Business Portrait Photography Options for Your Company
Corporate portraits and headshots are critical for the success of your business. A sense of familiarity between company and customer is created when a potential client sees the faces of those who they may be working with. This personal connection of business portrait photography aids in positively differentiating your company from that of your competition in the eyes of customers.
There are a number of styles of business portrait photography, and each has its own merits and associations. This article will help familiarize you with your corporate portrait options and inform you of the benefits to each.
Traditional Versus Environmental Portraiture:
Traditional
A traditional professional headshot is clean and straightforward. Taken against a solid color or basic design, these portraits emphasize one thing: the subject.
This style of business portrait photography is great for companies that require a large number of headshots. Due to the basic nature of the traditional headshot, professional photographers are able to take photos with extreme visual consistency: even in different areas and on different days. This ensures a uniformity across all your employees’ headshots, which contributes greatly to your business’ professional image.
Environmental
In environmental portraits, the setting of the photo is somehow significant to the subject. Of course, this means that there is a large variance in the locations of environmental portraits; however, it is common for workers to be photographed in their workplaces. Some examples of Chicago Corporate Photography and Video’s past environmental portraits include chefs in kitchens, golfers on golf courses, and baristas in coffee shops.
In many instances, businesses want environmental portraits, but feel that their workplaces are not particularly visually stimulating. That’s no problem! Many business professionals take environmental portraits outside in the areas surrounding their workplaces. For a great deal of Chicago companies, this means that the backdrop of their professional portraits is the city itself. Chicago Corporate Photography and Video’s portraits in Chicago successfully convey the beauty of the city without distracting from the subjects themselves. Not to mention, by showing your staff in Chicago, you help to establish local associations between your company and its city.
Environmental headshots offer a more dynamic and personal alternative to their traditional counterparts. Simply by seeing where a person works, viewers can better relate to your employees—and ultimately—your business.
Single Versus Group Photos:
Single
Single-person photographs are a necessity in the business world, especially for company websites and LinkedIn professional profiles. These types of headshots have the broadest range of usages. Some possibilities include using them:
As professional profile pictures
On your business’ “About Us” page
In advertisements for your company
On your cover letter or CV
On the cover of your autobiography
On the cover of a biography—about you!
Group
Group portraits are exceptionally effective ways to showcase your company’s culture and unity. By allowing staff the freedom to interact with each other on set, group portraiture is unique in its ability to honestly show the personality of a company. By doing something as simple as showing your management in the same place, your business demonstrates its unity and ability to function as a team: an important value in the eyes of a consumer and one that can significantly help in building your brand.
Another notable benefit of group shots is the comfort that they provide the subjects. Some people find it difficult to fully relax in front of the camera on their own, but the process of relaxation is markedly expedited when people are photographed with others.
Posed Versus Candid Subject:
Posed
In the corporate realm, posed photos often feature the subject smiling and looking into the camera. Much like how traditional business portrait photography allows for consistency in setting, posed photos provide consistency in the appearance of the subjects. This uniformity in headshots contributes to the cohesive and professional perceptions of your company by viewers.
Candid
In photography, candid portraits are pictures in which the subject is—or pretends to be—unaware that they are being photographed. Because these photos appear un-staged, viewers interpret the expressions of the subjects as very genuine. The natural quality of these portraits lead viewers to develop more personal connections with the subjects than they would have had the photo been posed.
There are a number of useful applications of candid portraiture in the business world. Many company websites feature candid photographs of their staff at work. These photos give viewers a peek into the everyday life of company, and due to the impression of sincerity which candid photos create, these viewers come away feeling a personal familiarity with the company.
A great deal of businesses find candid headshots to be appropriate for their “About Us” pages. Often, candid headshots provide subjects with opportunities to more clearly convey their personalities. Knowing this, some businesses opt for candid portraiture if they wish to better project the personalities of their staff.
The Takeaway: Business Portrait Photography Importance
Clearly, there are an abundance of options for your next corporate photoshoot. Each style of portraiture influences how your company is perceived, so the stylistic decision regarding portrait type should not be undervalued.
Confer with an experienced photographer about how you want your business and staff to be viewed. Whichever style you choose, having headshots of your staff on hand and online is amazingly important for your company’s growth and success.
Have questions about business portrait photography or professional Chicago headshots? Please feel free to give us a call at 312-623-3456 or you may Contact Us Here.
