Update Your Professional Business Headshot and Stop Using That 2019 Photo
I promise you — Your Brand Has Evolve.
You’re a few years smarter. Your hair likely changed. You've changed companies…at least once. Maybe you've changed industries, gained or lost a bit of weight, the list goes on.
Here’s what super common — people update their skills, their education, accolades, published content, merits, yet somehow decide to keep using the same headshot. Silly…that’s what that is. We can help!
Truth: LinkedIn and your social media loves when you update your professional headshots
This isn't a vanity argument. It's a brand argument. And in a world where your profile picture precedes you in almost every professional context — a cold email reply, a recruiter screen, a prospective client's first Google — That photo is doing HALF the work on your behalf! The question is — is it doing the right work??
Here's what a dated headshot quietly signals to someone seeing it for the first time
You're not paying attention to your own brand
The version of you in that photo may not be the version showing up to the meeting
You haven't invested in yourself recently
None of those impressions are fair. But first impressions rarely are. A 2025 study by HeadShots Inc. found that professional headshots led to a 76% increase in perceived competence and a 62% increase in perceived influence — before a single word was read.
The corner cutter…is that how you’d like to be perceived?
Your photo isn't a formality. It's a positioning statement.
Laziness. Shyness. Inability to stay current. Yes, recruiters have shared this. Does this sound like how you’d like to show yourself?
Most people don't update their professional business headshot because they think the old one is ‘fine’. And maybe it was — in 2019. When you’re sharing the best current version of you, hopefully you’d like it to actually be the best version of you.
Your Personal Brand Has Evolved — Your Photo Should Too
Think about how much has shifted in the last five years. The pandemic reshaped how we work, what we value, and how we present ourselves professionally. Remote and hybrid culture have made a digital presence even more important than it ever was prior. Personal branding, which was once the territory of influencers and executives only, became table stakes for everyone from individual contributors to small business owners.
The look of a professional headshot has changed in Orange County and LA also
That stiff and boring corporate portrait against a gray backdrop - although great for certain things or maybe in tech - has given way to more of a ‘lifestyle’ look. So many sessions I’ve completed for a wide variety of companies in many verticals have been outdoors, trees in the background, everyday kind of professional headshots.
Whether it’s for Microsoft executives, a healthcare or insurance company, a tech company we’ve all heard of, I’m coming back time after time and making people look ‘more approachable’.
What type of background do you want?
As much as this doesn’t matter to some, it matters always. If the session is for 40, 50 or 100 people for example, then continuity is very important and we’ll usually select something ‘clean’ such as a white, light grey or beige that can be replicated in future sessions and over time for consistency within the brand and such. If it’s for a smaller group, then maybe mixing it up a little might work better.
Background styles that are super popular:
Outdoors with some texture: usually this type of professional headshots session is meant to replicate a studio session, but with a little more texture since I’ll use walls and buildings with my settings set for a slight blur in the background.
Outdoors with greenery or water: As easy as it is to see ‘water’ with the natural eye, it’s a different story for a lens so we usually will stay away from a flat water background. However, with water present and a mix
Studio lighting: There’s so much that can be done with studio lighting and it has a unique look that can’t be replicated easily. Many of my best clients are wanting studio lighting for consistency especially where we have a very specific look we’re going for, highly recommend for on-site sessions where there’s more than a couple people that need to be photographed and keeping the same look.
Updating your headshot isn't about chasing trends. It's about accuracy. It's about making sure the version of you that shows up digitally matches the version of you that shows up in real life.
What a Great Headshot Actually Does
Beyond the first impression, a strong, current headshot does something more subtle: it creates consistency. When your photo matches how you actually look, the implicit trust built before a meeting, a call, or a response to your email is that much stronger. There's no moment of "oh, that's who that is" recalibration. You show up as expected — and that small thing matters more than most people realize.
It also signals investment. In a feed full of outdated avatars and casual selfies, a thoughtful, well-lit, current headshot stands out. It says you take your professional presence seriously. That you're paying attention. That the person behind the profile is present and engaged — not just archived.
You've done the work to grow. You've evolved your thinking, your skills, your story. The last thing you want is a five-year-old photo quietly undermining all of it.
Update the photo. Let the current version of you do the talking.
My recommendation is to update your professional images every year or two at most. Usually the best is to create several looks when doing a session so it’s easily to use these interchangeably and you’ll have a set of images you can use for a variety of purposes.
Enjoy and give us a call for all your professional headshots needs!