The day when your company holds the photoshoot for your corporate headshots should always be a date you should carefully think about in advance. There will be a lot of moving pieces between your team members and the corporate photography team that you will hire. This means you should both carefully plan out everything so that the photoshoot will be smooth and organised. When thinking of the different ways you should prepare for the shoot, you will also need to remember the things to avoid. This article will cover the 10 things you should avoid for your corporate headshots.
10 Things to Avoid For Corporate Headshots
Avoid shooting at a small location
The location of your shoot will be an important factor for you to think about not just because of how your photos will look, but also because of the logistics and the production that the photography team will face in your chosen location.
Whether you decide to take your corporate headshots in a studio, in your own office, or even outdoors, it is crucial that you avoid deciding on a small location.
A small location presents issues to your team members who may feel too cramped during shooting, but it will be a much bigger problem for the photography team. They will have to set up all the necessary equipment like lights, tripods, backdrops, and the cameras which have to take up a lot of space.
You will need to use a location where the photography team can have enough space to set everything up so that everyone in your team can feel more comfortable during your corporate headshot photoshoot.
Avoid any last-minute adjustments to the photoshoot schedule
The day of your corporate headshot photoshoot should be marked in the calendars of all of your team members beforehand. Everyone should have enough time to prepare so that everything runs smoothly.
You should also coordinate with your team and with the photographers on how long each person should take when shooting for their corporate headshot. You should avoid any last-minute adjustments to the schedule so that everyone can finish on time.
Finishing on time is important as it is difficult for your company and for your photography team to deal with extending or even moving dates to accommodate those that were not able to make it during the original schedule dates.
Your team members will have to prepare their hair, makeup, and outfits again and you will have to pay for even more to bring back the photography team for a later date.
Avoid trying out new or unique hairstyles for the photoshoot
Your corporate headshot should be an accurate and authentic representation of who you are as a professional. This means that you would want to present yourself in these photos with the same look that you have when you are working in your company.
Avoid trying out new or different hairstyles from the ones that you usually have for your corporate headshots because you will want customers and clients to see what you look like most of the time. This will help them recognise you easily.
Avoid applying too much makeup before the photoshoot
Just like having to avoid different hairstyles, it is also important that you avoid applying too much unnecessary makeup for your corporate headshots. The makeup you should have for this photo should just elevate your natural look as much as possible.
The same principle with your hairstyle will also apply to how your makeup should look in your headshot. You will want the headshot to look as closely as possible to how you look when you are working.
Since you are most likely not applying too much makeup when you are heading to work, you should try to keep that same look while elevating it. You should not apply more makeup or try out other makeup styles that you would not normally do during work.
Avoid having a photoshoot without any hair and makeup artists
When scouting for potential photography studios that you will want to work with for your corporate headshot photoshoot, you should choose those that also offer hair and makeup services during the shoot itself.
You will need these hair and makeup experts on your shoot because they can help out those that have not fully prepared how their hair and makeup looks and will also put the finishing touches moments before someone has their photo taken.
Not everyone in your company has the knowledge when it comes to hair and makeup, so having these experts around will make sure that everyone looks their best.
Avoid heading into the shoot without finalising what outfits you will wear
Everyone on your team should already decide on what they are going to wear in advance before the day of your corporate headshot photoshoot.
Finalising all of this as early as possible makes it easier to approve, modify, or even reject specific outfits that do not align with your brand image and company culture.
If you are still on the fence about what you want to wear, it is a good idea to bring multiple outfits. This way, you can still choose with the help of the photographers and the hair and makeup team.
Avoid going into the photoshoot without a pose in mind
To make the most out of your scheduled photoshoot slot, you should avoid going into it without any pose options for your corporate headshots in mind.
You would not want to waste you and your photographer’s time by thinking about your poses on the spot. You will either delay the next slots or take away important minutes from your own slot, and may have to rush and end up with poses you don’t really like.
Try to come up with two to three poses which you think you can be comfortable with and mention it to your photographer as you get ready for your corporate headshot.
This makes the photographer’s job a lot easier as they will just guide you through how your body and your face should look for the pose that you want.
Avoid being in front of the camera without practicing your smile
Your corporate headshot is a big deal because it will be available on a lot of your company’s different platforms for your customers and clients to see.
This means you will have to practice your smile so that you are assured of a great corporate headshot that you and your company can be proud of.
You can practice your smile in front of a mirror so that your photographer will have an easier time finalising your look and your smile.
Try to think of precious and funny moments in your life whenever you are told to smile so that you can feel those genuine emotions to produce an authentic smile for the camera.
Avoid feeling stressed out before taking your corporate headshots
Having a stiff body during your photoshoot will still reflect on your photos even if only your upper body will be seen. You will need to avoid having your body feel tense so that your headshot will turn out great.
There are a lot of different ways you can relax both your body and your mind right before the shoot. You can do light exercises and stretching, you can listen to music and podcasts, or you can talk to your team members who have already finished their shoot so you will know what to expect.
Whatever you decide to do to ease your mind and body will make your photoshoot experience a lot more pleasant which should help you gain both a genuine smile and an elegant pose.
Here is an article you can check out which gives you ways to relax during a corporate headshot session: How to Relax during a Headshot Session.
Avoid having your photo files at incorrect file types and sizes
It would be a shame for you and all of your team members to do so well on your corporate headshots but eventually get the wrong file types or sizes that you needed.
Avoid having the incorrect file types and sizes for your headshots by coordinating with your photographers as soon as possible regarding all the important information like how many headshots per person, what file types you want the photos to be in and in what sizes.
Having clear communication at the start of the whole photoshoot process will make sure that your team and the photography studio will be on the same page from the beginning until the end when they can provide you with the soft and hard copies of your headshots.
If you are looking for a photography studio that will help you avoid any of these 10 things for your corporate headshots, then our team at fewStones can definitely help you out.
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