Ontario has a provincial election in two weeks. But this election seems to have far fewer lawn signs and billboards than in the past. Many (most?) campaign signs don’t have a picture of the candidate.
Perhaps having fewer campaign posters is a result of cost-cutting. Fewer lawn signs and billboards but a lot more robocalls. Or maybe candidates are relying more on social media.
Why don’t all candidates use a business portrait of themselves? Is this also because of cost? A sign with a colour photo requires four-colour printing but a plain lawn sign is usually just a single spot colour. Or maybe people don’t vote for a candidate but rather they vote for a political party so a business headshot might seem unnecessary.
But not using a candidate headshot is an odd place to cut costs. Many studies over the past 35 years have proven that a good headshot will earn more votes. The lack of a business headshot also greatly reduces the amount of attention a candidate (and their lawns signs) will get.
. . . an individual’s physical appearance can produce a clear image of that individual’s character. Indeed, a single photograph is sufficient to create a distinct and reliable image of the person photographed. Of particular importance here, this nonverbally produced image can communicate a considerable amount of politically relevant information. This includes both a general impression of that person’s fitness for public office and more specific impressions of a number of personal qualities (e.g., competence and integrity) which other research has shown to be central to voters’ assessments of political candidates.
Several recent studies on voters in established democracies suggest, however, that politicians who “look the part” enjoy greater electoral success. This conclusion is based on the surprising finding that snap judgments by research subjects about candidate appearance — that is, perceptions formed by looking only briefly at images of candidates’ faces — correlate with candidates’ actual performance in real-world elections.
These findings are consistent with psychological research indicating that people often judge unfamiliar individuals based on their appearance, inferring personality traits such as competence, intelligence, honesty, and trustworthiness from facial features alone. People rely more heavily on such impressionistic assessments when they know little else about individuals, using appearance as a low-information heuristic.
We like to think we judge politicians on the content of their character and ideas, but research shows that those assessments are greatly influenced by signals we perceive on a subliminal level through an individual’s looks, through their body language, and even the pitch and cadence of their voice.
Business Portraits Earn Confidence
Photography is the strongest way to influence public opinion. A good business portrait can work its magic not only for political candidates but also for any business person.
When someone doesn’t know you, they will always make judgements based on your appearance. Whether you know it or not, your likability, integrity, competence and even leadership ability will be inferred from your business headshot (or lack of a headshot).
Elections might be held every four or five years but every other business person needs to win a vote of confidence from their potential customers every day.
Your web site is your campaign lawn sign. Every study that has proven the value of campaign headshots equally applies to business portraits on your web site.
