Business portraits in Guildford

Everybody in business needs a “headshot” – or as I prefer to call them, a business portrait.

It’s something that’s essential if you have a website, but it can (and should) also be used on your social media profile on sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and so on.

Its primary purpose is to allow potential customers to “put a face to the name” – but it’s also about projecting a professional image, and coming across as friendly and approachable too.

While you can of course just take a ‘selfie” with your phone, or have a friend, colleague or family member do it, that’s not going to be the best way to get an image of high enough quality – both technically in terms of exposure, lighting etc but also from the posing point of view.

However, getting a professional business portrait done is something many people put off, either because they think it will be time-consuming and complicated, or they are worried they won’t look their best, or they imagine it will be expensive.

None of these worries usually apply!

A business headshot photo session in Guildford

Recently I set up a mini portrait session for my colleagues at the business networking group Connect South, in Guildford.

We scheduled the session for immediately after the regular fortnightly networking meeting, so nobody had to travel to a studio or take time out of their usual routine.

I brought along a reversible white and black background, and my studio lights, and set them up in a corner of the meeting room. Then each person came over to get a selection of business portraits taken.

A quick and easy headshot photo session!

The shoot for each person only took about ten minutes, and I provided a choice of poses with both the white (actually grey) and black backgrounds, and in both colour and black and white.

Because I was photographing around fifteen people during the session I was able to do it for a very affordable price per person.

Creating a relaxed pose

I pay a lot of attention to helping the person being photographed feel relaxed and comfortable – and also helping them find a pose that is both flattering and suits their personality.

Being photographed can feel a bit intimidating, so I try very hard to make the process as easy and relaxed as possible, explaining what I am doing and how it will benefit the final image.

You’ll notice that I don’t have the person directly facing the camera (like a passport photograph!) – usually I position them at about 45 degrees. This is more flattering for most people, and more comfortable.

A white background that isn’t white!

I should explain my comment about the white background being grey – it is actually white in colour, but I under-light it so it appears grey in the photographs. I do this because a pure white background can appear a bit harsh, and presents problems if people are wearing very light-coloured clothing. A grey background is also easier to use if a “cutout” image is required – it blends more easily with any replacement background colour or image.

I do this kind of shoot quite frequently for many businesses – I bring all the equipment to your premises and we can get your whole team done in less than half a day in most cases (depending on how many people need business portraits of course).

Usually we do the shoot indoors with a plain background but it’s equally possible to do an outdoor session, or in an office location, if you prefer (weather permitting).

You can see some images from this photo session below – click any image to enlarge.

Also there are more examples of business portraits in this gallery.

So if you’d like to know more about business portraits or set up a session, please do get in touch!