Allison Marshall of Claritas Rx chose to have her company headshots by the bay near their corporate offices.
Pick A Photographer With A System
Pick a photographer that brings out the best in each employee. Give their portfolio a view and then interview them. Make sure the photographer can make your people look the way you want them to look. But remember, the photographer needs to be a partner now and in the future. You need someone that will be there next year and the year after that. They need to have a system for keeping the photos of future employees consistent. This requires organization.
Establish a Standard Background, Crop and Lighting
Once you have picked your photographer, establish a standard for the photo. How is the lighting: soft, hard, natural or strobes? Photos that use lights tend to be more consistent over time. Pick a background that can be duplicated over time. A seamless paper background is the simplest. But I have customers who have location photos. They just have to know that future employees need to be photographed in the same place. Background replacement is another option, but is not ideal. Make sure the photos are shot with the same lens and employ the same crop. Have your photographer provide a second crop for LinkedIn and distribute the photos to your employees. All those professional headshots on LinkedIn will give your company reputation a boost.
SmithGroup JJR has everyone photographed in 3/4 Body shot on a white background like Christina Carrasco.
Plan For Future Employees
As you add people, you have a choice. Do you bring the photographer back on a regular basis to get photos of new employees? This works well in larger companies that will be needing at least 10 photos every couple of months. For smaller companies that may only need a few employee photos per quarter or less, you might want to consider a photographer that has a location to which you can send new people. This can save money by allowing you to pay only for each employee instead of a minimum charge. Also, you can get new employees a photo very quickly after hiring. We do this with our SRK Headshot Days in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles.
Manage Multiple Locations Across The World or Country
Of course you can fly your photographer to locations all over the world, but this is probably not cost effective unless you are adding company headshots lots of people at multiple locations. So you might ask your photographer on thoughts for sharing the setup for your photos. This will involve technical aspects like focal length, f-stop, distances, lighting style and background color. These can be shared with other photographers in other locations so you can get consistent photos. Your photographer can probably recommend photographers in other locations or even hire them for you, assuring you that you will get that consistency you crave. Ask the photographer you hire if they work well with other photographers and are willing to assist you in communicating your standard to others.
Cambridge Associates has everyone photographed on a grey background with a center light gradient. All the men wear blazers or suit jackets like Jamey Spencer.
Establish a Wardrobe Standard
Come up with wardrobe guidelines that can keep a consistent look. You probably don’t want one executive in a Hawaiian shirt and another in a suit and tie. Think about colors, patterns and degree of formality. Think about the background and the clothes and how they play together. Get some samples from the photographer. Find a look that fits your company personality and branding. Communicate this reasoning to your employees before their headshot and get buy-in. Make sure your photographer and producer are aware of it and polices each subject’s wardrobe before each headshot.
SRK Headshot Day has an extensive customer base and vast portfolio of experience with corporate customers. We are a great partner for creating your company’s headshot program. Check out our Corporate Headshot Day program or contact us for more details.
