A Client’s Choice - Black and White or Color Corporate Headshots

We recently did a headshot day for a client that was on the fence, creatively. They knew it would be a more serious, corporate headshot look, but were stuck on one issue – black and white or color.

They were thinking maybe they would do both but were unsure of how these images would look together. A color image on a clean white background has a very different look than what that professional headshot converted to black and white. It's an altogether different look for a corporate headshot and the two looks will certainly send a different kind of signal to a client.

Pre-shoot, we established trust with this new client. We had clear packages to show him and examples from our galleries that were relevant to the looks he was considering. This was enough for the client to feel assured that we could do the work.

Still, we wanted the client to truly understand the choice and outcome they could expect from their new professional headshot – black and white or color. It was decided that we would build in an extra bit and do a short test shoot before the staff showed up for their photos.

Starting with one subject, we shot the corporate headshot photo a few different ways and then converted it to black and white. The client was able to do a real side-by-side comparison and think about how their staff photography would look like together on a page. From here, they felt far more assured of their deicison.

This ended up being a really good solution for this client. This was a small-ish firm (20 attorneys) without a marketing person. One of the partners was tasked with making this creative decision. This attorney had an awful lot on his plate, as attorney's often do. While he couldn't have a better client to work with – friendly, gracious and professional – he just didn't have time to ruminate on these creative ideas.

We knew that we could make his life easier. We reduced the pre-planning portion. We came to the job with options that could easily be executed and decided on in person.

From there we were able commit to a look and cover the staff headshots consistently for a client confident and assured client.