When you are in the Corporate Headshots NJ for a fresh new business headshot to promote your website, product or service, there are three things to consider. First, the setting. Second, your appearance. Third, the usage. Let’s take a look at these elements.
When considering a setting, you have three choices: a photographer’s studio, your workplace, and on location.
Consider carefully which one would best suit both your personality and occupation. For example: If you work as an entertainer at children’s parties, on location at a playground can be lots of fun, while providing vibrant color and amusing props. If you are a gardener, environmentalist or landscape artist, an outdoor setting surrounded by greenery will actively serve your purpose. If you work in a conservative occupation such as law or banking, the neutrality of a photographer’s studio might be a better fit. If you work in a building profession or trade, on location at a work project can be both engaging and informative. Choosing your office as your setting will show relevant context with desk, phone, computer, etc.
Here are some tips: If you choose a park or playground, go at a relatively quiet time of day. There will be fewer distractions at two o’clock on a Monday than at 10AM on a Saturday. In the office, some natural clutter of a busy day is germane to a secondary picture destined to appear less prominently on a website or brochure. However, your primary image should be in more pristine surroundings. Keep the disorder to a minimum and show your office as an attractive place that a client would like to visit. If you go to the photographer’s studio, ask about the color of the background.
The color of choice is white or gray, as these are non-competitive with your clothing and promote a clean, crisp image. Typically, black, white or grey backdrops are readily available, but if want to use a distinctive company color or a hue in keeping with your website design, then it might have to be special ordered. Schedule accordingly.
A growing trend with images used on websites or brochures is for each subject to have a unique setting. One employee might like a corporate portrait demonstrating golf skills; another might be an unparalleled weekend barbeque-er and like his chef’s hat, apron and sauces. Someone else might have an unusual pet. If your corporate culture permits adding this personal spice, the photos will make you all distinctive. No matter which framework you choose, take care to create a statement that you enjoy sharing with the world, and that shows you to your best advantage.
Give consideration to your clothing, jewelry, hair and makeup. If you work all day with people in suits, then similar garments will serve you well, but keep patterns to a minimum. No more than one: either the jacket, OR the tie, OR the shirt, not two and never three. If, however, you have established yourself as the office eccentric and this works for you, by all means choose something sartorially significant. But before you don that saffron weskit, ask yourself if your latest performance reviews have been less than stellar.
If so, it might be time to rethink your image and what better time than picture day? Along those lines, if you are a fashionista whose apparel is never more than one season old, go with the latest trend but keep your headshot up-to-date. If your style is classic, your headshot will have greater longevity. High fashion or trendy styles have a shorter shelf life.
Keep jewelry to a minimum. Unless you are in the jewelry business or are known for exceptionally eye-catching accoutrements, the focus of the photograph should be your face.
Get your hair cut a few days before the headshot session. Hair sometimes looks ‘shocked’ after being cut, and several days’ rest will give it a more natural look. If your hair is very fine or thin, wash it the day before the photo session, not the day of. Fine hair tends to have a bit more body the day after being washed.
Keep your makeup as close as possible to your everyday appearance. A little more mascara than normal is acceptable. Matte makeup photographs better than shiny. Vibrant or darker lipstick looks better in photos than pale. If you never wear makeup, don’t start now, but do wear a little powder over the T-Zone to cut down on shine. If your tan is fading, dust your face with a lightly pink tinted face powder. It will add a healthy, rosy tone and cut down the sallow hue as your skin transitions. A good rule is to treat makeup the way a clever cook treats salt. Go sparingly – you can always add. Ask your photographer to take a test shot so you can see how your makeup photographs. Then, like the experienced chef, you can add a little more if necessary.
Don’t experiment with a new look on the day of your headshot. It’s fun to try new haircuts or makeup styles, but not for a headshot that will represent you for many months or else be replaced very soon.
Next, consider the end usage of the photos. Will they be used on a business card and promotional material? Will they appear with colleagues on your company’s website? Will they accompany articles for a blog, newspaper, trade paper or magazine? Witll they enhance networking sites like Facebook, Manta, LinkedIn, etc.? Perhaps a bit of everything?
When you book your headshot appointment, tell your photographer whether you plan on printing your photographs as well as putting them on websites, so the photos can be formatted accordingly: high resolution for print, low resolution for web. Your photographer will know how to do this, just be clear on what you need.
