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Headshots are an integral part of professional real estate photography. But with so many ideas and techniques, it’s easy for a headshot to go wrong. These professionals share their best tips on what works well during the photoshoot – from makeup artists to hairstylists, photographers, and more!
Real estate agent headshots, which are used by both NAR-affiliated and non-affiliated agents, are the cornerstone of your brand, which is why we’ve compiled 32 expert advice to ensure yours looks as professional as possible. These pointers will teach you how to project integrity, confidence, and professionalism in order to attract more customers.
It’s true that taking a fantastic shot that you’re delighted with in every way may be difficult.
How to Make Your Real Estate Headshot Look Trustworthy
1. Make a camera-friendly smile
Persons who seemed happier in images were considered as more trustworthy, while people who were sad were viewed as less trustworthy, according to research published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. Both cheerful and sad persons were thought to be equally capable, but when asked who they would prefer as their financial counselor, test respondents consistently chose the happier-looking person.
People who smiled in their headshot were perceived as significantly more pleasant and influential than those who didn’t, but just marginally more capable, according to studies from photofeeler.com. For Realtors, the conclusion should be self-evident: smile for the camera.
The results of PhotoFeeler’s comments on smiling for professional headshots
2. Select the Proper Background
When picking a backdrop, the most essential thing to remember is that it should not detract from the image’s primary point—you. Pure white, according to Scott R Kline, an executive portrait photographer in San Francisco, is the finest hue for headshot backdrops. A white backdrop, according to Kline, makes it easier to “read” your face in small profile images on Gmail, LinkedIn, Zillow, and other sites. It also makes it simpler to change the backdrop later on if you want to.
If you do decide on a backdrop picture, make sure it fits your personal brand as well as the industry you work in. If you work in the city, a blurred street scene or brick wall might look amazing without drawing attention away from your face. If you practice in a more rural setting, a blurred woodland or pastoral image can appeal to your potential customers. Make sure the colors of your real estate marketing plan complement your dress, eye color, and hair color.
Photographs of agents with various backdrops are shown as an example.
3. Put your best foot forward.
Consider what you would wear to your ideal client’s first meeting. You’d dress formally, although “formal” might imply various things depending on where you work. In Chicago, you wouldn’t think of wearing anything other than a Brooks Brothers suit in charcoal gray or navy blue. That identical outfit can come off as stuffy in Cape Cod or Key West.
Excessive jewelry and busy patterns should be avoided.
Patterns and jewelry with a lot of detail will draw attention away from your face. You want to be remembered for how trustworthy, professional, and confident you seem, not for your choice in paisley scarves or flamboyant ties. If you do decide to go with patterns, keep them mild and mix them with solid colors. For instance, a traditional gray Prince of Wales Check blazer should be paired with a solid shirt and tie.
Use color in a strategic way.
Many people equate black with funerals or evening attire, so both men and women should avoid wearing it. Instead, choose navy blue, gray, or charcoal, which are typically regarded as professional colors. The color of a man’s tie should be used to assist establish his own brand.
Bring a few of your favorite outfits
Everyone has a killer dress that makes them feel self-assured and powerful. To assist you to create a favorable image and professional attitude, wear your favorite attire to your agent photograph. Bring a variety of costumes to your picture session, ranging from casual business to more professional, so you may choose what you want to wear for your headshots.
Check to see whether your clothes are properly fitting.
Although that loose three-button blazer is comfy, it hasn’t been fashionable in decades. A well-fitting suit jacket should be tight but not confining, and the breadth of your tie should always match the width of your lapels.
4. Don’t Overdo It With Makeup
Makeup boosts people’s perceptions of a woman’s likability, trustworthiness, and competence, according to Proctor & Gamble’s research. Men may also benefit from well-applied cosmetics in photographs. But don’t go overboard; according to the research, those who wore “glam” cosmetics were seen as less trustworthy, and males should never use makeup.
5. Visit a Hair Salon or Barbershop
Women should have their hair and cosmetics properly done before the session, according to Marie Papp, a professional photographer in New Jersey. She also suggests arranging your haircut and makeup, as well as your clothes, a few days ahead of time and sticking to a tried-and-true style rather than trying with a new appearance. This helps to show self-assurance.
6. Push Your Face Forward and Tilt Your Chin
According to Peter Hurley, one of New York City’s greatest headshot photographers, enhancing your jawline makes you immediately more photogenic. The goal is to gently lower your chin and slightly forward your face, which will give you a more confident appearance. This method will help quickly reduce the appearance of a double chin.
Posing ideas for photographs
7. Acquire the ability to squinch
The rationale behind squinching is that individuals with wide-open eyes seem afraid, but others who squint slightly appear more confident. This, believe it or not, works. People who squinted in their profile photographs were perceived as more confident and influential than those who didn’t.
8. Use Power Poses
Even if your biggest transaction of the year went through the morning of your shoot, power postures may fool your brain into feeling more secure. People who are confident automatically arrange their bodies in power stances. Power postures include putting your hands on your hips, crossing your arms, and raising your arms over your head like Superman.
Although it may make you feel stupid, extending your arms over your head like Superman for a few minutes has been proved to boost sensations of strength and confidence. Spending simply a minute or two in a power posture before your shoot may boost your confidence and help you take better pictures.
9. Before your shoot, have a glass of wine.
Consider having a glass or two of wine before your shoot to help you relax and feel more confident.
10. Sit or stand in a straight position.
Your mum was absolutely correct. People make assumptions about you based on your stance. To show confidence and expertise, professional portrait photographer Mark Liflander suggests standing or sitting up straight throughout your shot.
11. Take a deep breath and relax.
When you tell someone to “relax,” they usually become nervous, yet keeping calm throughout your session is essential for appearing confident. Before you step in front of the camera, meditate for a minute or two to calm your anxiety.
Posing Guidelines for Great Real Estate Headshots
12. Before the shoot, practice your pose.
Patti Wood, MA, CSP, a body language specialist, suggests rehearsing a few various postures in the mirror before your shoot to discover one that matches your personality. Patti suggests crossing your arms casually if you believe that crossing your arms matches your personality best.
13. Make a decision on your stance.
Choose the stance that seems the most natural after you’ve tried a few other ones. But bear in mind that, despite its popularity as a power position, “crossing your arms may also suggest defensiveness or resistance,” according to Karen Friedman, a communications expert. You look more friendly when they are open at your sides.”
14. Take a step away from the camera with one shoulder.
Caleb Keiter, a professional headshot photographer in Richmond, Virginia, informed us that simply angling one shoulder away from the camera slims your body profile and adds depth to your portrait. “Photos taken at the DMV do not create good first impressions,” adds Keiter. “Believe me when I say that your shoulders should be angled.”
15. Slightly tilt your head
“Tilt your head toward your lowest shoulder,” says Peggy Farren, a professional photographer from Naples, Florida. This is referred to as the ‘power stance’ or masculine position.’ It aids in projecting authority and confidence.
16. Maintain a Positive Attitude
Keep a watch on your enthusiasm and engagement levels, since if they decrease, you’ll acquire that dead-behind-the-eyes appearance that so many headshots have. Keep the dialogue moving throughout a session so that character may show through.
17. Don’t Take Pictures With Animals
You want to send the impression that you’re capable of handling any real estate deal. Your dog has nothing to say about your real estate knowledge.
18. Don’t Take Pictures With Your Phone
Posing with technology might turn off prospective clients because it implies that you prioritize online ties above actual ones. Some buyers who want to schedule a viewing may think you’re too busy, while others who aren’t tech-savvy may think you’re too technical. To prevent seeming distracted or too busy for customers, it’s better to keep your technology—such as your computer or smartphone—out of the picture.
19. Don’t Take Pictures With Your Family
A group picture is not appropriate for your agent headshot. You must be the focal point of the picture, and your brand must be clearly communicated to the customer. “Professional real estate agent focused on helping clients discover their dream house” does not appear in photos of children with their parents or spouse. These are the kinds of photographs that should be preserved for Christmas cards.
20. Don’t Take a Selfie
For headshots, some agencies utilize selfies. A quick-click selfie, on the other hand, is too personal for a real estate photo and does not accurately reflect your business. You’ll need a professional image that conveys attributes like trust and industry knowledge—in other words, your ability to assist a buyer or seller in finding the perfect home and closing a transaction.
How to Get the Most Out of Your Photoshoot
21. Have a Restful Night’s Sleep
Not getting enough sleep the night before the shoot will not only make you feel and look exhausted, but it will also heighten your nervousness, making it difficult to seem confident. To look and feel your best the night before your shoot, make sure you get enough rest.
22. Take a Look at Some More Real Estate Headshots
Examine the headshots of other area real estate agents to evaluate what you like and what you don’t. While you don’t want to appear like everyone else, you may acquire some inspiration from top-performing agents’ headshot poses and expressions.
23. Have Faith in Your Photographer
Your photographer is a highly trained expert who understands exactly what he or she is doing. There’s no need to worry and attempt to take control of the shoot when things aren’t going well. You aren’t the one calling the shots, after all. You wouldn’t provide legal advice to your lawyer, would you? Allow your photographer to perform his or her job while you relax.
24. Obtain the Three Shots That Every Agent Requires
While the head-and-shoulders portrait is the most adaptable image you may have in your branding arsenal, inquire with your photographer about full-body photos or images done outdoors. Flyers, billboards, newspaper mentions, and more creatively built websites may all benefit from them.
25. Include an action photo in your headshot.
This may be you on the phone at your workplace, striking a powerful stance over a conference table, standing outside of a property that suits your personal brand or posing in front of a beautiful local landscape that appeals to your target audience. This demonstrates that you are interested, enthusiastic, and self-assured.
26. Let your photographer know what you’re looking for.
“This is a commercial transaction,” says David Genik, a headshot photographer in New York City. You don’t have to like it just because the photographer understands what they’re doing. No one will be insulted if you speak out. Let us know what you’re hoping to achieve, what you’re hoping to achieve, and what sort of appearance you’re looking for.”
27. Take a Break
Everyone wants to make the most of their picture session time, but standing in various postures for hours, changing clothing, and attempting to find the perfect viewpoint may be taxing. Halfway through, take a pause and sip some water to refresh yourself. A little snack (don’t forget to rinse your teeth afterward) may re-energize you.
28. Request high-resolution copies from your photographer
Although your headshot may be used primarily for your website or Zillow page, having high-resolution versions on hand for other real estate marketing is a good idea. Low-resolution photographs will make your headshot seem hazy and amateurish, and you may need it for print advertisements in the future. Make sure you have both high-resolution and low-resolution copies of your headshots from your photographer.
29. Cropping
Cropping in photography refers to zooming in on a certain part of an image in order to showcase it. If you ask five photographers how to crop a professional headshot, you’ll likely receive nine different answers. To be safe, a typical head-and-shoulders photo will suffice in virtually all circumstances. When your headshot is cropped differently, it will be more difficult to interpret as a happy face at tiny sizes, such as the symbol for your Gmail account.
30. Don’t Make Excessive Use of Photo-Editing Software
Light picture editing is necessary to assist agents in removing physical flaws or evening-out lighting/technical concerns. It’s a good idea to utilize a picture editing application like BoxBrownie to assist you to bring out the finest in your images, but overusing photo editing programs to modify age or physical traits may lead to a loss of confidence with customers.
21. Get a Second and Third Opinion 31.
Try to acquire a second view since judging your own photo objectively is very difficult. Once you’ve found a few headshots you like, show them to your friends and coworkers to see which one they like.
You may also utilize photofeeler to obtain impartial feedback from their 60,000 users by uploading your headshots. Photofeeler users anonymously assess your photo in three areas once you post it: competency, likability, and impact. If you’re having trouble deciding between two possibilities, photofeeler can help you make an informed decision.
With photofeeler, you can get a second (and third) opinion.
32. Frequently Update Your Real Estate Headshot
Some real estate brokers obtain a headshot but don’t change it for five or ten years. Buyers and sellers are more likely to trust an agent based on their headshot. If your physical features have altered over time, you should get a fresh headshot made to represent your current appearance. Get a fresh headshot every three years as a general guideline.
6 Things to Think About When Hiring a Professional Photographer
A superb portrait photographer, like a brilliant lawyer or mortgage broker, maybe a long-term value to your company. Don’t employ an amateur photographer because you wouldn’t hire an amateur lawyer. To choose a quality photographer, get references and recommendations, go over each photographer’s portfolio, ask for samples of retouching abilities, think about their personality, look over their price, and be aware of copyright constraints.
1. Seek referrals and look for information on the internet.
It doesn’t have to be difficult to find an excellent headshot photographer. You may locate studios in your region by using a directory like the smart shoot, asking friends or colleagues for suggestions, or looking at other real estate headshots and asking for a reference. Photographers, like brokers, depend largely on references for jobs, therefore most individuals would gladly pass on a name.
2. Verify if they have a strong portfolio.
Examine the portfolios of your top photography contenders once you’ve narrowed down your choices. Is the lighting and composition of their headshots appropriate? Do the subjects seem calm and at ease, or rigid and uneasy? Keep in mind that a photographer’s portfolio showcases their greatest work. Move on if what you see in their portfolio does not appeal to you.
3. Take a look at their retouching abilities
Inquire about their retouching job samples. A headshot before and after editing may reveal a lot about a photographer’s abilities. Do the “after” photos seem to be real, or do they appear airbrushed and fake? Without anybody noticing, a professional photographer can erase dark circles, imperfections, and stray hairs from a shot. Ascertain that your photographer is capable of doing the same.
Portrait Retouching Demonstration
4. Check to see whether their personality is a good match.
You must feel your best in order to look your best. Most individuals can be made to grin naturally for a shot by a good portrait photographer, but working with someone you already like along with will put you at ease, making your photo even better. Spend a few minutes conversing with potential photographers before making a decision.
5. Inquire about the price
The cost of a headshot may range from $50 to over $1,000, although the average is approximately $250. Most photographers provide you with a selection of photos from the session, so you will have options. Always inquire about what is included in the price to ensure that you are aware of any expenses.
Consider hiring a photographer in the same way you would order wine at a restaurant: the cheapest choice may be adequate, but spending a little more will bring you something far better. However, after you get past the middle of the wine list, the returns generally start to dwindle. You should be alright hiring a mid-range photographer unless your headshot is going to be on the cover of Vanity Fair.
6. Inquire about copyright issues
Unless you sign a contract that states otherwise, a photographer generally retains all copyrights to your headshot. Most photographers are aware that you will be utilizing your headshot extensively on the internet and will likely give a copyright transfer agreement. However, there are several circumstances in which a photographer may want to claim the copyright to your shot. Always inquire about copyrights before hiring your photographer to prevent any future problems.
Bottom Line:
The foundation of your personal branding initiatives should be an excellent real estate agent headshot. Hire a professional photographer and improve your confidence, smile, attire, and stance. If you do, you’ll get a headshot that will help you create your brand, gain customers, and expand your company.
Even with a professional photographer, getting a beautiful real estate headshot may be difficult.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a good realtor headshot?
A successful headshot should have a light or white background, be in focus and shine on the subject.
What should I wear for a real estate head shot?
The best way to get the picture you want is by working with your photographer, but here are some suggestions. For portraits in professional settings, wear a smaller patterned dress shirt and pants that complement each other. If you’re wearing a patterned cardigan or blouse over an otherwise plain outfit it can help eliminate any potential busy patterns for the photoshoot.
