If you have your own business your customers will identify with it more readily if they can see what you and your employees look like. An “about” page on your website showing business portraits of all your staff along with a description of their role within the company creates a visual and human identity. The act of being photographed can also encourage employees to feel valued as part of your company “team”. It’s important to create a positive online presence for yourself and your company and one part of this process is getting the right look. Corporate headshots are one part of your “look” and are something I specialise in having produced photos for businesses in the Derby area for a number of years.
Flexible approach
Your business may require portraits of individuals or entire staff teams, so I can adopt a different approach depending on the nature of the company and the style required. You may opt for a relaxed, informal look which can be created on your premises: the examples shown here were shot for Advance Lighting in Hilton. Their marketing manager specified that the staff were to be photographed in their usual work place. This was technically challenging as the team were based in a number of different rooms around the factory, with variable lighting and backgrounds. The benefit for the client was that there was minimal disruption to work routines and the staff felt more at ease in their familiar surroundings.
Corporate headshots in the studio
You may choose to bring the studio to the company’s premises: for a polished studio look all I need is a reasonable sized room where I can set up a plain background and some lights. This way the staff come to me and have a 10-15 minute slot so I can capture a professional headshot of each one, and all the images have a consistent “look”. The photos of the Chairman and Directors of Clowes Development Group (CWC) were shot in an empty room during their annual general meeting at Brailsford Hall – the only time during the year when the board members were all going to be in one place at the same time. In this example the three men were photographed individually and then montaged together in Photoshop.
Business portraits on location
You may wish to emphasise the physical location of your company, as in the examples below which firmly place the subjects in the City of Derby. These portraits were shot on behalf of the University of Derby Business School, on location in the City centre and at the County Cricket Ground.
Headshots for social media
When doing business with someone new it’s common to turn to LinkedIn or Facebook to find out more about whoever you are dealing with, so it’s sensible that you create a good first impression with a professional looking business portrait (rather than a snapshot taken on a phone).
If you commission a business portrait for an individual I normally use a studio set-up and will spend an hour or so shooting a range of photos, often with a number of different outfits for variety. The benefit of this approach is that with more time there is less pressure and this helps you relax and feel more comfortable with being scrutinised by my camera lens. The examples below are of Katharine who is setting up a new business as a Management Consultant. She wanted a range of portraits that showed her as both a professional business woman but also with a friendly, approachable manner. We tried a number of different looks and outfits and came up with a range of successful portraits which she can use on LinkedIn and other social media.
As you can see from the photos, in addition to the studio we also took a few shots on location to create a slightly more informal look.
I offer a friendly service with a fast turnaround and my prices are very reasonable, starting at £95.00 for a basic business portrait shoot. Contact me here for more details. You can view more of my headshots on the website here.