We knocked out the standard business head shots first. Unless I am trying to specifically match the style of a company’s headshot, I tend to shoot a variety of backgrounds for the client. I can do this quickly by moving a few prearranged backdrops.
The requirements for Jason were slightly different since the headshot was going to include his company logo on his shirt. He owns Performance Audio & Video Atlanta…one of the best audio, video and home automation companies in Atlanta. Give him a call if you need any of that.
who contacted me to have portraits made.
Hopefully, that comes through in the photos.
and maybe even for some online dating.
included it. The matching background color ties it all together.
This is one of those cases where I needed to match a style of portrait that I took several years before. Luckily, I meticulously measure the position of my equipment, flash power and camera settings for every job I do. That way if an office manager says “we need a photo of our new doctor and we want it to look JUST LIKE the ones you took 2 years ago, I can do it.
I have even kept old studio flash sets due to recurring jobs… even though I have much more capable and expensive gear now. The bottom line is that it is faster for me to set up the old stuff instead of recalibrate a previous setup with new gear. You can decide for yourself if that makes me smart or lazy.
This week at Graphic Works I had the opportunity to take head shot portraits of 12 lawyers of a local Atlanta law firm. They are going to use the photos for their web site profiles and for publications when needed.
I love making these kind of photos because it gives me a chance to connect with people one-on-one. I also like delivering photos that the subject will be happy to use… even ones who inform me that they “hate to have their picture taken”. My goal is to win those people over and make them change their mind about having a portrait made… or at least to make the process seem painless.
The mood during my portrait sessions is laid back and fun. I will adjust my shooting style based on the particular person sitting in front of me, but I always want my subjects to feel at ease because that makes the best portraits.
My typical workflow for corporate portraits involves setup on in the client’s office or in our studio. Then I schedule about 15 minutes per person to shoot, review and pick the final image. I shoot with my camera tethered to a computer so that we can make an “on-the-spot” review and choose the final photo. We discuss any retouching requests at that time too. Clients love seeing the photo that they will get and it saves me from their second guessing later. Everyone is happy this way.
Check out my business photography portfolio at AtlantaBusinessPhotos.com
Finally, the shooting was over. It took 6 days to shoot 128 corporate portraits on location at a large Atlanta corporation. The actual photography could have been done faster, but it was best to offer time slots to accommodate the busy schedules of so many people.
I shot these with my camera tethered to my computer so the subjects could see their photos and help chose the best photo. If there was extra time between subjects, I would retouch photos on the spot. This made me popular with some of the people who had special retouching requests.
To celebrate the end of this large job, I made a simple time-lapse movie of deconstructing my portable portrait studio. This video also shows the last person being photographed too.
I am currently in the process of taking 120 head shot portraits for a very large corporate insurance company in Atlanta. I have the luxury of 15 minutes with each person which is great because I get to learn a little bit about each one. The portraits are slightly informal so they all do not have to match exactly, but definitely NO TIES. Here are the first 31 without final cropping. Only 89 left to go!
Recently I was asked by a client to retouch a corporate headshot photo that I took of her. I usually touch up minor skin blemishes and fly-away hairs, but this request was more than that. She told me that in the past year she had suffered severe medical issues resulting in a weight gain that she was uncomfortable with. I can relate.
When I get such requests, I have no problem tweaking the image to make them happy… after all it’s their face and a lot cheaper than plastic surgery. We all just want to look good.