We've all been impressed by distinguished looking portraits of bank presidents and hospital administrators or physicians, but can we infer things about a person's character from their appearance? It turns out we can, and that may be a perfect motivation to use professional photographers to capture those business portraits.

A contestant on the show "American Idol" drew a lot of votes from a certain religious group, who perceived from her face that she had honesty, integrity and faith. In short, they believed that she was one of them. They were right. Scientists say this phenomenon is caused by a brain network feature called fusiform gyrus that scans faces and filters information about anything that might be threatening. Our ancestors probably developed the sense when dealing with people from other clans.

This ability is also called "thin-slicing" and we use it every day to decide whether to interact with other people. The old phrase "put your best foot forward" might better be worded "put your best face forward."

So the portrait that hangs on the walls of businesses and institutions may be one of the best advertising tools available. In portraiture, though, lighting and colors may play tricks on us. Someone with an open and honest face might come across as deceitful if they have chosen the wrong clothing or are posed against the wrong background. A weak chin may catch the light in a way that makes us perceive the individual as weak or dishonest.

It isn't about fooling the public, but it is about presenting features in the best possible way. Professional photographers are trained to notice imperfections and minimize them. They understand how to capitalize on pose and colors to express the character of the subject. Business portraits captured by experienced professional photographers may say as much about a company as thousands of dollars worth of advertising. Now that is an impressive photograph.