they’re going to be opening up about difficult issues, they need a safe and supportive place to do so. They need to know they’ll be respected, and this may include their therapist demonstrating an understanding of difference and diversity.
And finally, honesty and transparency.
Clients are more likely to trust someone they perceive as genuine. A good profile photo can communicate these qualities to the searcher. It will subtly demonstrate that you take your practice seriously and are investing in providing high quality care.
Tips for Taking a Good Profile Photo
A photo can communicate professionalism and competence, warmth and empathy, and, importantly, approachability. There’s a reason why we hear the phrase I chose you because I liked your profile photo.
It isn’t laziness on the client’s part, it’s their emotional response to the unspoken message of your image.
Before I move on I’d like to acknowledge your particular need if you’re from a culture where it is considered immodest to publish your photo online. Remember, the most important aspect of any publicity is that you present a true picture of you. Therefore, if it’s against your cultural values it may be inappropriate for you to publish your photo. If that’s the case please remember that by following what feels right for you you will fulfil the qualities that your clients are looking for, especially if they’re from the same culture as yourself.
Rather than using a photo, a professional looking, clear logo that represents your values is an authentic choice that will speak to the people who are right for you.
You’re probably asking what makes a good profile photo? I suggest you get your phone out and do a quick search for therapists. You’ll see that their thumbnail photos are very small when they’re presented in a list format. Take a look at the photos and see what gets in the way, what’s distracting, and what makes it difficult to pick out the therapist’s features.
Because of the size of the photos in the list, you need to be careful about keeping the photo clean and clear. First, make it head and shoulders. This looks more professional than a large face looming on the shot, which can cut off your chin or the top of your head, and make it look like you don’t know how to adjust the aspect ratio. And let me just say in passing that I don’t know how to do that either, which is why I always get some help. Conversely, a full body shot will be far too small for anyone to be able to pick out your facial features.
They’ll miss the vital cues of your personality, but they may conclude that you’re not professional enough to provide a decent image. Think about the background of your shot. I know you love to be photographed with trees in the background, but this makes it more difficult to pick you out. On a tiny photo, it doesn’t add. It distracts.
You want viewers to be looking at you, not the trees. I say that tongue in cheek because I know you may well not want people to be looking at you. But breathe out and remind yourself that the whole purpose of your photo is to help people choose you, and then you’ll be able to help them more deeply. And this is why you’re listening to this podcast in the first place. Essentially, for a headshot, it helps to have a plain background so that you’re the focus, and lighting is also vital.
Avoid strong shadows on your face, which can make it difficult to see you clearly. It often helps with a head and shoulder shot to do a quarter turn towards the camera, rather than looking straight ahead, as in a passport photo. A tilt of the head with the chin slightly down and turned slightly towards one side gives a clear definition of your face. I received some fantastic advice about my chin when I did my recent photoshoot. As well as dropping my shoulders, I was told to pull my whole head back and then point my chin out.
I was warned it would feel unnatural, but it did cure the double chin problem. Hooray. And if that isn’t enough to think about, it also helps to relax your jaw so that you get a natural smile, all the while keeping your pose open. So don’t lean back or fold your arms too tightly. That is a lot to think about.
Choosing the Right Clothes for Your Profile Photo
Let’s move on to your clothes, because these are part of your image too. Your clothing choice is an important part of your branding, in other words the message you want to convey about yourself. For example, you’d probably expect to see a lawyer in more formal clothing such as a suit and tie. But for someone who’s creative, you’d probably want to see that they’re relaxed enough to be able to express a quirky side of themselves. So what sort of therapist are you?
What message do you want your clothes to give your clients? I found it helpful in my photoshoot to think of 3 key words that I’d use to describe myself, and 3 key words that my clients would use. Try writing these down and then have a think about what clothes you’ve got that represent these qualities. For me, I want to emphasise my approachability and warmth, so I tend to choose casual items, Although I do choose plain tops over my normal flowery blouses, because these too can be distracting, and avoid what my other half calls zoom unfriendly shirts. You know, the ones with bold stripes, zigzag lines, or checks.
It’s also probably best to avoid t-shirts with slogans. These can age very quickly, and perhaps say more about you than you wish your clients to know. If you’re feeling uninspired, just ask yourself what clothes you normally wear when you’re with clients. It’s helpful to dress as you would when you’re meeting your client for the first time. If you’re someone who does have a quirky dress sense or hairstyle, don’t hide these.
They’re an important part of who you are. Fi Hewkin, who I interviewed in episode 11 of the podcast, tells me that people often say they chose her because of her purple hair. While we’re talking about hairstyles, remember to keep your photos up to date. People value honesty. And what does it say to a client if they book an initial appointment with you, and when you turn up, you look 10 years older than your photo?
If you struggle with your appearance, do listen to last week’s podcast, episode 21, where I talk about the problem of imperfection on camera and how to tackle it.
Considerations for a Professional Headshot
You may be listening to my advice with a sinking feeling, because you’d hoped that your selfie or that snapshot from a nice day out would be sufficient for your profile photo. And yet what I’m talking about sounds so much more like a professional job. There’s no doubt that professional help takes away many of the headaches of trying to achieve a good photo. Recently, I was helping my daughter with her freelance website, and taking a good shot was really hard, even with the studio lights my husband uses for his work calls and a reflector he bought for my videos a professional will already have that set up together with the knowledge, to help you get great results.
When you have a professional headshot it conveys a subtle message to the viewer. It says that you’re serious enough about your practice to invest in it. You’re not here today and gone tomorrow. You’re showing that you’re serious about your business because you’re spending money on creating it. It says you’re successful enough to afford a photographer, and it’s another way of establishing your credentials.
If that isn’t enough to convince you, I’ve read claims that businesses who invest in professional photographs witness an additional 45% increase in their click through rates. As with any expense, it’s worth thinking about return on investment. A photograph that gives a good impression will help you get clients and get paid. It will pay for itself many, many times over, and you can use it for several years. It may not be as expensive as you imagine, and in the past I’ve managed to reduce the cost by sharing a photoshoot with colleagues.
If you’re someone who networks with other counsellors in private practice in your area, or even other small business people, Why not see if you can club together to afford an hour or so of a photographer’s time? You may end up with several shots that you can use both for your directory and on your website.
Taking a Good Profile Photo with Your Phone or Camera
However, if you’re just starting out and haven’t got many clients yet, it may be that a professional photo is out of your reach. So here’s some ideas for helping you if your only option is to use your phone or a camera. If you know someone who’s good with a camera, why not ask them to help you out?
A friend who can help you relax and laugh would be a great choice. Even if they don’t have a camera, a modern smartphone can take fabulous pictures. If it’s someone you trust you can have fun together, but I do recommend that you dedicate as much time to this as a proper photoshoot. Get them to take at least dozens of photos. Most you’ll reject on the basis of things like you blinked, but the more there are the more likely you are to find one that works.
Experiment with different poses and different places, and most of all try not to take it all too seriously. If at first it doesn’t succeed, try again. As I’ve found with my daughter, lighting can be a struggle. Try to find somewhere with strong natural light, but probably not outside on a very sunny day due to the shadows. Think about your background.
A wall or draping a sheet can give the impression of being in a studio. And of course, editing software is your friend. You can do an enormous amount with your phone. And when I was helping my daughter, I used Canva, the visual design app, to remove the actual background and provide a shading that made it look like a professional studio shot. My initial profile photo was taken by my husband on our first amateur photoshoot together.
I had a collection of different shots, and I asked my friends to vote on their favourite. There was a clear winner that everyone said really communicated the essence of who I am. It wasn’t actually the one I would have chosen, but my friends were right. That profile photo brought me so many clients and helped me to establish a successful private practice. So once you’ve chosen some photos you like, why not ask supportive people in your life to help you choose?
It will help you feel more comfortable sharing it with strangers if you’ve already had some positive feedback that helps you to feel more confident.
There’s no doubt in my mind that a good photo helps your client to connect with you. It is one of the main elements of your personal brand. Just as you pay attention to what you write in the hope that it will communicate your deep desire to help people, Why not give your profile photo the love it deserves as well? Thanks for listening.
Do come and join my Facebook community, Good Enough Counsellors. And for more information about how I can help you develop your private practice, please visit my website, josephinehughes.com. If you found this episode helpful, I’d love it if you could share it with a fellow therapist or leave a review on your podcast app. And in closing, I’d love to remind you that every single step you make gets you closer to your dream. I really believe you can do it.