Michelle Citrin | Why Your Headshot Is a Business Strategy, Not a Vanity Project

Elise Holtzman: Hi everyone, it's Elise Holtzman here, a former practicing lawyer and the host of The Lawyer’s Edge Podcast. Welcome back for another episode. Most lawyers think of a headshot as a formality, something to check off a list before updating a website bio, or your LinkedIn profile. But what if the way you show up visually, is actually shaping whether clients trust you, whether referrals come your way and whether your expertise gets recognized at all? Today's guest has spent nearly two decades helping accomplished women in law, closing the gap between how far they've come and how visible they are, for the value they deliver. She's built a business around a simple idea. Your expertise deserves to be seen. We'll get into what that really means and why it matters more as AI reshapes how professionals market themselves.

Before we dive in, today's episode is brought to you by the coaching team at the Lawyer's Edge, a training and coaching firm which has been focused exclusively on lawyers and law firms since 2008. Each member of the Lawyer's Edge coaching team is a trained, certified and experienced professional coach and either a former practicing attorney, or a former law firm marketing and business development professional. Whatever your professional objectives, our coaches can help you achieve your goals more quickly, more easily and with significantly less stress. To get connected with your coach, just email the team at hello@thelawyersedge.com.

I am delighted to welcome my guest today, Michelle Citrin. Michelle is the owner of Michelle Citrin Studios, a personal branding and photography practice, built exclusively around one audience, women in law. What started as portrait photography has grown over more than 17 years into a multi-location operation with studios in Fort Lauderdale, Charlotte and Asheville, plus clients around the world. Michelle trained in photography at the Savannah College of Art and Design and brings a background in fashion styling and design to her work, which she uses to help attorneys present themselves with the same authority they've earned in the courtroom or the boardroom. Her work has been featured in Forbes, Ocean Drive Magazine and NBC6. And she teaches continuing legal education programs across Florida on marketing, executive presence, and personal branding. A Miami Beach native now based in Charlotte, Michelle built her business on a simple belief, your expertise deserves to be seen. Michelle, welcome to The Lawyer's Edge.

Michelle Citrin: Thank you. That was amazing.

Elise Holtzman: Oh, you're amazing. I am excited to have you here.

Michelle Citrin: Thank you for having me, truly. I'm so glad the stars aligned and we met in person and we hit it off immediately.

Elise Holtzman: We hit it off immediately and now we're here. I've said this in a prior podcast episode, because I mentioned you without actually mentioning you, that you and I met, because we were both wearing these pink suit jackets in a sea of navy blue and black. And believe me, I wear plenty of navy blue and black, but that day you and I were both wearing pink. So we definitely both stood out to each other. And so I'm glad, as you say, I'm glad that we connected and that we're here to talk today about something that I think is really important. I say this all the time, you can be doing the best legal work in the world, but if you're toiling away in obscurity in your office and nobody knows about you, is your expertise really serving you? And are you doing the kind of work with the kind of people that you want to work with? So you have spent, as I said, nearly two decades working exclusively with women in law. What patterns have you noticed about the lawyers and it could be men or women, but the lawyers who consistently build the strongest personal brands?

Michelle Citrin: Well, the patterns I see with and I exclusively work with women in law and I think there is a disconnect where women now are graduating from law school at higher rates than men are, but are still not being recognized, or seen as much. But the patterns of these women that are getting the recognition is that they are not afraid to show up, to make space, to take up space and to be loud, really and doing that with social media. So oftentimes, you know, we're hiding behind that billable hour, we're hiding behind the desk and we are doing great work and maybe we're doing great work in our communities, but if we don't show up and get loud and share our voice and share our messaging and make sure that we're noticed, visually, we often go overlooked.

Elise Holtzman: And what does that mean to you, when you say show up loud? Because I suspect that there are some people who hear that and say, Oh, Michelle, you don't understand. Like, that's not who I am. You know, I'm not loud. I don't want to go out there and beat my chest and sell myself and tell everybody how great I am. So for you showing up that way, being visible, taking up space, what does that mean to you? What does that look like?

Michelle Citrin: I'd say it's with consistency. So you don't need to be loud. And a lot of times they'll say, well, be authentic online. And people think authenticity means airing out all our dirty laundry, which is not the case. It's just being authentically you. And a look into your life, a look into your mission and your values and who you stand up for, who you serve and a little piece of who you are. Again, authenticity doesn't mean putting all your dirty laundry out there, but showing up consistently. because when we build trust online, it comes into our voice, our visuals and our messaging and we wanna have consistency online. So taking up space really means showing up and when I say loudly, just being there, being consistent, showing up on different platforms with similar messaging, similar visuals and making sure that we are saying what we need to say and we're controlling the narrative. So again, the great thing about social media is that we can be in the driver's seat and we can share what it is we want to share, when we share it and how often we share it. And so by taking up space, it's being consistent.

Elise Holtzman: One of the things that I think is so important about this consistency message is this idea that people have short memories. So sometimes I hear people say something along the lines of, well, I said that already. I wrote an article about that last year, right, or two years ago. And the truth is, to your point, that to build that trust, showing up over and over again and controlling the message, and reiterating the message and being in people's airspace, because they do have short memories and we are bombarded by so many different things every day, is extremely important. Let's talk about the photography for a minute, because this is where you started, where you continue to work. Obviously, you've expanded into different ways of thinking about it. But for many attorneys, it's just photography is just a check off the box kind of a thing. Oh, you know, my firm is bringing in a photographer or gosh, I haven't updated my photo in a long time, which, by the way, is what recently happened to me. So I finally did some photography recently locally and that I happened to mention to you. And I would have done it with you if we were more geographically desirable to each other. But it's like a thing. It's like, oh, I have to redo my LinkedIn profile and I have to update some things on my website and so I need a new headshot, because I haven't had one in a while. Why do you believe it's not just about getting a nicer headshot, that it's about It's really a marketing strategy.

Michelle Citrin: It is. And like you said that, well, the algorithm is no longer our friend. So we have to reiterate and we have to repeat ourselves and remind our audience of what it is we do and who we serve. So, and it's about building trust and brand consistency. So I always say that your face is your fortune. We are bombarded. The new stat is that we get 550 advertisements a day in front of us. So how do we stand out in that market? And unless you are Coca-Cola, or Pepsi, or these big name brands, our logos are very easily forgotten. Our taglines are very easily forgotten. And even lawyers have the hurdle that when you say you're a lawyer and every profession has this, when you say you're a lawyer, people have their assumptions in what you do and who you serve. And they're like, oh, you're a lawyer, you must do this. You know, oh, you're a photographer, you obviously do weddings. And actually, no, I don't do weddings at all, haven't done them in over 15 years. And so your face is your fortune. It's the most recognizable aspect of us. And in a world of AI, how do we stand out and build that trust? It's that we show up and we show our face. And having a professional headshot is the signature to your brand. It's also sending subliminal messaging. So when we, you do Google, you know, you do a Google search and you want to, even if you're a referral based, or you're of counsel or you, you know, you are a staff attorney or an associate, you are your own brand, especially in the year of 2026. And when you do a Google search, what do you find? And what you find is the perception that people are going to have of you. So why not, once again, control the narrative and be in control, be in the driver's seat. And you are in control of what your profile picture looks like and what is being put out on social media and what your website imagery is, if you own your own firm. And a professional image that matches your current level of success and your current level of authority is brand recognition one, but it also helps to solidify the reputation you have earned. So if people Google you and they look and what do they find? They find a sloppy selfie that you cropped out of a picture from your friend's wedding. Does that visually match the attorney you are and the ranks you have climbed and the leadership position you are in? Or does it look like you are from law school from 20 years ago? Like, is it the same picture? So if there's a disconnect in what you say your expertise is and what you claim to be a leader in and there's a disconnect visually, there's immediate distrust. So again, when we talk about AI and we talk about AI headshots and it's like, oh, well, I'll just use something quick and something free. And oh, it kind of looks like me, but it looks maybe people think it looks better. But there's something distrustworthy about that. And so again, it's using your headshots as a strategy to say, OK, you know what? Yeah, I went to Harvard Law School and now I own my own law practice. And I'm a published author. And I'm this, this, this, and this. And check down all the things you've done. But then you go and your image is from law school from 30 years ago with your cap and gown. It's a complete disconnect. And people immediately distrust you. So instead, using your headshot as a way to solidify that respect visually.

Elise Holtzman: I think we've all had the experience of seeing someone's headshot online and then meeting them on Zoom, or in person and suddenly realizing that person doesn't look anything like what I thought they were going to. And while I don't think you would ask someone, well, do you not trust this person because of that? And people say, oh, no, like, what do I care? I do think you're right. I think that there is that disconnect and that gap has to be closed somehow. And so I think it's a heavier lift to get to the place where you do feel like this person is showing up as the best version of herself, let's say. Or another example that comes to mind for me, is going on LinkedIn and the person doesn't even have a photo.

Michelle Citrin: Yes.

Elise Holtzman: Which to me in today's world is absolutely remarkable. And particularly, by the way, if you have a common name, I've run into that too, like, is this person really a professional where, you know, the person's name is John Doe and now there are 27 John Does and I can't find this person's photo. Do they really exist? Are they really able to deliver what they said to me at the conference they were able to deliver? So I do think this stuff is more important than people might realize.

Michelle Citrin: Yes, it really is.

Elise Holtzman: One of the things I know that you sometimes say, or you often say, is that your expertise deserves to be seen. And I mentioned that a couple of times when I was introducing you. What does that really mean? And why is that visibility so important these days?

Michelle Citrin: Your expertise deserves to be seen, because you've worked so hard to achieve what you've done. And we do and I said it before, we get caught up in the billable hour and doing the work and putting our head down and thinking that this is the work that's important, which it is. But if… we would be doing ourselves a disservice if we don't take up space but also show up. So when we show up more and we are visually present online, you become one, more memorable and two, top of mind. And with that, more opportunities come to play and doors will open. That is when you become the top of mind go-to person in your field, because you are seen as an expert. So if you sit behind the desk and you stay quiet, you are not positioning yourself as an expert. You could be in your firm, or in the small circle, but why not get bigger audiences and more reach? And to do that, we have to actually be sharing our message, showing up and showing our face and who we are and who we serve.

Elise Holtzman: You and I have never talked about this offline. I find this fascinating, because I have these three pillars of business development that I use to help lawyers structure their business development activities. And pillar number two is visible expertise. So it's exactly what you're talking about and what I mentioned before, right? We don't want people just sitting in their office grinding out fantastic work, somebody down the street could be not as good as you, but if they're out there consistently and their their marketing message is aligned and their branding is aligned and they're showing up as that leading authority they're the ones who are going to get the business.

Michelle Citrin: Yes.

Elise Holtzman: And I noticed something, recently, I have a client who I'm not going to name, but he listens to this show and he'll recognize himself. I have a client who is fantastic at what he does. And yet he really wasn't that visible online, right? He didn't have a banner on his LinkedIn profile. He wasn't really posting online. And when he was able to change all of that, change the images, change the wording that he used and really show up as his authentic self of how he delivers value in the marketplace, he's gotten so much more traction, so many more phone calls. Even people inside his own firm are recognizing him for the business development efforts he's making. So I think this is everything you're talking about. You know, it's easy for me to say, because it's really aligned with what I believe as well, but I think these messages are important for people to hear. Let's talk about the fantastic women that you've worked with over the years. Some of the very accomplished women attorneys you work with, are sometimes still nervous about the photography situation, having to have their photos taken. And I've got to confess, I am very confident about what I do. I love what I do. As I said, I just went and had this photography and I was stressing about it. There's no question. I was like, oh my God, I have to have the right clothes and the hair has to look right and my makeup has to get done, and all of that sort of thing. What is going on there, right? Is it a confidence thing? Because I don't feel like I lack confidence in this area. What do you see?

Michelle Citrin: What I see is that it's out of your comfort zone and it's not your zone of genius. So it is not your zone of genius to be a model and to be in front of the camera. And the clients I work with are highly successful, high achieving women in law. And when they are in front of the judge and they're in front of their client, they are an expert and they know their stuff and they are respected and they are comfortable. And then when you take them out of their environment and you say, okay, now you're going to be a model for the day, essentially what you're doing, right? It puts a microscope on yourself, too. And I think, especially for women and I'm sure men too, but it's everything that we have been taught through our life, whether or not it's society, something our mother said to us, something our grandmother said to us, something a teacher once said to you, all of that comes to the forefront of your insecurities and maybe your little bit of insecurity or your lack of self-esteem. That's what happens. And really, like, when we progress in our careers, with age comes great knowledge and great expertise. But with age also comes a little more insecurity with being photographed. And, you know, age can bring—it's a twofold. And also, I know that with women in law, it's a double-edged sword. You can't look too young, you can't look too old, you can't look too pretty, but you've got to look put together. So we have to balance that and it's a lot, when you're taken out of your zone of expertise and you're put in front of the camera. I think it's just a microscope being put on you and then all of that comes to the forefront that now you have to know how to pose and you have to know how to do your hair and your makeup for camera and what should you be wearing for camera, because it's all very different than what we wear in person. When we're meeting somebody in three dimensions, there's movement, there's flow, there's energy exchange and when you then flatten this into a two-dimensional object, it's a different version of who you are. And I think, once again, women and women are very self-critical. We'll zoom into the picture. We'll really look at every little detail where, you know, now in the digital era, people are not giving your picture more than two seconds of time. And it's really a split second you have, a millisecond, to make that good first impression, or to get them to stop the scroll. So you can use your imagery as a strategy to do this. But I think when you're being photographed, that is why women are so, like they're nervous. Part of it is that they're not experts in this field and you are an expert in your field. So I think the fact that they don't know what to do makes them feel very uncomfortable is a big part of it.

Elise Holtzman: this leads into a whole other topic that we're not going to talk about today, but I agree with you. I… women are socialized for perfection and it's almost hard to even know what that means. What does perfection even mean? So, you know, are we getting it right? And I think that for many people doing that work that they know they're so good at and then having to go into a situation where they're not so comfortable. And then that photography lives online. It's not like a split second thing for you, because now I take those photos home. I put them on my website. I put them on my LinkedIn. People are going to see them forever. And I want to get them right. What I found hilarious was when I did my own photos, it's the difference between the photos I did maybe eight years ago. I mean, that's how long ago it was, maybe more than that, because we had COVID time. And so I might have lost a few years in there. The difference between what I looked like then and what I look like now, you know what, there's a difference. And you know what, I do look older, but I look like me. That's the other thing. When I saw the picture, I said, okay, you know what, that's what I really look like. And I think you do get to an age and stage where you say, you know what, I can live with this. This is really who I am. And we're not quite as hard on ourselves maybe as we used to be, but that does make sense. And so I think that going to a photographer who understands these issues is very, very important. And you're someone who very much does. In fact, when I found my photographer in New Jersey and I told you this, I brought your brochure to her and I said, listen, I met this woman, Michelle Citron, I think she's fantastic. Tell me about your philosophy. And she looked at your photography and she said, I think we were trained very similarly. And she put me at ease by having a very similar conversation. So I think it is important, like not just to going downtown to find your local photographer to take these photos and just check off the box, but recognizing how important this is as a brand building tool and a visibility tool and finding someone who really understands the emotional side of this, the psychological side of this, but the business side of this.

Michelle Citrin: Yes, and you have to find the right photographer that you can see yourself in their portfolio and that ideally they have a specialty and a niche and it's photographing people, their portrait photographer and/or if it's like for me, I'm one of the, I think I might be the only one that I really know of that specializes in photographing women in law. And I found that specialty niche, I can speak the way, you know, your vernacular, I understand your fields of expertise and the industry of law and I run in those circles, but it's very important to, you need the guidance and the person that understands what the end results need to be, for your marketing. Not just like, oh yeah, we're going to take a couple pretty pictures, let's put you in some really pretty dresses and let's have some fun. It's like, no, we need to be… and also your time is so valuable. Like, no, I need to be photographed with these intentional colors, this intentional silhouette, these intentional backgrounds, because we are using them on my website, on my LinkedIn. And this is the type of law I practice. It is X, Y, Z. It's not this. It needs to be this. And this is who my audience is. So all of that comes into play. You really want to ask yourself, who is my target market and my audience? Who am I trying to attract? Where will these images be used? And what messaging and what's my mission with the images? What is it I want to say? Because it's true that an image, you know, speaks a thousand words.

Elise Holtzman: Everything you're talking about is, as I said, very aligned with my philosophy about this. And so when it comes to business development, as you pointed out, one of the first questions you have to ask is, who is my target market? What am I doing for them? How do I deliver value? What do they need from me, to be able to know, like, and trust me enough, to include me on their team? And I never really thought about photography that way. You actually honestly helped me think about it more deeply in that way. And that's one of the reasons I wanted to have you on the show. I don't usually do this, but I'm going to encourage everyone listening to go to your website and to really look at some of the images you have on there. Because what struck me, you know, I'm not usually here to advertise for my guests, right? I want them to share their… I want them to share their knowledge and you're very much doing that today, but I do want people to look at the photographs that you have on your website and ask themselves the question, when they look at those photos, what is my impression of this person? What is my takeaway here, you know, whether it's gravitas, experience, judgment, trust, warmth, whatever it may be. And that is something that I encourage everybody to ask, when it comes to their own photography, what do they want that to look like and put out into the world? Let's dive into AI right now, because of course this is on everybody's mind. It's touching every aspect of our lives these days. Artificial intelligence and it's funny, because I did a program this morning with somebody else. I was a guest on his show. I was talking about this idea that I think people need to focus on how artificial intelligence is changing business development, right? So most people right now, understandably so, in law firms are worried about, you know, what AI tools are we using? How do we make sure they're not hallucinating? How are we going to train up our associates and partners to use these things? What about cybersecurity? All of the things. And yet, we know that this is changing the way people find their attorneys and feel compelled to retain their attorneys. If it's changing the way we market ourselves, what role do you think the things that you talked about before, like authenticity and personal branding and showing up with visibility and all of that, how is that going to play out over the next few years?

Michelle Citrin: Well, one of the things I'm seeing is a big marketing trend. What's happening now with AI is that being human in a world of AI is now going to be the new luxury and the new way to stand out. So, we need to get away. If we want to be noticed now, we need to actually move away from using a lot of AI to write our materials and then to also do our graphics and do our photography. So, how do we stand out, now that there's going to be a lot more distrust? At the current state we're in right now, over 57% of Instagram users are actually AI bots. Now there has been a steady decline, since 2022, on the users on Instagram and usage on Instagram, that's when it peaked, was in 2022. But now we're seeing that more than 50% of users on Instagram are actually AI bots. So how are we going to use this as a business development tool and how are we going to stand out, is we have to go back to being human and it's going to be about relationships and human connection and in person and using disruption marketing in a way that we stand out. Like how do we disrupt the narrative? It's by being human and by having real imagery of ourselves. So it's, yeah, it's staying actually like veering away from it with marketing and development.

Elise Holtzman: I have recently gotten a few emails. I get lots of pitches. I'm sure you do as well, blind pitches. And I've recently gotten a couple of emails from small companies who want me to work with them to produce AI video. So it would be of me, supposedly, but they would create all of this content. And I have to say my gut reaction, I was so turned off. And I'm not suggesting that using AI tools doesn't have a role in all of this stuff. But to your point, we've got to be really, really careful about what we're doing here. We're not selling cars and we're not selling french fries, you know, we're in personal services and many times, whether you're a big law lawyer, or in a smaller law firm, the people coming to you, this is the biggest thing that they're ever going to do. And so trust is so important. So it's interesting to hear you say that, because I hadn't thought about it, other than just deleting the email and thinking kind of ick, that's not something that I want to do. But isn't it funny how, you know, we have all of these tools and now we're thinking about how do I go backwards a little bit?

Michelle Citrin: A little bit to build that trust. And you're right, because these are some of the biggest things in people's lives. You know, prenuptial agreements, divorces, buying homes. You need to find the right attorney for all of this. And whether we like it or not, we are online. When you Google and you were right when you told the story about your client who just updated his website with imagery and his profiles with imagery and whether we like it or not, we are online. And when you Google or you use chat or the AI search tools to find an attorney near you and they recommend the top five, when you get pulled up, what do you see? Is it trustworthy? Is it human? If there are no images of humans on your website and you have no profile picture and you have no online presence that you're controlling, the trust is immediately gone. They're going to go to the next person down the line that you're like, wow, I can relate to this person.

Elise Holtzman: I've seen that also where you go to a website and you know it's a small consulting firm or something like that, but there's no imagery there at all. I mean, this is why people put their whole teams on the website or, you know, you see different kinds of photos of them wearing different outfits, doing different things. Maybe you see, you know, the guy crossing the finish line in a marathon or something like that. But, you know, we are so spread out and we are living in such a digital world that we want to get to know people. We want to get to know, we want that connection. We want to get to know the people with whom we're working. Michelle, as we wrap up our time here together today, I want to ask you a question that I ask all of my guests at the end of the show. There's a phenomenon called the curse of knowledge, where experts sometimes forget that what is so obvious and natural to them is not at all obvious to other people. You have been doing this for a very long time, right? You're very skilled in photography and imagery and all of the artwork that goes into creating this sort of branding for people. And you're also experts in your clients who are all very high achieving women lawyers. When it comes to using personal branding and visibility as a growth strategy, what's a principle, or piece of advice that may seem obvious to you, but you think is really important for people to hear?

Michelle Citrin: Update and update regularly and be human in a world of AI. So getting annual updates and showing up online, just as you are right now, is really important to magnify your voice and to be seen and to open doors and to get the opportunities you know you're ready for and you want. Funny enough, showing up online is more important than you may think.

Elise Holtzman: I'm going to pause on this for one second. This is such great advice, but I know that my eyes opened a little wider when you said annually. And I have no doubt, because you just heard me say it could have been eight to 10 years ago that I got my photography.

Michelle Citrin: I'm going to throw you under the bus.

Elise Holtzman: I know. You're going to absolutely throw me under the bus. I totally deserve it. And part of it was also, after the pandemic, I had a little extra weight on me. I was like, oh, I'm going to take…

Michelle Citrin: Everybody.

Elise Holtzman: And everybody does this, right? We wait and wait and wait. But you're saying don't wait, right? And show up and do it on a regular basis. You're changing the practice of law to some extent, you know, is changing and just be authentic and be online. But you're right. This online presence is as important as it's been for the past many years, right? Since people really started finding lawyers online, or at least vetting them online, it's even more important than it's ever been. So thank you so much for taking the time to come here today and talk to me about this. You know, as I said up front, people may think this is just a box to check off, but it can be so much more than that. And I really appreciate you sharing all of your expertise and experience with us.

Michelle Citrin: Thank you. Thank you so much for having me.

Elise Holtzman: My pleasure.

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In the meantime, be bold, take action and make things happen. We'll see you next time.