Professional headshots Marseille: LinkedIn, website, press

In short

A good professional portrait should look like you on a good day, not transform you.
Plan several formats: a tight headshot for LinkedIn, wider pictures for your website.
Think about “on the job” photos that show what you do.

People look at your photo before they read your name. On LinkedIn, on your website, in a press article, it creates the first impression. A cropped selfie or a picture cut out of a wedding photo shows. Not because the image is “ugly,” but because it doesn't tell what you do.

What a professional portrait is really for

A good professional portrait has three jobs: to make you recognizable (the person people meet should be the one in the photo), to build trust, and to make people want to know more. My years as a journalist taught me to look for what truly defines a person. That's what I try to bring out.

Smiling woman at a café terrace in Marseille, phone in hand — Approachable and credible: you, on a good day.

Studio portrait on a light background, looking straight at the camera — A look that makes people want to know more.

Which pictures to plan for, depending on how you'll use them

The profile headshot: tightly framed, sharp face, simple background. For LinkedIn, Google, your email signature.
The editorial portrait: wider, with space around you. Perfect for a website's “About” page, a banner, an article.
On-the-job pictures: you at work, your hands, your tools, your workshop, a conversation with a client. They bring your website and social media to life.

The problem

You need “serious” photos, but you're afraid of looking stiff or cold.

The solution

We alternate. A few portraits looking at the camera, simple and composed, then pictures where you talk about your work, laugh, explain. Then we select the ones that match your image: professional, but human.

Tight black-and-white portrait, looking straight at the camera — The profile picture: tight and sharp.

Woman in a gray suit leaning against a stone facade — The editorial portrait, with room around you.

Black-and-white portrait of a hairdresser with her scissors — At work, with the tools of the trade.

Product photo of leather bags for a designer — For a designer, the products are part of the portrait too.

Preparing the session

List where the photos will be used (LinkedIn, website, press, trade shows, social media)
Bring 2 or 3 outfits: one more formal, one more relaxed
Avoid small tight patterns and other brands' logos
Think about the objects of your trade (tools, notebook, product)
Find a place that represents you: office, workshop, café, outdoors
Tell me about your clients: who should the photo build trust with?

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A real-life example

Picture an interior designer launching her business in Marseille. We take a few tight portraits against a light wall for LinkedIn, then pictures in an apartment she renovated: she compares fabric samples, sketches on a floor plan, laughs with a client. Her website now presents both her and her work at the same time.

My tip

Update your profile picture on every platform at the same time (LinkedIn, Google, website, signature). Consistency is part of credibility, and people will recognize you from one place to the next.