Are you looking for a photographer for your staff headshots? Corporate photography in and around London, Wimbledon and Kingston is something I do very regularly. It can be daunting for the person organising the shoot and so here are some tips for how to make the best of your time with the corporate headshot photographer.
There are 2 options for your corporate photography and much depends on the final look you would like for your images and the branding of your company. I offer natural light photography at your offices and surroundings and a pop-up studio where I bring my studio set up to your office. Both work well for larger teams or if you have just a few people you’d like photographed.
Preparing for your corporate headshot
I will send an email in advance with some tips on what to wear and how to prepare to send to your staff. These include deciding for men whether ties should be worn, jackets etc. Suggestions on colours that work well. Ideas on hair styling and make up for women. You might want to add colour tones that are preferable or those to avoid to suit your branding. This all will help to give a cohesive look to your team photos on your website. You can see more styling advice on my blog post here too.
Set-up
I usually arrive to set up, about 30 mins before the first person is scheduled. The studio set up will take about 20 mins to unpack and get ready and it’s super handy if there is parking or a loading area nearby. This is my kit thatI bring, including strobe lights, backdrop and stand, camera kit of course and other accessories including a very neutral stool. I like to have a room that has a clear floor space of approx 2.5m x 3m – if it’s bigger than that even better! A meeting or conference room will work really well or an empty office if you have one. I don’t mind having to move chairs and tables out of the way!
If you are going for a natural light look for your images then we can discuss in advance the best spots in your office to use. You will need lots of window light and somewhere that we can use that is fairly clear of clutter. It can look really nice to have the office space in the background. This also works really well in a factory or health club environment where the backdrop can really help show off what you do. I often also use the outside space around your premises for headshot photography. This could be brick walls, nice open spaces, any white walls or shaded areas.
You can see some different natural light and studio lit photographs below.
Schedule
It’s great if you can make a schedule for the headshots which means we maximise the time I’m spending with you! I usually suggest about 10 mins each for a decent slot for each person. However if you have a very large number of people to have photographed and you only want one final image per person, we might speed that up. Scheduling blocks of people per 15 mins works well and means people don’t get backed up waiting. If you have more senior staff that might need more images for company reports and marketing materials then please give them a longer slot or we could put them at the end so they have some extra time.
Natural light photographs can take a little bit longer especially if we are using a couple of different spots inside and outside. It works really well for small teams of people however.
After your shoot
After your shoot I will edit and prepare the best images for you to view. We will agree in advance how many images you would like to see. I would suggest 2 images minimum works really well and more for any senior members of staff or board members. This way staff can use their headshots internally for the website or marketing materials and also have a different image for their LinkedIn that still shows a cohesive brand for your company. I generally do retouching on all of the images I show you, if you require further editing this is of course possible. Some companies like to have images with transparent backgrounds produced so they can be overlaid on their own branded backgrounds etc. This is something I am able to help with for a small extra editing charge.
Some of my regular clients prefer to pay a retainer each month in order to secure my services for the year. This means I can return a number of times a year to photograph any new starters or anyone that requires updates and ensure that the headshots always keep the same look.
I would suggest that you take new headshots every 3 years at a maximum, and more often if you have any major changes such as glasses, beards, hair colour or major hair cuts.
If you are looking for a corporate headshot photographer in New Malden, Wimbledon, Kingston, Surrey or surrounding areas including central London then please do get in touch via email on info@rebeccachallis.com or call 07774 403952 to check availability.
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