The Power of Lookability

Lookability, do you have it?

I'm talking about the "lookability" of your headshot & online profile picture.

I first heard the term lookability from my headshot coach and mentor, Peter Hurley, and it's a perfect word to describe what a headshot needs to have.

Lookability is what makes you stand out from the crowd. It's what helps someone start to feel a connection when they look you up online. Is your online image setting you up for success? 

Lets make an example of myself here using a previous shot of me, and a more recent one taken by Peter Hurley (right). 

Now imagine we just got off the phone and we've set an appointment to meet in-person. Perhaps I'm selling you something. If you're like most people, you're looking me up to get an idea of who you're meeting and what they look like.

If my picture is the one on the left… it's a nice enough picture, and better quality than a lot of what you see on LinkedIn, but its very traditional and boring. You're probably not feeling any kind of connection and just think of me as looking stiff, awkward, not all that confident, and if I'm being honest, a little dorky. Also my head is tiny compared to my body but that's a whole other post about how the craze of shooting down on people to improve their jawline is making them look massive in the process (you're doing it wrong).

Now lets imagine instead that I was using the picture on the right. That shot has much more lookability. I'm much more engaged with the camera, there's some form of connection there, and I look much more confident and put together. If I'm you, I'm much more interested in meeting the guy on the right. That's what lookability does for you.

Does your headshot have lookability? Regardless of the type of look or expression you go for, whether it’s the intimidating international deal-maker, or the friendly insurance agent next door, you need to have lookability that makes you stand out from the crowd and sets you up for success.