Your business image. Corporate Headshots and Business Portrait Photography.

Anyone in business will tell you, presenting a professional image is key to success. People buy from people, and your business portrait, whether that be on your website or on LinkedIn will often be the first thing people see. People gain their first impression of someone within a few seconds of meeting, and the same is the case with corporate headshots. Like it or not, first impressions count! The impression that photographs create is so important that leading recruiters have identified it as a key reason why candidates loose out on jobs. Having a business portrait that is professional and appropriate to your industry is a key to your professional image. When it comes to corporate headshots, a business portrait photographer can add significantly to your “personal capital”.

“What makes a good business portrait?”

As with many things, context is key. Corporate headshots that are suitable for a lawyer would not necessarily be suitable for someone working in customer service. The first needs to maintain a certain level of formality due to the nature of their profession, whereas the latter needs to be approachable. The type of brand image that your company aims for is also important and is often something that is discussed in great detail during planning meetings with advertising and creative agencies. The image presented by a company who’s primary market is to appeal to teens and millennials would be different than a company than a company that sells financial advisory services. Understanding these things before commencing a business portrait shoot is critical to success.

“What practical things do we need to consider when planning a shoot for corporate headshots?”

Once the style of the shoot has been decided, we need to figure out how to make that happen! There are a number of different things to consider:

• Will the shoot be location based, in a studio, or using portable studio equipment at your location? If we are doing multiple corporate headshots, consistency of image is key. This is generally fairly easy to do if we are doing all the pictures in the same place on the same day, however if the staff are located on different sites and at different times of day, this can affect the location selected. In this situation, I would generally suggest a portable studio environment in order to maintain consistency.

• What space is available? For a single corporate headshot on white background, we would need a space not smaller than 3m x 5. In addition, we would also need power outlets for the lighting and the ability to blank off other light sources such as windows and room lights. Additional space is needed for full length business portraits, ideally not less than 4.5m x 6m. Group photographs will vary depending on the number of people.

• How much time is available? Professionals are often busy and often have complex and changing business schedules. For Corporate portrait photography, we generally plan the shoot time and arrive roughly an hour in advance in order to set up the lighting equipment. I then work with you, photographing those who have to leave first due to other commitments. Unless the we are doing a very extensive portfolio of photographs with large numbers of poses to select from, taking corporate headshots for each person will usually take a few minutes.

• Some people are uneasy with having their portrait taken! Inevitably this often happens. On a personal level I always aim to talk to people during a shoot as it helps people to relax. We shoot a range of pictures so that the sitter can make a selection later. One thing I always advise businesses if they are having their staff portraits taken, is to make sure everyone knows a week or so in advance. Don’t surprise them! Everyone is different, but some people like to get ready before having their picture taken as this helps them feel more confident in front of the camera. Staff need to be happy with their presentation, and corporate headshots are an important part of this.

• Digital editing. This is a question that comes up a lot. Yes, I can edit the photographs and will do so according to your specification. The only caution I would make is that your picture should be a good likeness of yourself, as going too far with editing can cause issues of credibility. Ultimately you have to be happy with your image as presented however. It has to work for you.

As with most commercial photography, after the shoot you will be presented with a password protected online gallery containing the photographs from the shoot. From here you can select the images you wish to use and I will perform image editing on the selected files to the level that you require. Final edited photographs are provided via a digital download link. Turnaround times vary depending on the location of the shoot, the number of people being photographed and the level of editing requested. If you are looking for business portrait photography, whether for promotional purposes, or even just for your LinkedIn profile, just give me a call!

Peter

01744 454 834 | 07917317908