How to get the most from a headshot portrait session.
We all know that well crafted headshots of your staff can enhance credibility, trust and personal connection but we often find that people would rather visit the dentist than have their photos taken.
We explain how Ellamax will help you get the most from your portrait session:
How we make your photoshoot different
What happens on the day of your shoot?
What do you wear at your photoshoot?
How we maximise the shooting time
What’s a good background
Retouching your images
Video portraits
Shooting stills and video on the same day
How we make your photoshoot different
As a small team we are involved at every step of your project, from the brief to pre production, shooting and editing. We discuss, in detail before the photoshoot, what you’d like to achieve and what style would suit your business the best.
We keep the shoot light and relaxed. By putting people at ease it helps achieve relaxing looking photos.
We like to try different options, like looking at, or away, from camera, to help find the best angle. Maybe trying jacket on or off, or standing instead of sitting may work better. Bringing a change of clothing is another option that gives you more choice.
We can also offer video options - see below….
What happens on the day of your shoot?
We work together to formulate a schedule for the day which maximises your shooting time.
If we’re on location at your business we’ll arrive early to set up and fine tune the lighting.
We leave enough time between people, ideally by using timed slots where possible. This stops a queue building up that wastes people’s time and can lead to spectators, which could unnerve the person being photographed.
We give you time to look at your photos straight away – maybe you’d like to change something and have another go?
After the shoot we’ll put your images through post production and send you a link to download.
What do you wear at your photoshoot?
Make sure you feel comfortable in the clothes that you wear - comfortable in terms of how confident the clothes make you feel, as well as how the clothes convey the image that you want to portray. Are your clothes on-brand for your particular company and the image you want to show?
Muted colours can work better to avoid distractions from vibrant colours and patterns, but if crazy colours and patterns are your thing and on brand, then go ahead as it’s important to be yourself.
Maybe bring a change of clothes, or think about shooting alternative photos with and without a jacket, tie or glasses?
Make sure that your clothes are ironed!
How we maximise the shooting time
If it’s just headshots that you’d like we’ll make sure that we plan the day to fit in as many as possible in the time allocated. If you’d like a mix of headshots and team photos we can also help with that. Sometimes it can work better to shoot all the headshots first, leaving time for the team meeting photos, or staff at work shots, later on.
What’s a good background
The background to your photographs can say so much – maybe we can use your office, or workplace, as a background, or we can bring a separate background with us.
We can also insert a specific background after the shoot, whether it’s a certain brand colour or image/design that you need. In our studio we have a choice of backgrounds that may work for your brand.
You can see a variation of backgrounds on our portrait section here: www.ellamax/portraits
If we haven’t got the background you need we can recommend some background companies that hire or sell backgrounds that may work for you:-
https://www.manfrotto.com/uk-en/colorama/
Retouching your images
Now we’re not saying that you need it, but maybe you’re having a bad hair day, or that pimple has decided to make itself known on the morning of your photo shoot. Not to worry, just let us know your concerns at the time of shooting and we’ll work our magic.
Video portraits
Video headshots are becoming more popular and can make a portrait even more engaging – think of the opening credits to a sports event where the athlete photos are actually very short video clips where they’re shown with a bit of subtle movement.
Shooting stills and video on the same day
It’s a great idea to shoot stills and video on the same day. In fact, this is the ideal scenario as it produces a conisistent and harmonious look for your brand message as the same lighting and backgrounds can often be used.
Conclusion
At Ellamax we can help you and your staff get the most from your portrait session by using our experience and making sure that enough planning has been done beforehand.
We’re used to working in different situations, on location at the workplace, or in our studio and get a lot of positive comments from people after they’ve had their headshots taken.
Getting great headshot portraits involves a fine balance of technical skill, creativity and people skills. We believe that we’ve mastered all three.
So do you really think that having your photo taken will be as bad as going to the dentist?