Professional headshots for business websites.

Why it is important to commission professional headshots for your corporate website.

You are going to invest in a new or refurbished website, and you approach a few website designers. They design your site and then ask for some corporate headshots for the ‘meet the team’ page. You would be surprised how often we see this page filled with snaps of people taken by friends and family. It looks very unprofessional and a lazy shortcut to save a few pounds. Pictures of people taken at the beach, on a ship, at a wedding and the worst was a lady holding a baby! This is your business’s shopfront and potential clients will visit this your website to get information about your staff and directors. Make sure you leave them with a positive impression of your company. For the sake of a couple of hundred pounds, you could be losing clients if your people look unprofessional and your rivals have decent corporate headshots.

Commissioning professional headshots is a simple process. Find a corporate portrait photographer in your area that has a portfolio that you like the look of. Check their availability and make sure all your people are in on the agreed date. Make available your biggest room and then decide on what background you want the photographer to supply. Most popular is white but you can choose a darker background if that suits your website. Becoming more fashionable is to have an office background which places the headshot in a working environment. Make sure the corporate photographer is bringing professional studio lighting with them as this is essential as they produce a soft flattering light. Ask the photographer to capture a good range of stances and expressions so you have plenty of choice when it comes to selecting your final headshot.

One of the main things to understand is that you want the rofessional headshots to look consistent in style. When you look at the ‘meet the team’ page you should see a uniform look to all the corporate headshots as this shows the potential client that you have spent time and money on your business website.

LinkedIn professional headshot in London

LinkedIn professional headshot in London

Professional corporate headshot for company websites

Professional corporate headshot for company websites

 

Corporate Photography Samples from London Offices

reportage corporate photography in London offices

reportage corporate photography in London offices

reportage corporate photography in London offices

reportage corporate photography in London offices

reportage corporate photography in London offices

reportage corporate photography in London offices

reportage corporate photography in London offices

reportage corporate photography in London offices

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

reportage corporate photography in London offices

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Following on from my last post on corporate London photography I would like to show some samples of our corporate photography taken in London offices.

This style of photography has always been one of our favourites to capture and to see on clients websites. Most of our commissions are for corporate headshots but we are seeing more clients asking us to also capture some ‘working’ images whilst we are there. In our opinion these give a true reflection of your company and its employees, capturing natural and unposed images of everyday office life. When we explain that to capture these reportage office shots we will just wander around the building and wait for interesting moments to happen, understandably clients are a little wary of what we will come back with. Our aim is to make the offices look as good as possible and using focus techniques with experience we can perfect these everyday scenes into good marketing material for your company.

These corporate reportage photographs look natural and therefore seeming easy to capture as the photographer just has to point his camera at what is going on in the offices. This is far from the truth and capturing these images takes lots of skill and experience. Photographers who are not used to shooting reportage can come unstuck very quickly as they are faced by a busy office full of people who normally do not want to be photographed. Blending into the background and thinking ahead of situations are skills you need and making sure you are in the correct position to capture a moment when it is about to happen. If the photographer is wandering around a London office and seeing a fleeting moment happen then they have missed the opportunity to capture it as they will not have time to get the camera in position let alone focus accurately.

Once in the bag these images are ideal for company websites and can be used as banner images and we are seeing them used as individual’s profile photographs along with and sometimes, instead of the more traditional corporate headshot.

Please get in touch with us if have any questions relating to this article and keep updated with offers and our recent posts at corporate photographers in London page

The Advantages of Corporate Photography Post Production Techniques.

Post production techniques can benefit the marketing impact of your commissioned corporate photography.

Our headshot photographers undertake hundreds of commissions each year and as I get more involved in the post production side of the industry I can see how clients do not see the potential of what is on offer.

To give some examples. The first case is a company will approach us and we will agree to capture their staff and directors headshots. Within our quote we include airbrushing and retouching to selected images. After we do the shoot we send all the high res versions and the client is happy. A week later the headshots are on their website and the next time we will hear from them is when they have new starters to be photographed.

The second case is several other companies we work with and we go through the same process but after the shoot them come back with a list of images they require being retouched and asking if we can do anything to improve the overall impression of the headshots. The answer is always yes.

We are beginning to see that what the photographer can capture in camera is only half of the process. Post production gives a whole new dimension of what can be added to the original corporate headshot.

Traditionally business headshots were on a white or sometimes blue background. This was due to these being the most popular background paper rolls that were sold by Colourama. This trends continues to this day and there is no reason for this. Good quality cut outs in post production means that you can literally have any background you require. As it is now impossible to tell that a headshot has been cut out and placed on a new background this opens up great possibilities. We work with large international companies who want all their worldwide offices to have headshots with the same background. We have guidelines for foreign photographers and we then create a corporate branding in post production. Another client again with international offices was having real problems trying to capture headshots of staff in their offices across the world. Again we wrote guides for the photographers and then purchased library shots of the world capitals and very carefully created a set of professional headshots for them.

Another option to look at is that if you have a headshot you are pleased with and feel confident using then get more from it by adding backgrounds, cropping and tailoring it to work in different situations. These are some samples we put together to help clients understand what is possible in post production.

 

Corporate photography post production techniques.

These two samples have been captured in clients offices and we have subtly retouched them. The worst thing with post production is the ease with which the client or the photographer can over work the headshot. Retouching should never be noticeable on the final version. You would be able to see differences if you compared the original headshot with the retouched version but the final product should and must look natural. Our subtle retouching and airbrushing includes lessening lines and wrinkles normally around the eye area. We also remove any spots or blemishes as these are not permanent features. Scars and moles are a person’s preference wether we remove them or not. Shinny skin can be reduced and any discolouration reduced to look healthy.

 

London business headshot with office background added

At this stage we have now added an office environment background with gives the headshot a new dimension. It makes perfect sense to me that a corporate headshot should have a corporate background. Gives the person a sense of where they work. It is instant that the viewer knows this is a person at work and it is a business profile photograph. I have been creating LinkedIn headshots in London for many years now and I am still amazed at some of the profile photos I see. Snaps of company directors half up a mountain or on a sailing boat. The person is usually so small in the picture they are barely recognisable. If you get past this amateur mistake you then see they have spent a great deal of time writing content for their profile but the first thing you look at as a potential employer or client is the photo and you really need to look professional at that point.

The benefits of adding a background in post production really come into play at this point. You can have your headshot captured in a studio utilising the professional lighting which would be a difficult option if you wanted to do it on location. After this you can add a background that perfectly reflects your business sector.

 

corporate headshot with London skyline added in post production

Being based in London with most of our clients they require a City background added as this reflects their work location. I mentioned earlier about the benefits for international companies but another point to look at is that it is very easy for us to apply the London cityscape as a background but if you try and recreate this on a shoot you will have to gain access to a high building as trying to capture this type of headshot at street level is not possible due to the height of the building which create a steep angle. We have a library taken from many of the skyscrapers in the City purely for the purpose of being added as a background.These are carefully shot to allow for the person standing and blocking most of the view and gently put out of focus to replicate the shot if it was captured in camera and the use of a long portrait lens and the point of focus.

 

Corporate photography post production techniques.

Corporate branding colours can be sample from your old headshots or created and added to your companies headshots. These are also made web friendly and feathered in around hairstyles. It might be suggested that this can be done with a colour background roll and save the post production work but that is a mistake. In the past we had clients buying background rolls and sending them all over the world for different photographers to use. This was in the hope that the background and therefore the headshots would remain consistent. The main recurring problem with this is lighting varies and therefore the hue, colour and brightness of the background changed in different photographers work.

If you want the background and the your headshots to perfectly consistent the only sure way to guarantee this is to add them in post production.

You might be interested in our last post on corporate photography tips.

Please get in touch if you have any questions or additional benefits to corporate photography using post production techniques.

Benefits of Professional Executive Headshots

Great article by New York corporate photographer  Michael Benabib

Working with executive headshots.

LinkedIn is the most lucrative social platform for corporate business and client acquisition. Your LinkedIn profile pic is the first impression to inspire engagement from your target market. Therefore, it’s imperative your corporate headshots and LinkedIn profile pic best represents your business and experience level.

The best example for the perfect LinkedIn profile pic is the corporate headshot of LinkedIn VP of Marketing Solutions, Penry Price. As the photographer working with LinkedIn executives, I’d like to share the elements for a perfect corporate headshot. Here are 7 tips to achieve a high-ranking profile pic:

executive headshots executive headshots executive headshots

1.    Hire a Professional.

Don’t squander your executive headshot image potential with a candid profile photo. Professionalism and individual value is perceived by the investment you are willing to invest in yourself; if you wouldn’t, why should anyone else? If you want to be perceived as an consummate professional, hire a professional.

2.    Arrive with an open mind.

Willingness to experiment is critical to any creative endeavor and yields optimal results. Therefore, be open to stepping outside your comfort zone. There’s a method to the madness for any seasoned headshot photographer to achieve the best results. Remember, it’s always in your best interest for the photographer to make you look outstanding. If you don’t look good, we don’t look good.

3.    Look straight into the camera.

A successful business profile photo communicates with the viewer. Connect with the camera to make a positive first impression. Don’t think about your facial expression, have fun.

4.    Dress for success.

It’s best to let your personal style shine through. However, If wardrobe selection becomes a daunting task, browse corporate headshots of prominent pros in your field for inspiration. Either way… keep it clean, pressed, and wrinkle-free.

5.    Company culture matters.

Similar to the LinkedIn profile photo we featured, shoot in a location that tells your story. Your executive headshots environment will provide a sense of company culture in its best light. However, a studio photoshoot session can be customized to put you in your best light.

6.    Have fun.

I enjoy getting to meet and work with different people. Our shoot is 50% photography and 50% getting to know each other. The camera captures the moment – we create an atmosphere that exudes confidence and comfort. Don’t stress the small stuff, Photoshop is everyone’s friend.

7.    Try different poses.

Commonly, corporate clients are surprised to discover their best angle was counter-intuitive and contrary to how they usually pose for the camera. Your photographer will guide you through different ways to position yourself for the camera. Also, review your photos during your photoshoot so you can see the variations, then go shoot more.

For samples of our London corporate photographers work.