How To Photograph Corporate Headshots And Portraits

If you shoot portrait photography at all, you’ve most likely considered getting into corporate headshot photography to expand your client list. One of the big advantages to shooting business headshots is that a client will typically have you do multiple portraits in one session. This means it’s a higher-paying shoot for you.

Corporate Headshots And Portraits

Setups are usually quick and editing is minimal. These types of jobs tend to be great for a business’s bottom line! Speaking of budgets, another advantage of working in corporate photography is that budgets tend to be bigger. You’re working with corporations, after all.

The process leading up to a shoot and the nuances of how to set up, execute, and deliver business headshots sessions can take a bit of time to learn, though.

Before we dive into headshot lighting, poses, and gear, let’s start by looking at how to first connect with corporations about potential photo shoots.

How To Connect With Corporate Clients

Getting corporate Headshot Photographer London jobs can seem challenging. The first step is always to develop a relationship with your ideal client. Early on in your business, you’ll most likely need to be the one to reach out to companies. Later on, companies may contact you directly for quotes.

Unless you have an existing contact that can do an introduction with the appropriate person, you’ll want to seek out the person in charge of marketing for the target client.

Marketing departments are typically the ones who take care of any professional photos needed for the website or a given campaign.

Give them a call or send an email. Be friendly, but direct. Let them know who you are, what type of session you’d like to do for their employees. Offer to send them information about your business to continue the conversation.

The initial contact is not the moment to do a sales pitch. Treat it as an initial ‘Hello’ to begin the discussion.

Before committing to a quote or a scope of work, be clear on what the client needs from you and what you’ll need to provide for them. This can include how many individual shots, how many group shots, if they have a preferred backdrop or location, and the required time frame for shooting and delivering.

If needed and possible, do a walk-through of the space where you’ll be shooting. That way, you can accommodate any challenges. This is also where speaking with the marketing director can be helpful. They know what looks the visuals need to have!

Whenever possible, schedule photos all in one day and during the morning. Most employees will be tired and may look less photo-ready after a full day of work.

Aim to have photos taken before the lunch break, even if that means breaking it up into two morning sessions on back-to-back days. If you end up needing to do two visits to the location, account for that travel time and cost in your quote.

Shooting in an office setting often means that you’re subject to whichever space is available during the shoot time. Let’s take a look at different possible setups that you’ll encounter. We’ll go through how each space should be approached when it comes to lighting.

Indoor Setup With Natural Light

If you’re a beginner, this is the best setup to aim for until you get comfortable introducing lights. Make sure the light hits them in a flattering way. This is typical with the window at approximately 45 degrees from their face.

Once you find a good spot for them, you can begin getting them into a good body position and posture for the actual photo. Poses can vary depending on gender, height, weight, stature, and physical features. Feel free to experiment until you find the best one.

You may need to bring along a scrim to help diffuse the window light if the sun is too strong. A white sheet can also do the trick.

If you don’t happen to have anything to diffuse the light, another option is to move your subject farther away from the window. That way the light begins to soften and fade until it falls more flatteringly on them.