I thought it only fitting that I post a blog about corporate headshots today since I’ll be gone all week shooting over a 100 people for a client.

The same client had a few questions about wardrobe and what I’m most impressed with is how my answers were neatly summarized into the following list, so I have to give them credit especially since they added a few more useful tips!

• Wear business attire (coats and ties for men, business suits for women)
• Avoid pinstripes as they can confuse camrea lenses or draw attention away from your face
• Avoid chunky or large jewelry as they can be distracting
• Have a contrast in shades between your jacket and shirt
• Avoid beigh and chocolate brown as muted colors can come across less powerful visually
• Do not wear bright colored jackets but bright undershirts are okay for an accent color to pop the photo
• For ties and accents, choose primary colors.  Small patterns are okay.
• If you wear glasses, wear them for your photo if you have anti reflective coating. 

Below are some examples.

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Padraic Mc Freen: IBM

Stephen Mason

Stephen Mason

Stephen Mason

John Evans: USC / Katy MacLeod: New York Life Insurance

Deiva Blake: Creative Abundance

• Think about the market you are trying to appeal to and shoot your photos accordingly!  No need to shoot an environmental photo if the environment doesn’t add to your message.
• Put together clothing that clearly communicates who you are as a professional.  Are you the “business casual” or the “upscale executive”?
• Accessorize your image!  Take with you those accessories that define what you do.  In the case of environmental shots, props also work as great accessories.

Marisa Saladino

Mei Wallace: Mei Wallace & Associates

Daniel Franklin: Franklin Educational Services

Nazanin Barouti / Kelvin Ho

Estelle Baumhaur: E-Salon

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Your company finally decided to update the website and hire a professional photographer to take portraits of all employees.  What can you do to look your best?

• Your images have to convey warmth.   If the photographer doesn’t coax it out of you, keep in mind that  a slight smile brings likability to your photos.
• Wear clothing that suggests “professional” without any distractions.  Stay away from white and patterns.  White tends to become overexposed and take away from your face.  Men should stick to saturated colors for their undershirts, rather than white (see example below by Ronald Vacchina in purple). Women should avoid large patterns that dominate the image (see example of non-distracting patterns worn by Kathleen Griffin).
• Stay away from overbearing jewelry and from showing too much cleavage.  Looking attractive and approachable is the goal, not looking as “Sexy” as possible.
• Use lots of powder.  If there isn’t a professional makeup artist, men should dab their face with tissue to get rid of oils that may shine on camera.  Women should powder their face with fixed powder to avoid looking oily.
• Lastly, Keep hair out of the face! Be  sure to spray your hair in place to look neat and professional.

Corporate Headshot

Business Headshot

Professional Portrait

Corporate Portraits

Surgeon Headshot

Real Estate Portrait

Shooting on site at a law firm, my friend and assistant  Ben James took a photo of me taking a photo.

Thought I’d share what the result of that painful position for my back brought about!  This image was shot with one key light.

Image of Vanie shooting

Lawyer Portrait

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Recently I’ve fallen in love with the grid.

The images below are shot with one grid placed behind the subject to create a gradient, and a key light placed either directly above the head or slightly off to one side.

Depending on how severe I want the gradient to be, I measure the gradient light at either 1/2 or 1 stop brighter than the key light.  I sometimes use a 1:1 ratio as well.

If need be, I soften shadows on the subject’s face with a white reflector.

Below is an image of Gwen Dophna, shot with butterfly lighting and a grid placed behind her.

Instructor Portraits

Dr. Moshe Wilker needed a hair light (in this case placed directly behind him), to separate his dark hair from the dark background.

Doctor Headshots

In this image, the grid is one stop brighter than the key light on a white backdrop, creating a gradient from white to gray.

Executive Portrait

Sheila Fix is a lawyer and a recent corporate head shot client.  This picture is shot in the studio with professional lighting for a more formal look.

Lawyer Headshot

Here are some examples of corporate clients we had this past month.

Armstrong Garden Centers were founded in 1889 and are 100% employee owned.  They serve California gardeners and are the largest independent retail nursery company.  On this particular shoot we had two hours to shoot the President of Armstrong Garden Centers  in the studio, pack up, then drive to one of the gardens and continue the shoot there.  It was a challenge but we made it just in time before sunset!

Executive Studio Portrait/Executive Headshot

Saya Galudzhyan and Maggie Carnot are from CFG Financial Solutions and are examples of a shared studio portrait session!

Corporate Headshot

Corporate Portrait Headshot

My most recent corporate shoot was done for Lynne Segall,  who was awarded a new position with MMC Entertainment as their VP And Publisher.

Corporate Headshot

]]> http://vaniepoyey.com/corporate/corporate-portraits-los-angeles-vanie-poyey/feed 0 http://vaniepoyey.com/corporate/executive-photographs http://vaniepoyey.com/corporate/executive-photographs#comments Sat, 24 Apr 2010 01:49:02 +0000 admin http://www.poyeyphotos.com/blog/?p=1579 Portrait Photographers

Our corporate portraits are often taken with studio lighting for a more formal look.

I thought this would be a great way to show the difference between headshots in a studio vs. on location.

Even though both these images were taken with studio lighting, one was taken at my home studio with a backdrop, and the other, on location, incorporating the existing background for a more casual look.

Executive Studio Headshot/Executive Headshot on Location

I am often approached to shoot executive portraits.  This month I had the privilege of going to beautiful Santa Monica, and taking a number of headshots for a company called Coda Automotive.

Even though we used studio lighting, I was able to utilize their location to bring in some color and texture into the backgroud rather than using a simple backdrop.   You wouldn’t know it, but these two powerful executives are quite the characters!

Executive Portrait/Corporate Headshot