Many of us are not keen on having our photo taken, let alone putting our face on our business website. But having a professional photo of yourself on your site can help build trust in your business before a potential customer even approaches you.

From a customer's perspective, isn't it a nice feeling to contact a business and have a feeling of who you're dealing with? Putting a face to a name. So when the time comes to meet face-to-face, you already feel like you know them.

Your appearance can reflect so much about your business – the way you dress, do your hair, and even your body language. A natural and realistic photo of yourself on your site can demonstrate in an instant how you want your customers to see your business, and how much respect you have in your own business.

While it is easy to take photos at home, bear in mind that standing in front of a white wall and having your other half take a photo on your compact camera isn't going to cut it, especially in such a competitive professional marketplace. Lighting can often be poor, clarity and sharpness lacking, and a camera flash is great at revealing that shiny nose and forehead, not to mention red eyes. Even when passed through Photoshop, the quality can only be improved so much, and may leave you with a photo that looks heavily processed, rather than beautifully natural.

Having a session in a studio with a photographer can not only be a load of fun, but also give you great, natural, clean and professional photos to use for your business both online and in printed materials. Your photographer will be able to help with styling tips and ideas, as well as body language, dress, posture and appearance to give you and your team a smart look with which to represent your business. You can experiment with different outfits, different poses, and even indoor and outdoor shoots, given you a great range of shots that are appropriate to your business.

With the tendency to judge a book by its cover, anonymity or a poor-quality photo on your website can slow down the time it takes to inspire interest in prospective customers. But if your business photos faithfully and professionally represent your business, you can instantly start building a relationship with your customers, before they even make contact. After all, a picture can say a thousand words. What do your pictures say about you?