As a longtime commercial portrait photographer, I’m thrown into situations where a standard formal portrait isn’t called for. What’s needed is a portrait that focuses on a subject and has a more “cinematic”—a treatment and approach that may feel more ‘movie-like’, using precise lighting and positioning. The result is a dynamic, rich portrait with a contemporary feel that grabs attention.
The dreaded group portrait. Just the prospect of wrangling potentially dozens of subjects strikes fear in the hearts of many a photographer and can result in images that recall an old-school wedding party photo.
Team portraits in particular are a challenge for companies whose amazing image is no sooner published than invariably one member decides to quit or retire. Such portraits may have a limited shelf life, then, but still can be a powerful way to convey a mood and feeling around the collective that makes your company successful.
Allowing enough time for the portrait is critical. Lighting—enough to make your team members look great and minimize any distracting details in the background—is a must. Careful posing of team members can make even large groups look manageable: I do this by arranging large groups into smaller clusters of people, typcially no larger than five, placed at varying distances from the lens to create centers of interest. Last, backgrounds are critically important to telling the story of your team and the group being photographed. Keep them simple, graphic and relevant.
You may not be able to control how long your employees will stay with the company, but with some planning you can turn your team portraits into something they’re proud to be a part of.
If you’re responsible for marketing at your company (or one-person shop), one single word can induce sweating, bouts of self-doubt and even some wistful headshaking: content.
Since online content platforms (i.e., social media) are both inexpensive and readily available, any bottlenecks in producing consistent, high-quality (and brand-appropriate) content is usually on the production side (you), not on the delivery side.
So what’s your content strategy? What tactics will you need to take to produce great content and to share it consistently? When you hire a photographer to produce amazing images and video, are you asking questions like these?
You should be.
Tactics—like hiring a photographer—are easy and fun, or at least distracting and engrossing. They are all about the ‘doing’ part and it’s tempting to skip ahead. But strategy happens first. What are your social media goals? That is, what does your brand want to actually accomplish, long term? All of the following goals require different tactics:
Brand Awareness
Also known as, Getting Your Name Out There. Your content should be authentic to your brand, convey your brand personality and values…ie., your ‘voice’. It shouldn’t be overly promotional.
Grow Your Audience
You have to engage on your social media channels, and looking for ways to introduce your brand to people who haven’t heard of you before. Monitoring channels for specific keyword phrases will alert you to conversations that you might be able to contribute value to.
Engage Your Community
How are you interacting and staying top of mind with your current subscribers? Asking questions, being responsive and promoting user generated content can all help.
Generate Leads and sales
Integrate your service offerings and products into your social profiles. Run exclusive deals for your followers. Alert customers to new products and promos.
Drive traffic
Promotional posts and social ads that point viewers back to your website.
One last thing. You can’t do all of it all at once. Pick just two of the goals from the above list, and work on those exclusively as you measure your results.
Whether you are creating original content yourself, hiring a professional photographer, or simply curating and sharing, make sure to keep your goals in mind.
To most photographers—those whose focus is on people and portraits, certainly, but also those who specialize in structures, food and products on location—the subject is the star of the show.
Location-based photographers know that the unsung hero of any successful portrait is the environment behind and around the subjects. Often, the environment offers clues and context that tells the story better than the subject themselves can.
In short, your backgrounds matter more than just as a place to put behind your subject.
Give thought to the environment around your subjects as deeply as you think about your subjects. Make sure that anything that shows in the frame is there for a reason.
Editor’s Note: The following is a reprint from a peice written for a Maine Public Relations Council (MPRC) newsletter. It’s practical tips, relevant for all content creators, whether photographers or marketers.
One of my favorite photography-related quotes is from National Geographic photographer Jim Richardson. “If you want to be a better photographer, stand in front of more interesting stuff.”
Richardson stood in front of plenty of interesting stuff during his long career.
With a decent digital camera (or an iPhone), standing shoulder to shoulder with Richardson—say, on one of his trips to Cuba, photographing a wedding—you and I both would come away with something we’d want to hang on our walls.
The problem is, most of the time, we’re not in Cuba. Instead, we’re working an awards ceremony in a dimly-lit ballroom. Rather than capturing a portrait of a campesino standing in a sugar cane field, we’re snagging a headshot of an unfortunate new hire in the spare conference room.
Your work may never end up on the pages of National Geographic. That doesn’t mean you can’t elevate your images to something you’re proud represents you and your brand. Here are a few tips that can help you improve your images, today, with the gear you already have.
Watch your backgrounds
Before clicking, do a visual check of your background. Is there a pole back there, looking like it’s growing out of your subject’s head? Analyze your backgrounds and then position yourself in order to clean them up.
Lose the horizon
Examine your images. Does the horizon line —the line separating the ground from the sky—appear right across the middle of your frame? Get rid of it by squatting down low and photographing at an upward angle. Or, get up on a chair and angle the lens down, until only the floor fills your frame. This trick can make your background simpler and cleaner and result in more interesting images.
Use the Rule of Thirds
Divide your frame into a grid of nine squares. Place your dominant subject in one of the the top, bottom or sides squares, creating visual tension and interest.
Go Outside
Make outdoor images during the “Golden Hour”—the magical time just after sunrise or before sunset—when the sun is low and the light horizontal. This warm-toned light will flatter any subject.
Turn off your Flash
Turn off your built-in camera flash. Find a location with sufficient ambient light, and use that light instead. Even after color-correction, your portraits will immediately look a thousand times better, I promise.
Headshot portraits are deceptively simple. A head-and-shoulder portrait done in a studio is a staple need for businesses small and large, for entrepreneurs, service professionals and actors, to name a few.
Lights, camera, background, subject.
Simple.
On the way to creating that perfect portrait—the one that represents your company, your brand or, simply, YOU—are intentional choices that ensure success, or failure.
Good is a given.
It’s not enough to have a great, high-quality headshot. Your portrait has to align with your goals, your industry and must take consideration of your client and audience expectations.
It’s about your face.
Specificaly, it’s about your mood, your energy and your vibe and how your eyes and face express that.
Great headshots convey a mood, a feeling, a sense of the person, in an instant. No distracting elements. This takes a proper mindset, some time, and a purposeful interaction with the camera as guided by a photographer.
That’s the hard, most critical part; but it’s not enough:
Background
Backgrounds should be simple as possible, so as to keep attention where it belongs: your face. Unlike an editorial or environmental portrait, the background doesn’t have to do any heavy lifting by providing contextual clues or storytelling elements. It just has to stay out of the way and allow you to be the star of the show.
Wardrobe
It’s not a clothing or product shoot, so keep your clothing simple and make sure it flatters your face instead of distracts from it. Simple lines, jewel tone colors. Stay away from patterns and trendy looks (unless, of course, that IS your brand). Keep it classic, keep it cool.
Lighting
Headshot lighting needs to be purposeful. Going for a commercial, fresh vibe? Perhaps something more dramatic? How about low-key and reflective? Lighting will get you there. Now, Lighting is a bit of a Diva and loves to call attention to itself with its flashy tricks. Don’t let it take over the process; it’s a support player here. Lighting is there to keep the focus on you, rather than on the super special cool lighting techniques. As with your backdround and wardrobe choices, lighitng must serve the story without becoming the story.
And the story, quite simply, is you.
You’ve long suspected that your company’s staff portraits are in need of updating (Ted’s skinny tie has gone in and out of fashion since his portrait was taken. Twice). Your biggest competitors on LinkedIn, have amazing portraits (is that a tiger in the backround?) and between the shame and the frustration, you’re determined to hire a photographer, now.
Hold on just a second.
If you’ve waited this long, it’s worth pausing a moment to reflect. ‘Everyone else is doing it’ is not a good enough reason. A well-done portrait is an investment in time and money. Chances are you’ll be using those portraits for years (or until Ted’s tie goes in and out of style one more time). So it’s worth considering what your goals are.
When to get new headshots
The single most important question to ask when contemplating a new headshot project is, simply, ‘are my current portraits working for me?’ Your brand portraits aren’t just a nice-to-have. As a business tool you should expect them to do some heavy lifting representing your brand to potential clients, around the clock. Your portrait, in effect, should work harder than you do. If your existing portraits are obviously outdated, are wildly inconsistent, or just have a style that doesn’t fit your brand (cool ‘tech’ style portraits wouldn’t inspire confidence if used for the staff of a venerable investment bank, but they may be a good fit for an online banking startup that offers services exclusively through mobile apps) then your portraits are actually working against you.
What makes a ‘good’ headshot
Your company portraits must be consistent in style and professionally executed in terms of lighting, of course. They also need to be purposefully thought out so that they reflect your industry and your brand in particular.
A professional photographer can help come up with appropriate and creative looks for your brand.
It’s true, a great portrait can help your brand communicate the message you want to your audience. But poorly-done and poorly-conceived portraits will absolutely hurt your brand.
What makes your headshots successful
Beyond hiring a professional photographer you ‘click’ with and who understands your brand, you need to have buy-in within your company. Everyone needs to be on board. Don’t attempt a headshot redo unless you can count on everyone to participate. Give yourself adequate time to do the portraits right—a two-minute assembly line approach will result in headshots, but they won’t be anything special. Set the tone that these portraits are a critically important component of your company’s image that you are invested in doing right. For many employees, having their portraits taken is a challenging or even downright scary proposition. Communicating why youre have them done, and giving them plenty of time to prepare, tells them that you care about their experience and want the best results.
Formal headshot vs. Environmental portraits
Formal headshots—i.e., a more typical head-and-shoulders portrait with a backdrop—is a traditional approach that still has its place. They are especially useful on platforms like LinkedIn, where seeing the person’s face (and not getting distracted by a background) can make them stand out.
Environmental portraits are those that are typically done in a way as to show elements of an office or other location in the background as a way of conveying contextual information or a certain mood. They may appear more visually interesting and can look less ‘formal’ and thus more approachable than a more formal headshot portrait.
Your photographer should work with you to suggest the best approach for your brand. Sometimes my clients will opt for both, so they have options that may work best for different uses.
In the end, portraits are a necessary part of doing business in an internet-connected world. Approach them as an opportunity to extend your brand and send a consistent message, and you’ll find the investment is a solid one.
It’s a great feeling knowing that the shoot you’ve been planning for is complete. But just as the real work of planning begins long before the actual shoot date, there is still much work to be done after shoot day is over and the gear is packed away.
It may be days until clients get to see their images, but our job is just beginning. We start by archiving our precious files per our 3-2-1 system and scanning releases and other paperwork. Most critically, our post-shoot ritual involves a reflection on the shoot itself: the shoot post-mortem.
Post Mortem
The post-mortem is based on the After Action Report methodology used by the military and other organizations to retrospectively analyze our performance and improve it for the future benefit of our work and our clients. This is especially true when things don’t go according to plan (It’s important to note that this is a feature, not a bug; being flexible and able to pivot leads to often surprisingly great results). Discussing these unplanned events, as well as outright failures, leads to big leaps in understanding that help us when it comes to future projects.
We use checklists, write notes and have discussions about everything from subject interactions to shoot timing to gear performance. We’ll brainstorm how to improve in the future. These notes will be organized into actionable steps and to-do items that get added to our calendars and followed up on later.
Editing
Over the course of the next several days, we edit images using a multi-step culling process. First, we discard the obvious ‘bad’ images—out of focus frames, technical snafus, or closed eyes, for example. Subsequent editing rounds cull down even the largest shoots down to a manageable number that will in turn be toned and shared with clients so that they can make their final selections.
Post-Production
Once clients select their images, we process them for delivery and use. Our goal is not to make people look unrealistic and “Photoshopped”, but to apply toning and contrast, and clean up issues with skin, hair, or backgrounds. It may involve perspective correction and ‘merging’ multiple images together. More typically, it consists of mitigating skin blemishes, correcting skin tones and producing high-resolution image files that will reproduce well in print and online.
Image Delivery
Because our clients are businesses, agencies and creatives who utilize digital files for their own uses, we deliver high-resolution digital images optimized for their intended use.
We use Photoshelter.com for our client proofing galleries and also to deliver final electronic files to clients. We may utilize WeTransfer or Dropbox as well, depending on client needs. Photoshelter is a great, visual, easy-to-use system that works great for our clients in most situations.
Once files are delivered and in use, the shoot is over—yet the work of continual improvement continues. When we arrive at a shoot location, we bring with us the knowledge acquired from hundreds of previous shoots. Our clients benefit—as do we—from each part of our system having been tested and vetted through real-world application and use.
–30–
Want to know more about our process? You might be interested in our posts on the right questions to ask yourself before hiring a photographer , what to expect once you’ve hired a professional photographer or what to expect when shoot day arrives.
Shoot Day is finally here.
You’ve planned for success, arranged for staff, customers, or talent to be on hand. Your space is cleaned and you’ve gotten confirmation from all parties including the photographer. The day you’ve been planning for has finally arrived.
The adage, “failure to plan is planning to fail’ is an apt one when it comes to a shoot. Avoiding details and decisions until the day the photographer and crew show up means, at a minimum, leaving the success of your shoot to chance.
If you have a talented photographer working with you, you may get lucky. They will likely get interesting images that accurately show what is happening in your business.
What you won’t get—except by accident—is purposeful imagery that goes beyond the obvious and allows you to propel your brand visually. This kind of work only comes from planning and conscious decision making before shoot day.
An experienced pro photographer will not arrive without a plan (even if it’s a minimal, stripped-down one), formulated in communication with you beforehand.
It’s not the size or complexity of the plan that matters; it’s whether there is a plan at all, whether the right questions are asked and answered, and whether the plan is appropriate to the task at hand.
A portrait shoot requires different planning and approaches than an event shoot. But what unifies them is knowing beforehand what are the deliverables, the must-haves, and what would (in your mind) make the shoot a success. Assuming these are in place, your shoot day is on its firmest possible footing. The hardest work should already be done. Today is the culmination of the work done days or weeks before.
You can expect the photographer and crew to arrive at least an hour before the start of your shoot. If it’s a complicated production or involves video, this setup period could be several hours rather than just one.
The photographer will go over the basic shoot plan and will be in constant contact with you or a designated point of contact throughout the shoot. If you’ve planned to be involved in the direction of the shoot, or to view images as they are being created, there will be constant interaction as the shoot progresses. Otherwise, there may be short updates as the shoot progresses.
If changes occur over the course of the day—as invariably they do—the photographer will update you and if decisions need to be made, will be ready with recommendations and options.
What you should expect from your photographer, always, is great communication. If they are unclear about something, they will ask you rather than making assumptions that lead to reshoots later on.
Your photographer is also there to protect you. This means, among other things, managing the set and crew. This means not putting people or equipment in dangerous or damaging situations. This means having commercial insurance sufficient to protect you and their crew in the case of an accident. It also entails ensuring model and property releases get filled out by the necessary parties, protecting everyone in the process. On a less dramatic but no less important level, it means being a de facto member of your team; mindful of situations that are good for you and avoiding that which isn’t. On scene, we are your ambassador and act accordingly when dealing with your team members and/or customers.
At the end of the day, you can expect that the shoot location will look the same as it did prior to the photographer’s arrival hours earlier. I joke that our job is primarily to move stuff around and occasionally we pick up a camera. We want to leave behind a positive experience and not create extra and unnecessary work for anyone else. Your brand is our brand and on shoot day we’re all on the same team.
–30–
Want to know more about our process? You might be interested in our posts on the right questions to ask yourself before hiring a photographer , what to expect once you’ve hired a professional photographer or what happens after your shoot day ends.
If you’ve made the decision to hire a professional commercial photographer for your brand, company or organization, you’re likely wondering: what happens now? At Fitzgerald Photo, our goal is to showcase your brand and make your products, people and services shine. In order to do so, we follow a well-defined path that we know leads to great results.
Onboarding
As soon as the ink is dried on your contract and terms, planning starts in earnest on your project. From your perspective as the client, you can expect to receive regular and clear communication from your visuals team. If you’ve never worked with us before, you’ll get a welcome packet with information about our company, the services you’ll be using and our workflow. We use specific software and other tools to collaborate on projects and this is where you’ll find out how that all works. You’ll also discover the answers to many of the logistical questions you might have; everything from the size and type of image files you’ll receive to our post-production process and the protection and long-term storage of your image assets.
Planning
Planning for success includes meetings to discuss expectations, goals and logistics (whether in-person or, these days, online or over the phone). We’ve found that the more work and care put in at this stage, the smoother (and better) things are when it counts—on shoot day. These meetings don’t have to be a huge time commitment; we have no love for unneeded meetings and can guess you don’t either. Depending on the project, this may simply be a series of detailed emails outlining and getting consensus on the shoot day plan. At no point should you be wondering why you haven’t heard a word from your photographer a few days before a big shoot.
Scouting
Site visits are an important part of the planning process. There’s nothing like seeing the spaces we’ll be shooting in to prepare us for the possible hitches we may encounter or the opportunities we can take advantage of. In cases where an in-person visit isn’t possible, we may request phone snapshots of the site(s), which in combination with Google street view images help form as complete a picture of the location as possible.
Useful Communication
We believe in clear and appropriate communication. This means that you’ll know when and if anything changes that might affect you, from the weather on shoot day to unanticipated changes that affect delivery schedules (unlikely, but it can happen). You’ll get confirmation every step of the way, including the shoot day schedule, the specific team members you’ll be dealing with, as well as arrival, setup, breakdown and departure times. While we can’t keep surprises from occurring, we can minimize the amount that occur just through regular communication.
Shoot Day
Shoot day often involves last-minute, unexpected and unanticipated events. These can be as minor as a model getting delayed in traffic by five minutes or as dramatic as a power failure that shuts down the site an hour before shoot time. Most are somewhere in between. You’ll be prepared because we will have outlined what to expect should many of these minor or major events occur, ahead of time. You can trust that we have the experience to roll with whatever changes come; in fact, we welcome changes and believe that flexibility leads to more creativity and better results. The last thing we want to do is be so rigid in our planning that we stick to the schedule no matter what, instead of taking advantage of a better visual opportunity—or a serendipitous need—that arises on the fly.
Having a solid plan, but being flexible to changing the plan as needed, enables shoots to proceed and be successful no matter the circumstances. Unplanned changes often mask new visual opportunities that may end up showcasing your brand in ways we hadn’t imagined, but end up being far more interesting, genuine and authentic.
–30–
Want to know more about our process? You might be interested in our post on the questions to ask yourself before hiring a photographer, what to expect on shoot day, or what happens after the shoot is complete.