Here's the problem with social media: It's turned everyone into his (or her) own personal PR agent.

社交媒体有个问题：它把每个人都变成了他(或她)自己的个人公关。

Think about a businessperson you know, preferably someone with a reasonably high profile. Find his photo on the company website, or the photos he uses for promotional purposes. Most of those photos look pretty good, right? (Except the ones where the person's face appears to have been cropped out of a photo taken at a party.)

想想一个你认识的商人，好是一个比较高调的人。找到他在公司网站上的照片，或者他带推广目的的照片。这些照片大多数看起来很不错，对吧？ (除非这个人的脸看上去像是从一次聚会合影中被裁剪出来的。)

Now go to his or her Facebook or Twitter profile. Or do a quick image search.

现在再去找一下他或她的Facebook或Twitter的个人资料，或者扫一眼照片。

Do the photos you find look like the same person?

这些照片和你认识的这个人一样吗？

Not quite... and the disconnect is often more than a little jarring. The George Clooney you see in the profile photo turns out to look more like, say, me. (Now that's a jarring disconnect.)

不是的……反差经常不是只有一点点。你在个人资料照片中看到的乔治·克鲁尼其实看起来更像，比如说，我。(这就是一个巨大的反差。)

Of course you should try to look good in your photos. The research is clear: People want to do business with attractive people.

当然，你应该尽量让你的照片好看。研究结果很明确：人们更乐意与好看的人谈生意。

But don't try to look too good, because people also want to do business with real people. Plus, someday you may meet your customers; even if you won't, while they're checking out your business your potential clients will probably do a quick search on you, too.

但是，也不要让照片看上去太好看，因为人们也想和真实的人谈生意。而且，你可能将来会遇到你的顾客；即使你没有遇到，当他们在审查你的公司时，你的潜在客户也可能会对你做一个搜索。

Either way, potential customers will eventually find out you're not quite as handsome, quite as trim, quite as young, and definitely not quite the focused-yet-sensitive-artist-with-a-knowing-but-whimsical-smile as your photos make you seem.

无论如何，你的潜在顾客最终会发现你其实没有像照片上看上去那么帅气，那么端庄，而且不是照片上那个带着世故和奇特的笑容的艺术家，看上去既专注又敏感。

Instead: Use personal photos that flatter but don't mislead.

反之，使用讨喜但不会让人误解的照片。

Pick photos that look natural. Think about how you will look when you first meet a customer and try to match that look. Avoid disconnects between photos and real life (or website photos and Facebook photos) as much as possible. Look good but look real.

挑选看上去自然的照片。想想看当你和顾客初次见面，他或她努力想把照片和本人对上号的时候，你会怎么样。尽量避免照片和本人(或者网站上的照片和Facebook上的照片)的过大差异。让照片好看而且真实。

Otherwise, when customers meet you they will naturally wonder what else you're hiding or misrepresenting.

否则，当顾客见到你后，他们会不自觉地怀疑你是不是还隐藏或歪曲了其他什么事情。

Never use stock photos. Stock photos look cheesy. And they don't fool anyone. The worst photos of the real you are better than any stock photos.

绝不要使用证件照。证件照看上去很劣质，而且它们骗不过任何人。真实的你的差的照片都比任何证件照要好。

Don't misrepresent your facilities, either. Ever seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa? Ever walked the Hollywood Walk of Fame? In photos many landmarks look a lot different simply because the surrounding areas are usually cropped out. While you're at it, check out any other business-related photos. Certainly show your facilities to their best advantage, but don't over-do it.

你也不要歪曲你在的场所。你见过比萨斜塔吗？走过好莱坞星光大道吗？在照片中，许多标志性建筑看上去很不同，仅仅因为周围的区域经常显露出来。当你在建筑物前，查看一下其他所有和业务相关的照片。当然要以好的角度展示你在的场所，但是不要过度。

And always remember you're not a celebrity. Actors, musicians, and performers earn their livings based at least partly on how they look. In most cases, you don't. You make your living based on what you do, not how you look. Keep that fact in mind where your photos are concerned and you can't go wrong.

时刻牢记你不是一个明星。演员、音乐家和表演家至少在部分程度上是靠脸吃饭的。多数情况下，你不是。你是靠你做的事情，而不是你的长相谋生的。在关于你的照片方面，牢记这个事实，你就不会出错了。