Corporate Headshots and how to plan them
These days a company’s website says so much more than it ever did before. Now that everyone has upped their game it’s so important to keep up with the Joneses and show your company in the best possible light. These days every company needs great Corporate Headshots.
Along with all your content and information, it’s more important than ever before to have some really great Corporate headshots of your team on there to draw in those potential clients. We’re not all out meeting and greeting and showing how fabulous we are so we need to show that in our photos. People work with people after all and don’t want to feel they’re working with a faceless group. Show them how warm, professional and wonderful a team you are then they’ll definitely read all your copy (and hopefully hire you!)
So – how to ensure you’ve prepared everything enough in advance in order to get the best from your Corporate Headshot shoot? It’s all about the planning folks! Once you’ve calmed everyone down after all their howls of horror at the thought of a headshot shoot, here are a few things you can do to ensure it all goes brilliantly for all.
How to plan the corporate headshot shoot
Try not to leave everything until the last minute – if possible have a plan sorted beforehand so there are no hiccups or misunderstandings on the day. Have a good chat with your Headshot Photographer so they know exactly what you’re expecting from the shoot. Below are a few things to get you going…
– how many people will they be shooting?
– What is the turnaround time you’re hoping for?
– Will you be requiring re-touching services?
– What sort of background would you like? (I generally prefer to use a backdrop for corporate headshot shoots mainly so that we can keep the photos uniform and consistent in the future, though backgrounds of the office, windows, outdoors can look great too.)
The location of the Corporate Headshot shoot
If the photographer will be shooting in your office – which room will it be and what is it like? If it’s to be in a meeting room will the table be moved to the side before he/she arrives? Sometimes these tables are very heavy and tricky for the photographer to move all on their own so it’s always great to arrive to find a room already prepared and ready for lights and backdrop!
A separate room is always the best bet if possible – it’s doable to work in a corridor or communal space but can make the subjects feel even more inhibited than they already do! – bad enough to have your pic taken at work but having others see them in front of the camera can tip some over the edge!
Will the photographer be able to keep the headshots looking consistent when there are newbies to the firm? Are they local enough that you can send individuals to them to add their pic to the gallery? This is a very helpful bonus as you don’t want to have to pay a photographer to come to your office for a half or full-day just to take a couple of newbies. A photographer who is near enough to town and has the backdrop there makes continuing the headshot theme far less painless (and far more economical!)
How much time will you need?
Your photographer should be able to give you some idea of how long they’ll need per person but it’s good to add a little time to that in the planning in case of any hiccups. Some people need very little time at all for their headshots while others can be more particular about how they’re being shot. It’s so important for everyone to feel happy with their photo – I make sure I show each person their headshots as we go to make absolutely sure they’re happy with what I’ve shot. After all, that pic is hopefully going to be on that webbie for quite some time!
Ensuring a relaxed corporate headshot shoot
Hopefully, you’ll cover all this with your photographer but the most important thing to do for your team is to make sure they feel relaxed about it all. Most often, they’ll fly into a panic at the mere idea of a shoot so the more relaxed they can be about it the better it will be – and their pics! A bit of reassurance goes a long way to help with this and the directive to “just have fun” can help hugely. Your photographer should be experienced enough to know exactly how to deal with the insecurities and nerves and will hopefully put everyone at their ease. The number of times I’ve heard “I was dreading this but actually I’ve really enjoyed it” shows that it doesn’t have to be a scary chore!