Candid Photography As a Visual Tool

We talk constantly about corporate headshot photography, what our New York corporate headshot photographers can do for your firm. We talk about technical things that corporate headshot photographers use to make a better shoot, like lighting, background colors, how to dress, etc…

There are other types of photography that are relevant for businesses and could help deepen your connection with potential clients. If you are business that has public facing materials, you should think about how candid photography could add to your presentation.

So what is candid photography and what does a candid photographer do that is different from our New York corporate headshot photographers? Candid photography is when you take pictures of actual, authentic moments as they happen. It is about capturing something real through photography without setting it up or posing someone. Here are a few examples of corporate candid photography and business photography...

Can a corporate headshot photographer also do candid photography? Often, yes. Many of our New York headshot photographers have skills doing candid photography, but not all. If we were to be contacted by a client for both, we would think through what the client needs, what the environment demands and which of our shootings that have both corporate headshot photography skills and candid business photography skills would be a good fit.

Candid and staged photography happen on a continuum with one at one end and one at the other end. For example, a candid corporate portrait can happen during a headshot session. Everything is set up, we are asking the subject to pose a certain way and the subject is trying to portray a certain professionalism through his or her posture and positioning. But while all this happens, that person is still, well, a person. They might react to something and laugh, or smile or look in an unexpected direction. This would be more of a candid moment that is part of a studio shoot. Everything happens somewhere in between these two ideas of candid and staged.

What about posed photography that appears to be candid?

We have all seen those photos on a website where everyone is leaning in around someone's desk. Or there is the boardroom shot where someone is standing at the head of a long table giving a presentation. Maybe you have seen the bank teller greeting a client. Everyone is wearing well-fitted clothes, their hair is styled, but not overly so, and they have just the right expression of thoughtful or welcoming and friendly.

Are these shots actually candid photos caught at just the right time? Probably not, but they still have that feel and can be a great way to illustrate something about your business. Unless you are shooting for the NY Times or acting as a photojournalist for someone else, there is nothing wrong with trying to make a staged moment look natural and candid. It is a totally legitimate thing to plan out your photography so it tells a story. Maybe it helps share the idea that your company collaborates and uses technology. Maybe you want it to position you as the company with the highest expertise or the most welcoming. Maybe it helps illustrate an actual process, or shows a potential client how it feels to be in your space.

And inside of this staged candid moment, there is still that continuum. These photos can be completely staged, including props, sets, actors etc. Or they can happen in an actual places where people work and are interacting with each other or clients. How it is done really depends on what a company wants the end result to be. Does the business want something relaxed illustrating a day in the life of their company? Or do they want something very pulled together that is sticks closely to their important set of branding guidelines. Budget can also be a huge factor for achieving these kinds of photos.

And then there is social media.

Not all companies are on social media, but many, many, many are. Companies choose a channel (Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.) that best fits their demographic and messaging. Then they put together a strategy with a content calendar helping them plan how they can share the images with their audience. For some companies, this can be a looser, more behind-the-scenes outlet which calls for a looser, more candid group of images. Perhaps you are an architect and you are mid-project on new apartment building. You might want to include images of what has been happening on-site so that future residents can get excited about moving in. Maybe you take a photo of a fixture or a rooftop deck being installed, using the details to get people interested.

Does your staff participate in any interesting activities as a group and do they relate to your business in any way? Perhaps a shot of a group doing a charity project or attending an award ceremony for an industry association are candid images that this company would want to include on it's social media feed. You don't always need a our New York corporate headshot photographer or candid photographer in this case. A cellphone photo could work just fine. But it is important to think about how you plan to get that photo. If you know a moment is going to happen, plan for it appropriately. Does someone on your team know they should be taking the photo? Will they be in a good position to do it? Where in the room do they need to stand to get the photo? Think through what kind of planning needs to happen to make sure the photo can get made.

In Summary – We say Yes!!! to Candids!

Headshots are a really important tool in connecting with your audience and potential clients. The next step is to tell your company who you are as a group. Candid business photography can be a really good tool to help you better fill out what you want people to know about your company.

Restart - Booking Your New York Corporate Headshot Shoot

Our New York headshot photographers are ready to start taking your executive headshots and corporate portraits.

We are finding that our clients are ready to start thinking about projects long delayed by coronavirus. Thankfully for us, that includes getting their corporate headshots updated. New York and the surrounding areas have done the work to contain the virus and we are ready to carefully step back into our role as their New York corporate headshot photographers.

The way that we do things is a little different now with the goal being to keep you, your staff and our team safe.

Booking The Booth for Business.

Booking us is not much different. If you are looking to start a new corporate headshot project, start by giving us a call. We will talk to you about your needs, touching on how many people we are covering, what creative looks you are considering, background types, location, etc. If you are a client that was already booked, our conversation with you will act as an update. We will confirm details and find out if there have been any changes to the plan since we last spoke.

Space and Location For Your Corporate Headshots

For the foreseeable future we will be giving space and location quite a bit more consideration. Like in every public circumstance right now, we must maintain the minimum of 6 feet of distance between the photographer and his/her subject. We almost always come to the client's place of business (you), so one of our pre-shoot priorities would be to vet the location a little more thoroughly so we know we can set up properly for this distance.

Space and access will be the key factors we consider when we are sending our corporate headshot photographers out to setup a studio in your office. Ideally, the room would be 15 feet in at least one direction. This gives us space for our gear and our people to stay separate. We would also prefer a space where we can set up so the subject can walk into position without passing the photographer. Again, the less contact, the better!

What Does Your New York Corporate Headshot Photographer Want You To Wear?

Our recommendations on what to wear and how to prep are the same as pre-covid. Stick to solids and wear clothes that have a nice structure. Keep things as simple as possible. For one, it will highlight you and look nice in the photo. Also, there is less need to adjust well-fitting, uncomplicated outfits. In pre-Covid19 times, we would approach the subject and with his/her permission, and either direct or help them to adjust an item of clothing that might be laying wrong or hanging improperly. We can still direct our subjects, but the distance makes it more difficult.

The same is true for jewelry. Try to wear chains that don't tangle or earrings that hang properly without getting stuck in long hair. Again, the less you need to rely on our New York photographers for adjustments, the better.

Before you come into the room for your shoot, stop and look in a mirror. You have already taken precautions with your outfit and accessories for the day. Now do a last minute check:

-smooth down stray hairs with a hair product or, in a pinch, with hands lightly coated with lotion.

-if wearing a necklace, check that the clasp is in the back and that any charms are hanging straight.

-if wearing earrings, make sure they are arranged and hanging properly.

-check that your collar is folded neatly.

-neatly tuck shirts.

-check for exposed undergarments (bra straps especially).

Pre-shoot Timing

For the time being, we are strongly encouraging clients to use our scheduling tool. This will give each subject a designated 10 or 15 minute window, for example. We will time our work in an effort to clear the room of one subject before the next one comes. Here is a link to how our scheduling tool works.

Finally, the images will all be viewed and delivered digitally. We will send a password-protected gallery to the client with all of the download-able images. Our goal is always to get photos to our clients within 3 days of the shoot, but, of course, this depends on the size and complexity of the project.

Taking all of these precautions will help you prepare for a great shoot. As New York corporate headshot photographers, we are a all about keeping the quality high and the experience safe.

Influencer Series: Richard Avedon, The Master.

Inspiration keeps us going through these tough times. And there is no shortage of inspiration that comes from photography. We bring plenty of our own voice as New York corporate headshot photographers. But there is no denying that as corporate and business photographers, we also bring with us plenty of inspiration. We are, at heart, total photography dorks and as photography dorks that live and work in New York, inspired and always taking advantage of the opportunity to visit museums and galleries (in non Coronavirus times) to pile on more and learn more about the legends and our contemporaries, alike.

Avedon is one of our heros and among the 3 biggest inspirations to us, creatively. He was a master of form, light and subject. While he is known for fashion the work that inspires us as business photographers, is his documentary portraits.

Avedon pulled something out of his subjects that was genuine. You look at his photos and whether or not you knew who they were or what they did. One look at the photo and you would have some kind of idea. There was rarely any agenda pushing (though the legendary story of how he got the reaction photo of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor might be an exception to the rule). His images had a candid-ness, a gesture, an expression, that really told us something about the subject without being hokey or in your face.

While he is widely known for his fashion portraits, we are very drawn to his more documentary portraits. He covered so many subjects and was always able to create something revealing. You could look at the portraits and understand something about the subject right away. Sometimes it was the context or environment in which they were photographed. But more often than not, he put his subjects on white. He felt that nothing and no one could hide on a stark white background. It was a clean, open and revealing palette.

Avedon had a masterful vision for creating photographs. Technically speaking, his whites were clean and there was an all around balance. He was less after a perfectly polished smooth skin look that would flatter the subject and more after what was genuine. This is not to say that he did not manipulate his images. Avedon relied heavily on his team of shooting assistants and retouchers to get to the right final product. But his vision was more about composition or revealing an idea or personality or genuine representation of the subject.

As for his process, he tended to use a roleiflex camera to frame up and explore the subject. It was a modern and quick (for the time), way to work, something that allowed him to move around his subjects, and compositions. Sometimes, when this exploratory work was done, he would move on to an 8x10 camera. This was a larger camera requiring a slower process and the supplies were expensive. But the results from these giant negatives, were magnificent.

Avedon - Three Impressive Women, Professional Portraits

Today we are taking an opportunity to highlighting his work through the professional portraits he did of 3 women who made an impact in their worlds. They showed leadership and, through their talent and actions, influenced so many others. These are excellent examples of portrait photography.

Shirley Chisholm was the first African American woman in Congress. She was elected in 1968.

Shirley's professors at Brooklyn College, where she graduated cum laude, encouraged her to run for office. She felt she had no chance, due to what she considered her 'double handicap' of being black and female. But she stayed involved in racial and gender inequality issues through her work with the NAACP and the League of Women Voters.

This woman was, indeed, elected to the US Congress in 1968 and was nicknamed 'Fighting Shirley', introducing massive amounts of legislation to champion racial and gender equality. She was also a founding member of the National Women's Political Caucus, insuring that other politically hopeful women could follow in her footstep

In this portrait of Ms. Chisholm, we see Avedon bringing these ideas into the photograph. He seems to see her as a no nonsense straight shooter. She is directly centered in the photograph with her hands down by her side and a direct expression on her face. She is dressed in a military-inspired outfit, perhaps meant to underscore her 'Fighting Shirley' reputation. She is down to business and if this were from an executive headshot photographer, we would know something about how this lady does business.

Katherine Graham

Katharine Graham was the Chairman of the Board of the Washington Post Company.

Here is a woman who never considered that she, a woman, would be a suitable heir for the Washington Post. When her husband, the Post then current chief, took his life she saw that she would have to step in and, at least temporarily, keep the machine going.

Where Shirley Chisholm was bold and self-assured, Katharine Graham did not much believe in her herself. She felt she would be there to do an adequate job, having learned something from her father's legacy, until they could find a new man or (probably) even her sons, to take over. Instead, she persevered, learned as much as she could and made some of the most bold and important decisions ever made in the field of journalism.

Ms. Graham shows that it is possible to step into a role that it is possible to step into a role that feels both daunting and out of her depth. She shows that mistakes and missteps are part of the process. That sometimes there is no choice but to move forward, to believe that in the power to do it, even when the stakes are incredibly high and one might not feel 100% prepared.

And, again, Avedon communicates these contrasts through his portrait of her. Here is an executive portrait of a woman with both convictions but, in my opinion, a somewhat questioning look. She has her arms crossed in that boss lady posture. Those large hard edge glasses she holds provide contrast against her soft dress and somewhat soft overall feeling. They feel like a choice both to say something about her as a person and as a graphic element.

Marian Anderson

Finally, we have Marian Anderson, a supremely talented singer who performed between 1925-1965. Avedon's photo is of Marian Anderson in 1955 and happens to be one of our favorite portraits of all time.

Ms. Anderson was widely loved for her inspiring vocal talent with a famous story about an important performance. She was invited to sing for an integrated audience in Washington DC but, as a Black woman, refused the right to take the stage at Constitution Hall. Constitution Halls was governed by the Daughters of the American Revolution and they would not permit a black woman on their stage. This was presumably the only place big enough to accommodate all who wanted to hear this magnificent woman sing.

It turns out there was another option. Instead of playing to Constitution Hall with its 3702 seats, Marian Anderson was hosted on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial at the National Mall to a crowd of 75,000. Millions more listened on the radio.

In his portrait of Marian Anderson, Avedon clearly wanted to show the world her passion. In a typical photo, her hair would be pulled back tight and her hands neatly in front of her. In this photo, she was singing an operatic passage. Her hair is flowing and her face conveys a strength and passion. The photo was originally shot much wider, but Avedon upped the drama closely cropping to her face and moving it off center.

Avedon's Influence: The Booth for Business and Corporate Headshot Photographers

Like other professional portrait photographers before us, this New York business headshot photographers is very much influenced by Richard Avedon's work. There is the power of a black and white image, to start. Avedon did not exclusively shoot black and white but he did it so very well. We love the contrast, the clean whites and how it required the viewer to fill in the blanks a bit. Here is an example of how we have used the technique in our work.

We also think a lot about how he achieved drama through his dynamic compositions. Doing corporate headshots or executive headshots, we might not have as much room to play around with drama. But we can use composition to create more interest. We can use small doses of this to bring in more of the professional personality of the subject in their professional headshot.

Avedon was great at working with people, which is why he often achieved such genuine portraits. We think a lot about this aspect of how he worked. For us, we are thinking about how we can make people feel comfortable in front of the camera. We are also getting asked how we can bring the personality of the business into the corporate headshot. Even in very established industries that lean into a more traditional look, we are being asked, as New York executive headshot photographers, to allow for more individuality. We love how we can use these elements to challenge what a corporate headshot has to be.

A few years before he passed, we met Richard Avedon, himself a New York photographer, at Lincoln Center in New York City. He was outside chatting with a friend and, of course we just had to say hello. He was friendly and gracious. It was a moment, as photographers, we will never forget.

Highlight: Black Photographers

We are the kind of photography professionals that value and enjoy looking at different kinds of work all the time.  We do it because we are part of a photo community and we do it to get inspired for when we take our business headshots and corporate portraits.  While so much of our work is about creating a beautiful and consistent look for our clients and companies, the reason they are a cut above is because we learn from the masters.  We take inspiration from so many other art, documentary and New York corporate photographers out there doing their work.

The simple truth is, we love photography and consume as much of it as we can.  We love the immediate impact it makes on us.  We love thinking about the composition, the colors (or lack thereof) and the purpose of the photo.  We think about who took the photo and why that person made the creative and narrative choices they did.  We dig deep and do so, not just because we enjoy it, but because we know it helps us understand something about the world.  This, in turn, makes us better photographers.

Black Lives Matter has been on our mind, as it has been for all Americans.  We have been thinking about how Black people experience the world.  This movement and effort to deepen our understanding, as a country, is not just about this moment in 2020.  It is about every year leading up to it in America.  And we are incredibly thankful to have our fellow Black photographers to help us better understand from the myriad ways it presents and they see it.  We thank Black photographers, whether they were part of a momentous movement like the Civil Rights movement, or are just showing us something about a regular life.  We appreciate the perspective and are glad to have a starting point to understand their world.  We are grateful for what they bring to us as artists, documentarians and storytellers.  

Roy DeCarava

Roy DeCarava was a 20th century photographer that focused on black culture in a humanistic way.  He is well known for being part of the Harlem Renaissance and was an important voice in covering the events and life during that period.  

DeCarava uses shadow and light, obscure and clear, all in an effort to show us how he feels when he sees the photo.  The images combine familiar forms with context that is often just a suggestion – a profile of a backlit 4-piece band on stage, a woman with a cautious look on her face in what looks like a subway or other urban background, 2 young boys with chalk marks as the outline of a game on a city sidewalk.

He, notably, covered jazz greats John Coltrane and Billie Holiday, among others.  But he also focused heavily on how things felt and looked in Harlem from the 1940s and 1950s.  He was awarded a prestigious Guggenheim fellowship, which allowed him to focus exclusively on this community and culture of the Harlem Renaissance.  The work was part of an exhibition at the MoMA.  He was trying to create, “the kind of penetrating insight and understanding of Negroes which...only a Negro photographer [could] interpret. (From Randy Kennedy's obituary on Roy DeCarava published in the New York Times)

We are grateful for the work that he gave to us. He showed us Harlem in an artful and intimate way.  He shared his perspective on Black people living their lives and creating their own art.  

Gordon Parks

Where Roy DeCarava gave us art and feeling, Gordon Parks gives us a powerful, in-your-face documentary view of Harlem around the same time. Where DeCarava uses light, shadow and other techniques to depict his subjects, Parks was a journalist with a more straightforward, yet still powerful and masterful style.  

Born into poverty and segregation in 1912, he experienced the discrimination that was later covered in his work. Later on, Gordon Parks became a key documentarian in the Civil Rights movement and more. One of the greatest photographers of the twentieth century, committed to humanitarianism and social justice, Gordon Parks documented American life and culture from the 1940s all the way until the 2000s. His images allowed him to break the color line in professional photography while exploring the social and economic impact of poverty, racism, and other forms of discrimination.

At times, Parks used his camera to tell us how life was every day. There are the photos from a department store that show where the 'Colored Entrance' is with a woman and her daughter standing outside. There is a sense of the institutionalization of these restrictions in society, that these women were just going about their life and will enter the directed way without incident. But he takes the picture highlighting the juxtaposition of their attitude and an unfair practice. We watch a little black girl with her mother as she looks into a department store window, populated with only white mannequins. The photos are quiet images of people going about their day in worlds that are wildly racist to today's viewer.

In Gordon Park's work, we are as grateful for the everyday documentary images of Black people living in the 40's, 50's, and 60's as we are for his photos of Martin Luther King Jr and Mohammed Ali.

Endia Beal

Jumping waaaaay forward and adjusting for a totally different kind of work, consider the executive portrait photography of Endia Beal.  We are entranced with her work, Can I Touch It? The theme is “black” hair and the fascination with it by non-blacks.  It looks different and is worn differently, and there is judgment around the choices black women make about it for the workplace.

Beal's portraits are tight, standard vertical headshots. They look like professional portraits in format and style (albeit somewhat dated), down to the mottled grey/blue background.  She makes everything feel as though it is done by a normal, run of the mill executive headshot photographer.

So then it hits you, Ms. Beal's subjects, a group of middle aged white women, are wearing decidedly black hairstyles. They range from braids to large and curly. These women all look like professional, mid-career women with their 50's and 60's but it stops you to see these women in these hairstyles.  

Beal's photos force a conversation about what kind of hair is appropriate for the workplace and why something that is very much appropriate and in keeping with black hairstyles is somehow jarring – questions about why the women are styled that way arise.  A black woman with a white woman's style would not likely get a second look. In this regard, conformity does not work both ways and Ms. Beal helps us think about why.

As New York business headshot photographers, we take particular interest in the fact that Beal chose this type of photography to tell this story. We work with so many people from so many different backgrounds. While this work is an exaggeration, a work of art, it raises our awareness. It helps think about the experience of people of color who trust us to take their photos.

These are just three of many Black photographers that deserve to be highlighted. They have access to worlds that can help us understand something that is different from our own. It is a moving experience to look at this work and we are grateful for their perspective. We look forward to sharing more inspiration and highlighting more photographers of color in the future.

New York corporate headshot photographers

Marketing & Staying Relevant in the time of COVID

We are all about staying visible.  You know us – visuals first!  Corporate headshot photography rules!

And since it is our job to keep your professional headshots up to date,  we spend a lot of time researching and thinking about how to stay current, especially during these unusual times...  

We thought this would be a good follow up to our recent post on Coronavirus and how/when the world is getting back together.  Here we are sharing our findings about staying relevant, active and visible during COVID19.  Now is no time to go radio silent.  It is time to be present and visible in a way that resonates with people that are going through these challenges.  

Our New York business photographers are on the quiet side these days, but that doesn't mean we are not working furiously to stay connected with the world.  These are some ideas that we have learned from our colleagues and trusted sources that we thought we would share.

Look at your Content and Outreach Strategies

It is unlikely that your outreach strategies pre-Coronavirus are perfectly applicable to today's climate.  But maybe they are not so completely off-base.  Take a good look at what your goals were.  Do you just need a little adjusting or do you truly need to revamp the program?

Are you looking to engage new customers?  Do you want to educate the world about a new service?  Are you looking for better website traffic?  Would you like to build brand awareness?  

These are all valid goals, even during a pandemic.  Stay away from the hard sell and do some tweaking on language and visuals to make them relevant for the current times.  Adjust the schedule and then move forward with your plan with the appropriate objectives and outcome goals.

For us, we are New York headshot photographers that had some great relationships pre-covid.  We truly believe that our clients still want to work with us so our goal is to stay connected.  This brings us to the next thought.

Strengthen Your Relationship With Your Customers

Now is not the time for the hard sell.  It is the time to stay close to your customers in a relationship building kind of way.  

This downturn is weird in that most of our relationships with our clients were very good prior to Coronavirus.  Our business was on repeat with many of them (in a good way) and everyone was looking to have us back to shoot corporate headshots for the next time, next conference, next client appreciation event.

It is likely that the same is true for other companies.  If you were doing good work, your clients were not likely looking to drop you as a vendor. 

In a way this positions you well.  If you are like us, your clients are cheering for you.  They want our Washington DC corporate headshot photographers or New York executive portrait photographers back and are happy to continue that relationship.  So do just that!  Continue the relationship.  Maintain communication.  Keep reaching out to see how things are going.  Offer them the help you can or just brighten their day with a quick check in to make sure they are doing well.  After all, there is a pandemic going on and a quick, personal email checking in to make sure they are healthy and coping with quarantine-like conditions cannot hurt.  It's not intrusive.  It's nice.

Being Helpful

Overwhelmingly, the theme in marketing today is this:  Be helpful.  This can mean a lot of different things.  It is up to you to look at your company and think about what you do that applies and resonates with this value.

Think about what you do that can make it easier for people to get through the pandemic.  This can be a service or product you offer.  Make sure to stay flexible and open to new things. It can be about sharing content that can help your companies move past an obstacle.  It can mean sharing something you have learned and has helped you through this pandemic.  You know your audience, so figure out how you can be helpful to that group.

The Booth is a business-to-business New York headshot photography company so we have been thinking about what we do or know that can be helpful to that kind of client.  There are fewer opportunities to work directly onsite and photograph corporate headshot photography.  So, what have we learned through this pandemic that we can share?  How can we be a guide for other companies?  Our businesses are all so different, with different products and expertise but so much of what we do, process-wise, is the same.  Hearing from others on how they tackled an issue can get us through our version of that issue so much faster so we hope to do the same for others.

Share your expertise.  In the last several months we have relied heavily on businesses with different expertise to help us understand how to navigate different elements on the pandemic.  One particular area was looking at the PPP and other government support programs.  Bookkeepers and accountants in our community shared what they knew and helped us avoid mistakes that would have delayed or made it impossible to get funding.  Not only am I grateful for their help via Zoom calls, webinars and newsletters, I now know that they are truly experts in what they do.  Guess who we will be recommending the next time a business needs accounting or bookkeeping help?

Maybe your way of being helpful is to highlight other businesses.  If you don't have a service or product that can help people get through the pandemic, think about clients or business peers that can.  Pay them a compliment and help the world at the same time by recommending their service.  Give specific examples of how they helped you or how they can be a good resource right now.  Make sure you add a link to their website and/or let people know how to reach them.

Let Your Team Know What Is Happening!

This is a given if you are a company that works together in an office with departments and roles.  Chances are you have regular meetings and communication built into your organizational structure.  But it is always good to think about how you can share your plan with staff in less obvious roles.  If you don't see certain people on the regular you might forget the value of keeping them in the loop.

We are a photography company centralized in New York but with staff everywhere throughout the country.  We almost never work in an office together with our entire team.  Our New York business photographers are there on jobs and we are in constant communication, but when we speak with them, it is almost always about a specific project.  It is rarely to discuss overall company objectives.  One of the things that we have to work hard on is keeping everyone in the loop.

But we know that this idea of keeping everyone in the loop is important.  For us, the priority is that our photographers have to be skilled and take good photos.  They also have to be customer service representatives.  Every client comes through our New York photography studio, but it is our photographers that are interacting with the clients on a job.  Even though they are not out shooting so much right now, we think it's important that they know what our plan, as a company, is right now.  You never know who our team is coming into contact with in the real world.  Should they be in a position to speak with one of our clients, or even a potential client, we want them to have the knowledge they need to be a good representative of the company.

Focus on Digital

I know, I know.  This sounds like a dumb and obvious suggestion now and, really, for the last 10 years.  But as a company that focuses on creative ways to reach people, and because I keep reading about it, I figure I will pass the obvious along.  There is no use sending a mailer to 1000 offices when 90% of them are working from home.  Unless you have a carefully considered mailer or package that you know how to get to people, stay focused on digital.  

Also, times of change are a great time to look at your digital marketing efforts and see what has been effective.  Look at what is getting traction and what channels are the most effective.  Think about what channels you might not be utilizing that you could leverage.  This, of course, will align with your overall marketing strategy that we focused on earlier.

Summary

This is what we are learning now and we will continue to take opportunities to read and listen.  We take these ideas to heart and will continue to tell the world about where we are with our professional portraits and business photography.  When the time is right, we will still be well-connected with the community.  Hopefully it will help for an easier transition back to our regular projects and clients.

New York headshot photographers

Predictions and Solutions For When Companies Open

For a minute there, it seemed like we might be getting back into our New York business photography. We were optimistic, albeit cautiously so. Now, though, with the resurgence of cases we can see that it will still be some time before we are back to business.

That said, we are getting the well-spaced, tentative calls from new and current clients. Most are for one-off headshots and the occasional small group. These kinds of projects can be done safely and seem manageable. We went into this at length in a previous blog post. And it is comforting in that it tells us people are still needing New York business photographers. Our service is still valued.

We would love to see things pick up, but know that it's still early. Coronavirus is still, sadly, going strong and it's not a time to bring people together.

Now that we have had a few calls, though, we are thinking a lot about what the shorter terms will look like. We are thinking about who, as soon as the virus subsides, will want to have new and updated photos for their businesses. We are thinking about why corporate headshot photographers will be a priority.

Seeing The Importance of Headshot Photography – Through the Lens of Coronavirus

Most of our businesses are prioritizing headshots for many of the same reasons. But the logic behind pushing forward is a little different. For example, business still feel that business headshots need to be current. Only now, the interest in having a current headshot not only signals that you are a forward thinking professional. It signals that you are STILL IN BUSINESS! It is a big unknown as to who will survive this and seeing current content and new headshot photos is a promising sign that your favorite vendors are still plugging along.

As we are looking through and staying connected with our clients, we are also wondering who is still in the same positions, who has been laid off and who has moved onto a new opportunity. While this is always a question among professional relations, never have we been faced with so many major and quick changes in our professional communities.

This is happening all the time in our own business. We are looking at our vendors and wondering, what changes will we see when business ramps up. Will our printers still be in business? Will we be able to rely on the retouchers, the assistants, the photo equipment rental houses? Seeing updated photography and communications from the vendors we love has been a comfort.

Another reason that people will be quick to get the corporate headshot when they can, is simple: It is good to put a face with a name. And once again, COVID amplifies this need. We cannot be together for the normal meetings. While a Zoom call can help us solve some in-person meeting challenges, a nice, professional headshot is part of your toolbox in getting to that meeting. Further, if you have not met pre-zoom, having a familiarity, recognizing a face, can make that Zoom meeting slightly less awkward. Post your business headshot on your website and LinkedIn and your client will actually recognize you on that call.

Our next prediction is that when businesses start to open in a meaningful way, many will want to re-launch with a bang. During the COVID pandemic, heavily impacted businesses whose work has dropped off have been repurposing their time. We see a lot of focus on outreach, social media planning and, of course, constant pivoting their products and services. The question businesses are addressing is, what can we do while we are shut? So now, we have seen an interest in updating websites, getting marketing collateral in order and being ready to shine when doors open. We know our companies see us as a resource for this kind of stepped up brand imagery. We hope to be a partner in getting everyone back to where they want to be, pre-Coronavirus.

How Can We Tackle This?

We have talked about how our New York corporate headshot photographers can perform safely for groups. See our last blog post regarding how to handle a photo shoot in your office safely. You will see that we have safety guidelines in place. We can keep distance between all parties and do the shoot in a no-touch manner.

But what if your staff is in multiple locations? There was once a time when clients would bring us in to cover business headshots at giant sales meeting in Las Vegas or Orlando or right at home in New York City. Companies would bring their sales teams in from all over the country (sometimes, the world) to collaborate, do training and get a headshot by The Booth! Having everyone together solved the problem of creating consistent, company-wide headshots.

Well, let's just say my calendar is no longer full of large sales meetings packed with networking and togetherness. It will come back, but for now, virtual meetings are the name of the game. We are yet to figure out how to take a good headshot through video conferencing.

When the time is right, companies will start to make concrete plans on how business photographers can operate safely. For those with only one centrally located office, this should be pretty easy. For those times and, we predict, several months thereafter, we will be focusing on regional projects and will be thinking about how we can serve our clients who have multiple offices in cities across the country.

We have ideas and options on how to keep the corporate headshot photography consistent while keeping all of the photography on a regional, limited travel, plan. Here are a few ideas so you can start planning for your multi-city corporate headshot project without getting everyone together.

1. Have your photographer create a look and lighting plan for solid backgrounds. Consistency of light will do more to tie your photos together visually than any other element of your photo plan. Have your key photographer create a plan for how he or she set up the studio and lights. Photographers in other cities and regions can use this plan to set up lights that match the original shot. Boom. Photos will be consistent and no one will know that they where shot by a New York City headshot photographer or a Denver headshot photographer.

2. See #1, but create a corporate headshot lighting plan that would work for different environmental views. Have your key photographer create a lighting plan for 2+ background options in your space. Again, that photographer can share his/her plan with other offices where they can pick 1 or 2 background/environmental options. The backgrounds will vary, but the overall look will be consistent.

3. Greenscreen! Choose a background that you like at your New York office. Our headshot photographer in New York will take a photo without anyone on that background. Next shoot your subjects against a green screen or neutral background in every location. In post-production a retoucher will clip the subject off that background and place the subject onto the original, universal background being used by the rest of the firm.

Other Types of Business Photography

Because of the togetherness factor, the headshot photography piece is the most difficult one to tackle. We can't get large groups together when we are trying to stay apart.

The other part of a visual launch is general business photography that might include office shots, product photography and other imagery related to a company's product. These kinds of shoots can be easier to plan for since it will not require being together in the same way as large numbers of corporate headshots. Product photography is easy. It requires a very small team to make it happen. Office photography or photography of your business in action can be staged in a way that keeps people at a distance. Thoughtful planning around what shots you need and how to get to the right look will be key.

In Conclusion

As we see trends around re-opening businesses, we will continue to think through how we can be a resource on the business photography piece. We are looking forward to serving our clients as soon as it is safely possible!

New York corporate headshot photographers

Safety Standards for The Booth

Your favorite New York Corporate Headshot Photographers are reopening, and many of you are starting to pick up on postponed business photography projects. You can rest assured that The Booth will be ready to carefully and safely serve your needs.

Here is our Coronavirus safety plan:

1. Small Crew – Reduce exposure by reducing the number of staff we bring on-site. At times this will mean just the corporate headshot photographer. Other times we might need to add an assistant. You will have names and contact information on who to expect.

2. Masks/Gloves – Our staff will wear masks and gloves.

3. Social Distancing – The studio will be set up so that the photographer can maintain a 6'+ distance from the subject at all times.

4. Rules of engagement – Instructions for the shoot will be sent to your team prior to the shoot, explaining what the subject needs to know about how the shoot will run. This will minimize the amount of time the subject will spend in the room with the headshot photographer.

5. Zero contact – Subjects will not be in physical contact with the portrait photographer or any photography gear. Should there be accidental contact, the photographer will clean the affected item between subjects.

6. Individualized Scheduling – To eliminate subjects from coming in contact with each other, individual sessions will be scheduled ahead of time via an online scheduling tool to allow for arrival time, shooting time and departure time.

7. Digital File Delivery – We will deliver files digitally in individualized galleries for image selection. Once subject is done with their shoot, they can leave the room.

8. Cleaning – Equipment will be disinfected at the end of each day and, at any point throughout the day that it is deemed necessary.

New York corporate headshot photographer

Retouching - A Touchy Subject

What is retouching?

Retouching is when you enhance a photograph making small alterations and additions. It used to be done physically by hand, but now we have computers and computers have Photoshop.

Adobe Photoshop was an incredible gift to the photography industry. It's one of those universally understood terms that has turned into verbs, like Google (to search for something on the internet). If you say you want to Photoshop something, you are saying you want to retouch it. This says something about how important photography and more specifically, retouched corporate photography, is to the headshot process.

Some people associate retouching with being a bad practice. It almost feels like a dirty word. It can be used to create something that doesn't truly represent the subject. It can be overdone. It can be used with or without permission to make someone look like someone they are not. But when used properly and with standards, it is a wonderful tool to make the best photographs even better.

As New York executive headshot photographers, we mostly do headshot photography, so for this blog post, we will focus on how retouching can help our human subjects.

We love good retouching not for it’s transformative powers, but how it can help our subjects look their personal best in their business headshots. We believe in using the least amount of retouching that can add polish and elevate our subject's outward presentation. People come to us wanting to look their personal best, not like someone else, and we happily use retouching as a final step towards getting this. This aligns well with why people hire us in the first place. They want to elevate their professional business portraits presentation and retouching is the best final step to achieving this. It’s the cherry on top of the perfect sundae.

Because retouching is a powerful tool we have a list of do's and don'ts that we try to stand by.

1. Our goal is to make you look your personal best

2. This is a clean up, not an overhaul.

3. We don't change anything significant about the subject's features.

4. We only change things that would naturally be gone within 2 months (i.e. blemishes, dark circles from a particularly bad night's sleep, glare on glasses).

Here are some of our typical focus areas:

Color correction – we will always correct skin tone or overall color balance. Color balance is everything so we have no problem correcting skin tone that is too much in one direction. If our light exacerbates a red-leaning skin tone, we are going to bring it back into balance.

View fullsize

View fullsize

In the original photo, left, the color temperature felt too warm/yellow. We balanced the color to a more true and flattering look.

Eyes – this is a big one and, done right, can add a brightness that will really elevate a corporate portrait. We will almost always lighten dark circles and soften lines around eyes. We never erase or remove these details. Erasure of specific details can make the photo look unreal and retouched. Subtlety is a must.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Above is an example of a portrait where we de-accentuated under-eye circles. The lines were not completely removed, but they were softened a bit.

Glasses – Glare on glasses can be a big problem and it is hard element to retouch, for which reason, we try our best to notice a glare during the photographic process. Should the best shot have glare, we will remove it in the retouching process.

View fullsize

View fullsize

There is some major glare happening for this gal and it is very distracting from what is otherwise a great looking and stylish headshot. Our retoucher magically removed that glare and turned what could have been a completely unusable image into an overall stellar photo.

Flyaway Hair – Flyaway hairs happen to even the best-coiffed subjects, especially in dry, wintery, or rainy locations. We add significant polish by removing these unruly strands of hair.

View fullsize

View fullsize

This subject is looking sharp in every way but in the executive portrait on the left, we noticed a halo of flyaways ready to be tamed. In the photo of the right, you can see where we removed those wisps, creating a smoother and more finished look in keeping with a professional business portrait.

Blemishes – We remove blemishes since they fall in the 'gone within 2 months' time period. It's a real bummer to do all the preparation for your headshot and then wake up that morning with a big blemish. With the click of a mouse we can fix it.

View fullsize

View fullsize

The above left is an example of a subject who had a combination of blemishes, freckles and other markings. We carefully removed the blemishes and left all other skin markings. The goal was to remove unwanted temporary markings and leave all of those gorgeous identifying elements that made her, her.

Clothing – We often take out distracting details on clothing, such as lint, spots and stains. Wrinkles or other fabric issues, is one of the more difficult things to retouch, so fabric and draping is something we pay very close attention to during the shoot.

View fullsize

View fullsize

We love the subject’s pose in this photo, but it caused his suit to pull around his upper arm. Take a look at the puckering of the fabric on both sides. We smoothed the area to give the overall look polish turning a pretty good photo into a great photo!

Mistakes Are Made

We love what retouching can do for our subjects, but, in our option, there are so many no-no's when it comes to retouching.

The number one mistake we see after New York business headshot photographers complete the photo, is that they or their retoucher overdoes it. They remove EVERYTHING, leaving the subject without any markings, lines, pores, etc. It looks otherworldly (not in a good way) and makes the portrait feel unconvincing. If a peer sees your photo on LinkedIn, they should recognize you when they see you in person. In our opinion, if the changes are too drastic, it can cause a lapse in trust. It’s also a good rule of thumb in understanding the experience of your retoucher. An untrained eye will do more harm.

Retouching – A Touchy Subject

Retouching is a sensitive topic. The goal is to make people look great, without pointing out or correcting issues that the subject never saw as problematic. Tricky, right?

It helps to know that your New York corporate headshot photographer has established guidelines that he/she will always address for his or her subjects. This way, people know we address those issues in everyone, not just them.

One particular rule has been very helpful for us in our retouching practice: If it will be gone in 2 months, we will fix it. If it is something more permanent, we will leave it. The easiest, most practical example: will remove a blemish, but we will leave a mole.

Because we are so very very careful about how far we will go with retouching, we are sometimes asked by subjects to take care of elements we saw as just fine. They might request a heavier hand at those bags under their eyes. Or perhaps want to de-accentuate a laugh line or two. We get it. We all see ourselves differently and if we can help someone improve the photo in a way that maintains integrity, we are happy to make those changes.

Retouching software is a wonderful tool that can make improving a photo quite simple. Like the best lights, the best lenses and the best photographers, it can be a part of the mix that is used to make the best photos even better.

New York corporate headshot photographer

Corporate Headshot Photography & Creativity

When one conjures the idea of a headshot, their first idea might be of a traditional man or woman in a suit in front of a backdrop. My image is of a guy in a brown suit against a mottled tan background – some 70's version.

Thankfully, this kind of photography has come a very long way. Professionals want to look modern and fashion-forward. Scroll through LinkedIn and you will see that this old time-y idea is no longer the norm at all. As New York business photographers, we love to see the plethora of new ideas that have come to be valid and legitimate options for corporate headshot photography. 

As far as creative direction is concerned, we have two types of clients: 1) Clients that prefer a clean and conservative, but updated, image and 2) Clients that want “something different”.

Most clients that come to us are looking for an update to their current look, whether it's a clean and traditional feel or something completely distinctive and creative. Company culture has shifted, styles are new and workplaces are different, whether in New York, Philadelphia, or Washington DC. Company culture and style needs to be signaled in their new corporate headshot look.

Clients usually come to us during the following times in their visual branding cycles:

1. In the midst of a complete rebranding. They are updating EVERYTHING, from website to print materials to logo. They want a new look and want professional headshot photos of their team to reflect that.

2. Need updated visuals. Everyone's a little older and the company wants to visually signal that they are updating and staying current with the times. They want a fresh new headshot look.

Once a company knows they would like to make this visual change, they have to make the difficult decisions on how they want their staff to be represented. If you’re rebranding completely, the sky's the limit. Working alone or together with a branding or design professional, the company has many options and can work through how different choices will work inside of their brand. By the time they come to decisions around professional headshot photography and executive portraits, the company will have some guidelines in place. We are glad to take part in those final collaborations and bring those decisions home.

Clients in category 2 have many of the decisions from category 1 in place. They are likely looking for continuity of their existing brand. They want something updated, but not completely different.

Check out our blog post about branding and corporate headshot photography here.

Breaking Down The Creative Process

Categorizing creative options can help put structure to what can feel like an unwieldy decision. Start with the below ideas:

Solid or Environmental Background

One of the biggest decisions companies make about their business headshots is whether they use a solid background (using a backdrop) or environmental background (using the office or location).

A solid background is a clean and consistent option. It works well for large organizations that need their business headshot photos to be consistent and dependable. For example, a company with 100+ employees might have specific brand guidelines. This helps them to establish consistency across look and specific size requirements. Perhaps they do not need just a New York executive headshot photographer. They need to cover people in multiple locations. They also want to make sure new hires will all have the same look in their photos. They might need to consider how to maintain this consistency in offices in more than one location. The easiest and most obvious way to do this is to pick a specific background color that can be sourced easily and adopted over space and time.

On the other hand, environmental photography offers an opportunity to showcase a beautiful office space, an impressive library, or a significant graphic element. Using interiors and other design elements around your office is an opportunity to share something about the character, direction and professionalism of your company.

While there have been trends towards environmental photography, there are some challenges. The first challenge to overcome is whether you have a photography-appropriate space. Consider whether the background is going to look good and/or really illustrates something important about your company. Other things to think about: Is it big enough to set up studio lights or is the space bright enough for natural light? Is it a high traffic area that people need to access throughout the day and therefore disrupt the shoot?

The other challenge is creating consistency across locations with an environmental headshot. If your people are across town, you can arrange to have them visit one location for headshots. If they are in different cities, you would need a separate solution. In this case you might consider environmental headshots with a consistent look and feel, but that is deliberately different. Pick 3 locations so you maintain consistency on your website, but nothing stands out as different. You can also consider retouching as a means to create consistency. If you want the same environmental background but have multiple offices in multiple cities, consider shooting the headshots on a solid background and superimposing the business portraits onto an environmental background image or what we call a ‘plate’. 

For example, if you’re a New York company but you have offices in Washington DC or Philadelphia, instead of looking for a different Washington DC corporate headshot photographer or a different Philadelphia corporate headshot photographer, you can have one team shoot against the same solid background and edit in the exact background plate from New York. This is a quick and simple solution to a multifaceted situation!

Color vs Black & White

The vast majority of our clients opt for color photos. It is by far the standard for corporate headshot photography for all the obvious reasons. Color adds a vibrancy and can be used to connect to other branding elements for a business.

On the flip side, we do use black and white corporate photography to excellent results for our clients who are seeking an editorial or documentary feel. When shooting in black and white you are relying on contrast, tone, shadow, shape and texture to tell your story. It allows for a more minimalistic design for companies or groups wanting something elegant but not too busy. We have been able to balance those characteristics to great effect for design firms, educational institutions and advertising agencies.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Quality of Light

Quality of light is defined as how hard or soft the light is in your photos. Here are a couple of examples to illustrate this.

The example on the left is a very soft light. It can be achieved by very large light sources close to the subject. On the right is a harder light, achieved by a more focused light source. A wide open soft light tends to be very flattering amongst ages and skin tones. While we don't tend to go super hard on our light, we do sometimes push towards a harder light to create more dimension and drama in a professional headshot. It all depends on the creative direction for the executive portraits.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Crop

Most business headshots are slightly angled, but centered, shoulders up, vertically cropped. Again, if 'consistent' and 'traditional' are the names of your game, this is perfect. Should you want something a little different, try an off-center crop. Done with purpose, it can add an unique element.

There are a few ways to switch up your crop. You can stick with that vertical shoulder's up standard framing, but turn people a little more in the frame and fill up different, more extreme quadrants. Another look is to switch to a horizontal orientation and push your subject all the way to the right or left.

Case Studies:

Solid background. Very basic but very beautiful. You cannot go wrong with a warm grey background. It is neutral and everyone looks good against it. Colors pop off of this background color. They will not clash.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Colorful background. This is a photograph that we did for Culture.... Bumblebiz was focusing on millennial female professionals who were attending a career development conference. They wanted a New York corporate headshot photographer that could achieve a forward-minded New York business portrait look against pink. These were the fabulous results.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Law Firm. While some law firms choose a more conservative look, this firm expertly combined a professional look with a sense of approachability. They chose a soft, open, almost natural-light look against an office background. Notice that they were focused on the suggestion of a professional surroundings. They played with depth of field so that it didn't feel too specific.

Tech Professional. This is an executive portrait we did for Forbes Magazine. They wanted an environmental portrait that was a straightforward illustration of what the subject did. The whiteboard behind him was full of formulas and it became clear that this would be a perfect background. Note that the quality of light was very different for this portrait than from the law firm portrait above. Both are signaling professionalism, but this is a harder, more focused light.

Black & White + Crop. In the example below, we see two design elements at play. We were covering a forward-thinking group at a conference in NYC. We knew we would have media and beauty industry attendees coming for a headshot and thought they would be open to something less traditional. We went with a more editorial black and white look, still soft and open light. We also changed up the crop for each subject. This is an example where every subject is cropped slightly differently, but the overall look pulls together and could be used on the same webpage.

View fullsize

View fullsize

These are great places to start when deciding on the creative direction for your new company corporate headshots. Once you find what works for your company you can fine tune your decisions and create photos that are perfect for your brand.

New York corporate headshot photographers

Back to Basics - Good Lighting

We are not just executive portrait photographers. We are content creators. We are New York corporate headshot photographers whose goal it is to help our clients tell their story visually through corporate photography and video even when they cannot be together.

With social distancing occurring, the economy shut down and most of our regular haunts closed, we have been forced to focus on the basics. In that spirit, we thought it would be a very appropriate time to address the most basic of elements that make for a great photo: Light.

Any trained photographer knows that a good, well considered lighting plan is central to making a professional headshot photo. If the light is not good, the photo will not be good. And good, can mean so many things, creatively. The options and combinations are both fun and endless and will shift, depending on what the ideas are for the photo.

The two fundamental ways to light a good business headshot (or any photo) are through 1) natural light and 2) studio light. Natural light can be used when shooting outside or near a window. With studio light, we are relying entirely on strobes and light shaping equipment.

Natural Light

For photography, nothing beats mother nature's sunlight on a calm, comfortably warm day. Natural light is beautiful and, with the right plan, you can get those even, airy, natural and universally flattering photos (see below). For appropriate professional headshot jobs, we love a well-considered outdoor shoot.

There are a few things to think about when planning for a natural light shoot. Of course the background and setting are key, but for this discussion, we are focusing on the quality of light.

When we are thinking about where to shoot, from a lighting perspective, we always look for a location with lots of open shade. This can be under a tree where there is a consistent non-splotchy light. If you are in New York corporate headshot photographer’s region or even a different urban location for your headshots, a tall building can also give you that nice open shade.

We avoid intense overhead light, like a sunny day at high noon. It presents all kinds of problems: harsh raccoon eyes (shadows around the eyes) and squinting from the bright light, to start. It is also not exactly forgiving to those of us who might have (ahem) a wrinkle or two. Imagine a photo lit by an overhead bare bulb. Great if you are looking for an interrogation vibe, but not so great for a professional LinkedIn headshot. Flattering light is the name of the game for headshot photography and New York business photographers alike.

Timing is key so take the time to observe your location. Look at how the area goes from sunny to shady. In general, 8-10am or 4-6pm are good times of the day, given the position of the sun. During those times the sun is softer and less harsh. By contrast, mid-day is the most difficult and most harsh time to shoot.

Weather is another issue to consider. Soft cloudy days can be fabulous for an outdoor shoot. The clouds provide that same natural diffusion of light. Again, this provides that consistent, soft look you want.

The downside of planning for a natural light shoot, of course is that you cannot control the weather. Rain or excessive wind can force cancellations or rescheduling. Having said that, if you are able to pivot creatively, you can sometimes use the weather to your advantage. Wonderful ideas can come from an unexpected change in plan so, for the executive portrait client, a photo in the park planned for a nice sunny day can shift to an interesting photo under umbrellas.

Used properly, mother nature is a great source of light. It takes some planning and flexibility and knowing that certain elements are out of your control. If you need one or two photos of specific team members flexibility might be an option. If you are looking at a groups of 10-20 employees you are probably going to need to have more control. Which brings us to…

Indoor Light

There are so many moving parts in shooting corporate executive portraits for New York businesses that are not light-related (schedules, indoor locations, branding, etc). Our clients are happy to have the control that comes with indoor headshot photography so they can apply their time to other challenges that could arise. The vast majority of our shoots are done indoors using studio light in a boardroom that is convenient to all of their staff.

At the booth we have major control issues and this is why we also prefer studio light for our larger business portrait photography projects. We can lock in the right lighting and then focus exclusively on making the subject pose for the most flattering overall shot.

Indoor (Studio) Light

For indoor light, or studio light, our New York business photographers use artificial light to create a photo. We use strobes, or flashes, to create the light, and light manipulators to help shape the light. The strobes are put on light stands and placed in different formations around the subject. Light manipulators, like umbrellas, diffusion, reflectors, bounce cards, etc, are chosen to mold the light and hit the subject in ways that might be softer or more angled.

The photographer will use these tools in different combinations to execute on any of the many many creative options a client might bring to us for their team's professional business headshots. The photographer will think about the mood, tone and overall branding elements that the client wants to incorporate. Does the client want something that has a very buttoned down conservative look, or more a soft, beauty look? Does the client want a very even light or something with more shadows and dimension? What colors does the client use in their creative? Do they tend towards warmer or cooler tones? Decisions around light will be the single most important and basic set of decisions that will be made for your shoot.

For our regular New York corporate headshot setup, we opt for a beautiful, broad light. We think about what is consistently flattering for our subjects, knowing that, on most jobs, we are covering men and women that range from 25-60+ years old. Big umbrellas are great for this. They put out a nice homogenous light that falls evenly over the subject. Two of those placed strategically around the subject can create a universally flattering and dynamic look.

Next we sculpt the light using different tools. A large reflector bounces those big overhead lights up and onto the face. The results are gorgeous, soft skin and a little fill for those of us with dark circles (raising my hand). If you are 25 you still have that gorgeous flawless skin. If you are 40+ (again, raising my hand), you might appreciate the softening of lines that this lighting affords. Our goal is always to create a lighting plan that helps our subject to look like their very best selves.

There are ways to shake this lighting plan up and create more dramatic or moody looks. We can angle lights, change the placement of a reflector, use a different umbrella or change the position of the subject.

Case Studies:

Here are a few case studies that help illustrate the different ways light can be used for corporate headshots.

Case Study 1 – NYC Law Firm Headshots

We work with many law firms, doing legal headshots and executive portraits on an ongoing basis. There is a creative through line of professionalism and leadership that most are trying to highlight. Inside of this there is still much room for individuality.

Here is an example of a law firm that hires us to do an updated, yet still traditional and controlled, environmental headshot in their gorgeous modern boardroom. This is very much a studio-lit look. When planning for this photo, we think about how we can highlight the subject while bringing in extra lights to make the room pop. This client's choice to use this room is deliberate, an opportunity to signal the knowledge professionalism and high level of capability of their firm. It is the job of our New York business headshot photographers to make sure it is well-lit.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Case Study 2 – W.In Forum

Over the past few years, there has been a lovely conference hosted by The New School in New York City. It is called the W.In Forum and the agenda is centered around giving women and minorities the energy and confidence they need to become inclusive and innovative leaders. The event takes place at the New School on 14th street, a modern, sunlit, newly renovated building. We brought this same tone into the photos for an updated, editorial, airy kind of feel.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

In Conclusion

So, as you see, good light is fundamental. It is the most basic and important element of a good shoot. It is far from simple, but for photography, it is where it all starts.

New York corporate headshot photographer

Crisis Time Corporate Video - Post 3 of 3

Video Blog 3 of 3: Fine Tune for your Clients Needs

Our goal in this series of 3 posts on video is to share how we are not just New York executive portrait photographers. We are content creators. We are New York corporate headshot photographers whose goal it is to help our clients tell their story visually through corporate photography and video even when they cannot be together.

In the last few blog posts we have addressed how video can be used in times of separation as a complement to corporate headshot photography. As we have shared, it is such a wonderful tool to personally share the full scope of your message and help them to get to know you or your organization. Corporate headshot photography has been our M.O. for personalization, but we see this as an add-on that is particularly useful right now since there is no-in person follow up.

In our first blog post on this, we talked about how the coronavirus crisis has created a crisis in fundraising. Spring is gala season and it is no surprise that fundraising that would have otherwise happened at those galas is expected to fall short. In our post, we recommended creating a remote video by capturing interviews or messages of people connected to the organization.

Our next blog post on using corporate video focused on establishing you/your company as a leader and authority. Lead your audience through this crisis with good advice and ongoing connection. Do this through crafting a video or series of videos that show what you are doing now and how you will be looking towards future ways to support your clients.

You likely have many channels and modes of communication to reach your audience. You create an impression and share information with them through multiple media. Adding well-thought out video messaging can add to your arsenal.

Video can be more work, but it is worth the effort. 54% of consumers want to see more video from their brands (HubSpot 2018). They want to get to know their brands better and video, done well, presents this opportunity. And let's not forget about the benefits to your business. According to Optinmonster, video marketers get 66% more qualified leads per year and report and increase in brand awareness of 54%. There is so much more excellent information about this topic. Follow this link to read more.

Video for New and Existing Clients

We always recommend starting with a corporate headshot or executive portrait from your New York headshot photographers at The Booth (!!!), but video can be the next phase.

It is important to maintain awareness among your clients, even when they have no pressing need for your services. Maintaining awareness among your clients can help them understand that, yes(!) you are still in business, that you have a strong foundation and that you can use your expertise to help them find a path through the pandemic and out the other side.

A simple message delivered via video, can do this with impact and help maintain continuity in your relationship with them. Tell them about the status of your work and a few ways you have been helping clients or working through the pandemic.

You can choose the kind of video to make based on your goals and who you want to reach. Here are a few ideas that will give you a framework:

Interviews – a great way for your audience to get to know you or your team. You can establish yourself as an expert in your area.

Presentations – show your audience what you do or how your product has helped other clients or something interesting you saw in your market that could help.

Tutorials – show your audience how to use a piece of technology or provide guidance on a topic

While you are deciding on the framework you would like to use, consider what the content will be. This will help guide your decision on what framework you use.

Brainstorm on content. Think like a salesperson and ask yourself what is your audience's biggest pain point? What issues are most prevalent in your industry right now. What are your areas of expertise and how can you contribute? What resources do you have internally or externally that you can tap and share with clients?

Think about what’s their specific interest, what is their pain point and how can your services and expertise help solve that. Chances are, if you have been in business for some time, you know what this is.

Make your content innovative. If your business peers are all putting content on the same topics, think about what else could be useful. For example, right now many small businesses are looking for funding. Webinars are everywhere with generalized information about the two major loans circulating – EIDL and PPP. Be available to consult on that if it is within your area of expertise, but if you want attention, think of another angle. Think about the niche you inhabit, then offer advice that applies to that.

Maybe you don't have any skills or resources that will help you get your clients through this crisis. In that case, tell the world who you are, but do so through the lens of the current crisis. If you are a party planner, let the world know the wonderful work you do, but frame it with language or content that shows you understand how you will be ready when the world is ready to start gathering at events again.

Stay Current and Highlight Timely Innovation at Your Company

Every day we are blown away by how companies are pivoting to accommodate what the world needs. If you are doing this, tell the world. When the virus came around, Joanne Fabrics shared that they would start offering supplies and instruction on how to create masks plus a collection point for dropoff.

Allbirds, the innovative shoe company is donating $500,000 of their supremely comfortable shoes to healthcare workers.

Videos and SEO

Everything starts and ends with SEO. Your clients need to find you, so you should consider how your video will perform to meet your end goal.

Since we are talking about maintaining and growing awareness, your best and most highly trafficked platforms are YouTube and Vimeo. If you want an audience that is directed back to your website, Wistia is a great option. Other ways to boost online video SEO are to include a video transcript. This bolsters the video content for search engines. Just like you would with any other content, and make sure your accompanying title and description are well crafted using the same rules you would with any other content. (Wordstream)

New York corporate headshot photographer

Crisis Time Corporate Video - Post 2 of 3

Video Blog 2 of 3: Show What You Know

Our goal in this series of three posts on video is to share how we are not just executive portrait photographers. We are content creators. We are proud to be a leading New York corporate headshot photographer whose goal it is to help our clients tell their story visually through corporate photography and video even when they cannot be together.

Recap – Using Video to Fundraise

In our last post, we spoke about non-profit organizations that we typically would collaborate with to do corporate event photography and professional headshots. They are now adapting their Spring fundraising gala season to distance fundraising. The New York Times has written about this twice already. In their Articles, “The Spring Gala Season Has Been Canceled” and “When Black Tie is Replaced by Plaid Pajamas”. Not being together is really taking a bite out of their fundraising goals.

Everything is cancelled, but people still want to help. So now the goal is to go to them and share your message digitally. They are checking their email, paying attention to their social media feeds and visiting websites.  Now that you know where they are, go to them. Create and share a video and remind them why what you do still needs support, now more than ever.

UP NEXT - Serving People In Professional Services - Beyond Business Headshots

The next group of clients, who we already serve with professional headshots and business photography, are businesses, especially in the field of professional services. This includes lawyers, accountants and investment advisors, among others.

In these fields, it is so important to create and maintain a trusting relationship with your clients. Clients want to hear from you, especially during difficult times. A newsletter with corporate photography is one way. A short series of videos is another. You can address a new or ongoing issue. Help them understand what you are doing to help them mitigate current or upcoming challenges.

It is a special set of circumstances, doing this kind of communication during a crisis like this. A company always should stay on brand. Think, for example what kind of creative decisions were made when working with your executive headshot photographers for business photography. But now there is a unique opportunity to go off script a little, message-wise and creatively.  Share more about why you went into your industry and how that makes you and your team qualified to support their business through the crisis. Talk about the people that are part of your team and have them share what they are doing to support the company and it's clients.

These are not normal times, so be real.  Acknowledge the challenges in a way that feels true for your company.

Next, paint a picture of where you are going once the crisis is over. Maybe it is unclear. Your message can be as simple as, “we can see things will be different when we are on the other side of this. We will be here to serve clients then, as now, in the way their world demands.” Fall back on your mission statements and tell people why you exist in the world. If you don't have a mission statement yet, write one. (Here is an oldie-but-goodie article from Entrepreneur magazine about how to write a mission statement https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/240085.)

The Tools To Do This:

Video is one way.

We think corporate video can be a great way to share your message with maximum impact. We like that it can be conversational or tightly edited, that it can be done as a series and that it can give your audience a rounder view of the message you are sharing. Also, Google loves video. If you are simultaneously looking to increase your SEO ranking, using video on your website and blog can be a positive side effect.

Now, how can The Booth as corporate headshot photographers serving New York, Philadelphia and Washington DC, but grounded and working from home help you create a video of you and/or your team during a mandatory work from home mandate?

So many ways!

And we are ready to get creative with you. We showed you a video we created for SoulRyeders in our last blog post about videos. That is a more traditional video. It is a little difficult to do right now, but know that it is an option.

Another option is to use still corporate headshot photography with voiceover to share your story. The New York Times did a wonderful series called One In 8 Million back in 2007. It profiled New Yorkers in a visually interesting and very impactful way.

Here's a link.

This was done with two main components:

1. Still photographs were used to tell the story visually

2. Interviews where they learned more about that person.

We could help you put a plan in place on how to produce one master video and/or a series of videos that can be rolled out using email, video, social media and blog posts. We will schedule production , editing and retouching using newly captured images or by digging up already existing photos. We would help you create appropriate sound content remotely and put the entire project together.

Finally, we would put together a content calendar, showing you how and when to release the content for maximum exposure.

New York corporate headshot photographer

7 Famous Photographers That Revolutionized Photography

Who are the world's most famous photographers? 

Alfred Ansel once said, “You don’t take a photograph, you make it.” A photograph can be much more than just an image, it can tell a story deeper about whatever message the photographer wishes to convey. 

While most days, we focus on being New York Corporate Headshot Photographers, we also like to look at the very creative side to photography. There are different reasons why some images have been able to make an impact on the world. The images invoke emotion and tell an important story about a place in time.

We’ve created a list of some of the world’s most renowned photographers. There are so many inspiring messages that can be translated through their creative visual images, and many lessons to be perceived from their work.

Let’s take a look at 7 influential artists who have greatly impacted the photography world through their contemporary perception and prodigious artistic talent. 

Shells 1927, printed later © reserved

7. Edward Henry Weston (March 24, 1886- January 1, 1958) 

He was a famous American still life photographer of the 20th-century. Throughout his 40-year photography career, Weston photographed an ever-expanding collection of subjects. Amongst these were still lifes, portraits, nudes, and landscapes.

Weston began focusing his talent on portraits after working on nature photography (trees and rocks) in California during 1937. He was innovative in his approach and style, making a huge impact on modern photography. 

---

John Lennon and Yoko Ono, The Dakota, New York, December 8, 1980

6. Annie Leibovitz (October 2, 1949 - Present)

She is a famous American portrait photographer as well, known for her style that set her apart. One of her most famous images was of John Lennon and Yoko, on the day of his assassination. On January 22, 1981, Rolling Stone published Leibovitz’s photograph leaving a huge impact on the world.

Her photography has been recognized in several media outlets, as well as in an exhibition in Washington’s National Gallery during 1991. She was a famous photographer because of her unique ability to capture images of people that told a more personal story about them.

---

Serra Pelada Gold Mine, Brazil, 1986

5. Sebastião Salgado (February 8, 1944 - Present)

Far from the world of corporate headshot photography is Sebastiao Selgado. He is journalist, famous for his ability to depict tragedy through his photographs. Salgado traveled the world taking photos, visiting over 120 different countries. 

During the 1990’s, Salgado had a new project in Rwanda, Africa. His new photography project turned out to be very impactful, as there were horrible acts being committed in these countries that were unknown to much of the world outside that country. In Rwanda, there was genocide and devastation caused by the killing and pillaging of these innocent people. 

This dark period inspired Salgado and his wife Lelia to focus on rebuilding the forests in Brazil. Currently, nearly two decades later, the forest has two million planted trees and an increase in nearly extinct populations of native animals. Photographers can get inspired from their own work to do something greater, in this case making a difference on the planet too. 

---

Albert Camus, 1947

4. Henri Cartier Bresson (August 22, 1908 – August 3, 2004)

He was a French photographer, famous for his candid photography. In 1932 he started to use the Leica camera, and it was history from there on out.  While he was no headshot photographer, he was very interested in capturing people living their lives and doing their work.

Renowned as one of the first photographers using mostly 35mm film, he founded a new genre within his field - street photography.

He published his first book, The Decisive Moment and in it, he states, “For me the camera is a sketch book, an instrument of intuition and spontaneity, the master of the instant which, in visual terms, questions and decides simultaneously. In order to give a “meaning” to the world, one has to feel involved in what one frame through the viewfinder.”

He had a different perspective about photography for which he received a large number of awards and prizes. 

---

Baigneurs sur la Marne 1944

3. Robert Doisneau (1912-1994)

He was a French photographer and photojournalist, whose photos have become beloved and idolized by many aspiring photographers today. He captured images of a variety of subjects, mostly French people caught in a surreal moment of everyday acts.

He was a photographer for an advertising agency called Renault until 1939 and didn’t return to photojournalism until 1951. In between this time, he worked during the war with the resistance in France and for French Vogue for a few years. 

Doisneau has been a featured photographer around the world from the Bibliotheque National in Paris, to the Art Institute of Chicago and the George Eastman House (NY). He has become widely recognized and highly esteemed within the photography community. 

---

The Robert Capa and Cornell Capa Archive, Gift of Cornell and Edith Capa, 2010

2. Robert Capa (Oct 22, 1913 - May 25, 1954)

Robert Capa was known as ‘The Greatest War Photographer in the World’. He was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1913 and was originally named Andre Friedmann by his Jewish parents. Capa attended the Deutsche Hochschule  für Politik in Berlin and studied political science. In 1933 he settled in Paris after he was threatened by Nazis and driven to flee the country. It was there that he met photographer and journalist Gerda Taro, and he was represented by Alliance Photo. Together they created the influential American photographer, Robert Capa. He began to sell his printed photography under that name. 

Capa met Earnest Hemingway, and befriended famous photographers Henri Cartier-Bresson, and David ‘Chim’ Seymour. From 1936 forward, Capa’s photography of the Spanish Civil War began to frequently appear. His international reputation as ‘The Greatest War Photographer in the World’ was earned by his photograph of a fatally wounded Loyalist soldier. This photograph became a powerful and influential symbol of war.

---

Mount Williamson- Clearing Storm - Adam Ansel, 1944

1. Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) 

He was an American photographer well known for his black-and-white landscape photographs. Ansel Easton Adams was a passionate environmentalist and enjoyed photographing Western America, most famous for those of Yosemite National Park. 

Adams generally shot with a large-format camera to optimize the sharpness of his photographs with their high resolution. The zone system was developed by Ansel and his colleague Fred Archer to determine the proper exposure and to adjust the contrast of the final printed image. This resulted in-depth and clarification which represented his photographs and influenced the work of those he taught the system to. Ansel Easton Adams’s photographs can be enjoyed by its viewers in a variety of formats, as they are reproduced in books, on posters, and calendars.

View our blog including content about Ansel’s Zone system here: 

These Photographers Are Unique, Yet They Have Each Contributed to Modern Photography

Photography is not a new concept in the 21st Century, the thing that changes are styles and technology. Sometimes a certain style becomes trendy as certain images become influential. The bottom line is, famous photographers have changed the future of imagery and made an impact larger than words can describe - so the pictures will do just fine.

Which Famous Photographers Did We Miss?

A whole bunch! It's impossible to pick just one photographer as the greatest in the world, there are hundreds of other incredible photographers not included in this list. Everyone has different opinions, we just wanted to share a few of the top photographers in history that made an impact on the world. 

---

Citations:

Intro Quote: https://spark.adobe.com/page/g9tj6VHGPjdqT/

https://shotkit.com/famous-photographers/

https://www.all-about-photo.com/photographers/famous-photographers.php

https://expertphotography.com/create-stunning-black-and-white-landscape-photography/

Leibovitz:https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-annie-leibovitz-perfectly-captured-yoko-johns-relationship

Salgado: http://www.artnet.com/artists/sebasti%C3%A3o-salgado/serra-pelada-gold-mine-brazil-1986-a-8_gisXP8lyRgdU6ukhmLgA2

Doiseneau: https://www.icp.org/browse/archive/objects/outside-rene-garraud

Bresson quote: https://www.henricartierbresson.org/en/hcb/

http://www.artnet.com/artists/henri-cartier-bresson/albert-camus-a-Yzncz3rwe4lalxOGCoaSNg2

Capa: https://www.all-about-photo.com/photographers/photographer/72/robert-capa

https://www.icp.org/browse/archive/objects/children-of-an-orphanage-sitting-in-circle-and-dancing-in-a-garden-in-2

Ansel: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ansel-Adams-American-photographer

Ansel Zone system: http://blog.reallyrightstuff.com/the-zone-system-and-the-digital-photographer/

How to Best Use Corporate Headshots on Your Website

Why Should You Use Corporate Headshots on Your Website?

It’s no secret that corporate headshot photography elevates how you present your company in so many ways. Corporate headshots on your website are a great visual representation of your company for your clients.  We will look, more specifically, at why it’s important to have website headshots, why it is important to hire a New York Corporate Headshot photographer and how to choose a look. We’ll also look at the practical and technical elements, like the headshot size for your website, you should consider before you actually get to your shoot date.

So, why do you need professional headshots on your website? Easy – connection. Your clients want to know about your company and the people that make it run. If they see something in your team that is relatable or trustworthy in some way, they will be more inclined to take further steps in engaging with your company. Just like a logo represents your brand, a New York Corporate Headshot photographer can help you show clients who you are, and how you position yourself in the market.  It sends many visual cues.  

If you work with clients remotely, having business photographers come to cover your staff is even more imperative. Since your client might never actually meet your team, you can use professional headshots on your website as an opportunity to personalize the experience. They want to know that a person is behind the Google search and other digital connections that bring them to you. They like to know that there is a real team of people behind the brand.

Professional service businesses are a no-brainer for corporate headshot photography. Attorney headshots have been an industry staple forever. Why? Because they create a connection while conveying the professionalism and integrity that they want their clients to understand about them. While all industries strive for this, other industries, such as accounting, financial services, medical and real estate follow closely to that idea.

Other industries might hang their website headshot decisions on other values. For example, advertising, design and marketing firms might want to communicate a style. Universities and educational institutions might want to communicate scholarship, diversity and honesty.

The quality and style of your headshots convey a lot about your business and signals how you conduct business.  Forbes conveys this well in the article linked here. A New York Corporate headshot photographer can you create photos for your website that illustrate a more full and clear idea of who you are.

Make Sure Your Executive Headshots Match Your Brand

Your website headshots should closely follow your branding. Whether it is mood, color scheme or level of formality, make sure the images are visually consistent with other design elements on your website.

For those companies that have not thought through this branding idea, now is the time. We dive deep into rebranding in our last blog post, should you like more information on how to do this. To summarize, though, the first thing you need to do is decide how to evoke the type of business you are, visually.

We mentioned some of the types of businesses that would benefit from website headshots in the last section. There is plenty of room for creative decisions and the choices made will communicate who you are inside of your industry. 

What is your industry? What type of work do you do in your industry? Where are you located? What kind of clients do you see? The answers to these will help drive your decisions for the professional headshots on your website.

One of the key things to think about is what kind of business you have. What kinds of clients do you serve?  If you are in the legal profession, are you a large or mid-size firm? Do you focus on business-to-business or corporate clients where you need to evoke a buttoned down corporate feel? Or are you a lawyer that focuses on family law?

In the first example, you would have your staff dress professionally - a suit and tie, for example. You might shoot in an office or against a solid white or grey backdrop. For the latter, you could go a little more casual and approachable and choose a softer, more environmental look. A tidy sweater with a collared shirt evokes trust and confidence and the slightly dressed-down look creates a sense of comfort. 

Research your peers and your clients. What kinds of trends are you seeing in their headshot photography? Does any of it ring true for your company? How does their body language read in their images? Copying is a creative no-no, but there is nothing wrong with taking inspiration from others as a way of finding the right style for headshots on your own website. These examples will also help give you a way to start a more concrete conversation about creative direction with your photographer.

For those of you who have worked through these questions for your company, things will be easier! Your challenge is to make the headshots on your website match your existing brand identity. If you need ideas or inspiration, take a look at some examples in our headshot galleries.

If you have already done that and have a headshot plan in place, you are further ahead of the game. For example, at The Booth for Business, we always make notes on how our New York professional headshot photographer shot the client’s photos, including background color, lighting plan, studio setup, etc. This way, we can easily match the corporate headshots that were done on previous shoots. In our opinion, this is a must for any company that has more than 20 people and/or frequent new hires.

Sometimes companies build a website, but hiring their website photographer is an afterthought. They have individual photos, but they are clearly not done by a professional. You know those photos that double as their new hire security photos? Or the ones where they say, ‘stand up against the wall’, and they take a quick photo with their phone?

It is very jarring to the visitor to see a great piece of web design with bad photography. The discrepancy is obvious and it could make the viewer wonder if the company is cutting corners in any other ways.

Whether the photos are not professional or simply no longer align with your branding, book a few days where a New York corporate headshot photographer comes to your office. This way you can cover everyone, aligning your professional corporate headshots with the overall professionalism of your website.

What to Consider When Uploading a Headshot to your Website:

Size & Meta Data

Now that you have a plan for your business headshots as they relate to brand identity, you should start thinking about the nuts and bolts of creating and using images.

Think about where these photos will go on the website. Will there be a single page of photos where a rollover reveals title, name and small detail about the person? Will there be a full directory?  You click on a name and it brings you to an individual's page with a full bio, including experience, education and expertise? 

More technical questions to consider:

How large do you want your corporate headshots to appear on the website?  

Do you want the executive headshots to be landscape or portrait orientation?

A photographer will make choices on lighting, background, camera placement, how close/far he/she is from the subject based upon these decisions. 

Finally, there's the nitty gritty of where these photos are going and what kind of specifications you will need to accommodate those placements. When we photograph headshots, we always like to know ultimately what the headshot size for your website will be. Make sure you also share details like image size, file type (jpg, png, pdf) format and, sometimes, colorspace (RGB, CMYK).

Planning for your business headshots is integral to any business website. Working through these considerations we’ve laid out in the blog will lay the groundwork for a successful and mistake-free shoot. 

Still confused? Please give us a call or fill out the ‘contact us’ form, and we’ll be in touch!

Rebranding Your Team with Corporate Headshot Photography

Why Consider Headshots as Part of Your Rebranding Strategy?

One of the key times that clients come to our New York corporate headshot photographers is when they are considering a full corporate rebranding project.  They want to update their overall look, which can include their website, their logo and their overall corporate identity. The goal is to show clients, through updated design, language and business photography, who they are right now as a company.

How should you rebrand?

The first thing that people notice before they read a word of text, is the visuals - design and photography.  It takes 7 seconds for a viewer to form an impression of the business so visuals need to take the lead. Updated photography should be part of that thinking and make an integral part of your corporate rebranding project.  Further, as part of the project, a company may want to highlight their people, showing the world who they are now, with current photos of their people taken with an eye towards appropriately current stylistic trends.

A business should bring in a New York corporate headshot photographer for an update every 2-5 years, max.  Here are a few reasons it can look dated or obsolete:

1. Fashions change - current and modern or updated but classic is what you want.  If clothes look like they are out of the 90’s, people will get the impression that your business thinking is out of the 90’s. 

2. Hairlines change - as do hairstyles, skin tone, aging, etc.  If your lead salesperson is unrecognizable from his current headshot due to major shifts in, ahem, hairline, that is not good.  A good photographer will make people look their personal best at any age and, really, this is what your clients want to see. If you are using a 25 year old photo of you to represent your 40 year old self, clients will wonder what else you are hiding.

3. Staff change - Any business is likely to have staff changes.  People come and go over the years. Keep that roster current with updated business headshot photography.  Your staff will appreciate that you want them representing you on your website. 

A great way to help in rebranding your company is to call in a New York headshot photographer

Finally, there is the familiarity you create when posting business headshots of your team.  Clients like to know who they are working with. If you are in a business where you will meet the client, that first look is a way to make you feel familiar.  If you are in the kind of business where your clients rarely meet you, knowing what the person on the other end of the email or phone looks like builds comfort and an affiliation.  Putting a face to a name really assists with connecting you and your client, a valuable outcome of a rebranding strategy.

How a New York Corporate Headshot Photographer Can Help Develop the Theme in Your Brand?

As discussed, your clients first impression is made through visuals on your website and other social channels.  This being key, you should allow time and budget for making sure that your plans for headshot fits cohesively into your overall design, that the photos feel current and that they make the right impression.

 In our opinion, a corporate rebrand should not be a do-it-yourself endeavor.  Our recommendation, if the budget allows, is to work with a professional designer in some capacity.  They can help you with everything from logo design to font choice, to page planning, to content production.  If this exists in-house at your company, fantastic. If not, it is worth the investment in hiring help.

What you will spend on a designer, you will save in time.  You will plan and organize better and your rebrand will launch in a more timely way.

But we digress...  Get yourself a good designer whose work you like and who has done projects similar in scope to yours.  Search online for words like, “website design trends 2020”, “midsize law firms”, “corporate rebrand design” or “design firm awards”.  Look at websites you admire of companies that seem comparable in size and scope. See if they will give you a reference to their web designer.

There are a few ways to find the right person.  Visit design websites like UpWork and 99 Designs.  You can identify criteria that you want from your designer and get a list back to contact.  

Once you have the big picture concepts in place, it is time to start considering how you will use a New York business photographer to help complete your website.  More specifically, you will start to understand how your corporate headshot photography will fit into the bigger picture creatively and logistically.

Next, think about what kind of photography is appropriate for your company.  If you are a law firm you might want to update to a more modern corporate look - something that looks great, but feels very professional.  A makeup company might want a look that has more of a beauty element to it. A tech company might want something slightly edgy. Not all headshots are the same. Choosing the right look for your company will only compliment your rebranding efforts.

Check out these tips on how to prepare for your teams’ corporate headshots. 

More things to consider:  Do you want the photos to be black and white?  Color? Against a solid background? Inside a boardroom or office environment?  Where will you use the photos? Will they be on a roster? Do you want the photos in a landscape, square or vertical format?  These decisions will become obvious once your creative planning has begun.

There are quite a few details to consider.  When you are working on a corporate rebranding project, you will save on time and money and build a more cohesive product if you plan for these kinds of questions from the well before you shoot.

When is the Right Time to Book A Business Headshot Photographer During Your Corporate Rebrand?

We have people that contact us at all stages of their corporate rebranding project.  We are always happy to help at any stage.

Our favorite time to be contacted is after a business has started working with a designer, and is in the middle of forming their gameplan.  We can be most effective when rebranding plans are starting to gel but there is still wiggle room for changes.

We will want to know, or work with you to uncover, what your goals are.  What are you thinking about creatively? How many people will you need to cover?  We will also want to know technical things like how you need the files prepared, what kind of crop you will use, what image size you will need, etc.  Planning ahead for all of this will make it very easy to use our images in the end.

In summary, corporate headshot photography is an important part of a rebranding project.  Whether we are leading a project or working collaboratively, the goal is to always create a professional presentation that shows who you are, today, as a company.

Let’s chat about how we can assist you with your corporate rebrand!

Group photography for your business team? Yes or no?

Sometimes, a company will ask our New York business photographers to do group photography. This group photo can be anything from executives to specific teams, to the entire company - no matter how big or small.

We believe that this is a plus/minus scenario (as so many business decisions are!!). On one hand, we like the idea of seeing the team together. It signals cohesiveness and can be another way to tell the world something about personality of the business. It can be done environmentally or against a background and can be a nice visual addition to use in your branding materials.

On the flip side, it can be limiting. The best example of this is when someone senior in a group photo exits the company. You would need a serious Photoshop ninja (and a big budget) to fix this convincingly.

Let's dig in a little more....

Professional group photography can result in business growth

There are several ways in which a story can be told about a business, an image can hold more value than text related to a product or service. What a group photo can do is:

• Show each individual face within the company or specific teams

• Illustrate your company culture in a positive, cohesive light. It signals to clients that you are a team that works well together.

• High-quality images can lead to better overall company values and representation

Why not just produce a single group photo?

So if we can just do one group photo that has everyone in it, why bother with individual corporate headshot photography?

In our opinion, group photos cannot stand in as a primary way to represent your staff. You might save a little money, but this photo inevitably has a short shelf-life. The second someone leaves or moves departments, this group photo is obsolete.

It also does not work as well if you are trying to tie in individual profile text to accompany that photo.

If you do not feel that you need to bring in a New York corporate headshot photographer to cover everyone in your company, individually, we, of course, have recommendations. The best choice, we believe, is to have an executive headshot photographer cover your senior team and then do a group photo of the whole team. This way you can profile your most senior employees but still capture the benefits of showing the world everyone who works with you. And, if someone leaves the company, it is a little less important to change that group shot.

The Exception – When a Group Photo Works As The Primary Profile Photo.

This photos is an example of where a group shot works as the primary photo. These two are partners at a small architectural firm in Baltimore and they brought our New York executive headshot photographer down to do a photo together.

When there are a just a few stakeholders in a company it is unlikely that either will leave. Therefore that group photo has more longevity. In this case we like the idea of the team photo. Not only will it work for as long as the business exists, but it showcases this duo as a real team. It tells potential clients that these people share responsibilities and compliment each other in providing a service.

So, what do we think about group photos in general?

We love it. Do it. But aside from the infrequent exception, do not use it as a shortcut to covering everyone at your business. Take the time to feature certain key people using individual corporate headshot photographers. As a secondary photo, group photography will greatly enhance your outward presentation to the world. However, a group photo should not be the only photo taken. It is not the ideal primary way to tell the world who works at your company or firm.

Advance your business through an image of those working behind it.

The Booth For Business recommends sticking with the individual headshots. If there's room in the budget, we can always take group photos of the employees working at your business.

To see more work with previous clients, visit our blog or gallery page. We also have a contact us page. Go there to send us a request for group photography, company headshots or any other photo needs.