Although I will be posting photography tips to help improve your own personal photography skills in the near future this post will not tell you how to take your own Corporate headshot. What I will do in this blog is tell you exactly what you need to keep in mind if you are planning on getting/updating your corporate image. Things to keep in mind while posing and the message behind it-
-Look friendly. I continually see head shots where people are not smiling...this is scary.. and very few people can get away with it. Not smiling can make people think you are standoffish.
- Lean forward. This will make you look engaged and interested in what someone is saying. Yes, I realize this is a photo, but you want people to feel engaged when they look at your face. They will remember you.
-In most cases wear a jacket. Depending on what you do for a living a dress jacket may be a MUST. It helps you look polished and professional. If you are in more of an artistic field then by all means ditch it.
- Relax. When people are uncomfortable in front of the camera it shows. As a photographer, I have been compared to a dentist - some people hate it that much! So do what you have to do to relax, treat yourself to lunch before hand, go to the spa the day before, anything that makes you feel special about being you. It will show in the pictures!
Things to tell your Photographer-
What you are using the image for. This is important to us because it will give us an idea as to how to pose you, and which angle will work best for your usage.
Possible future requirements. For example, will you be removing yourself from the background? This is significant. If you will be looking to have your photographer or a graphic artist remove you from the background in the future let us know because we will probably use a editing friendly background. This will help out whomever is cutting you out and keep it looking natural... let's all avoid helmet head!!
What image you would like to put forward. Not every corporate headshot will consist of a head and shoulders business look. There are many kinds of business portraits and photographers are more than willing to try a new look or go a little funky with backgrounds and posing.
Things to keep in mind-
- Go with quality over quantity.
- Don't be afraid to update your look. Although some of the '80s look is back (dear god), please don't use your photo taken from that era.
- There is no need to cake on make up. With the beauty of technology, caking it on is no longer required.
- Hire a professional. Do not take selfies.... I repeat... do NOT take your own photograph! I have seen many professional people looking ridiculous because they snapped a photograph of themselves randomly or used an image taken at someone's wedding. I appreciate that you happened to look stellar that day, but what it says is "Hey, I was at a wedding had a blast and cropped my beer out". People can tell and for the most part they are not impressed.
Technical Mumbo Jumbo-
You may receive more than one kind of file from your photographer. An RGB file and a CMYK file. Without getting into the real technical differences between the two (you will more than likely fall asleep) this is what you need to use each file for- RGB files are perfect for web, email and any online application. CMYK files will be your main file for the newspaper, brochures, business cards etc. There is a difference between the two and if you send an RGB file to the newspaper chances are pretty good you will end up looking like a tomato, and I would guess that is definitely NOT the look you were going for!
Corporate photography can be a lot of fun as boring as it sounds. This is your chance to show everyone who you are and what you're all about- all within a photograph. Think of the Mona Lisa (Yes, I know it is a painting) people still talk about her little smile to this day. So remember, share information, as questions, relax, and please stop using selfies of yourself in the bathroom, please.... pretty please.
Check out our Corporate Headshots at www.locps.com
If you have any questions or feel something wasn't covered, please contact me, I'd love to hear from you.
Below is a sampling of our work.
LOCPS xoxo
