Preparing your photoshoot

Here are some general tips and best practices concerning corporate portraits:

Everyone

1. Wear clothes that are comfortable and that make you feel and look great.
2. Bring 2-3 changes of clothing to have choices on set.
3. Clothes should be neatly pressed and should be new or look new.
4. Avoid busy patterns, bold graphics, and distracting stripes and don't wear phones etc. in these clothings.
5. Cream, beige, pastels, peach or yellow colors typically don’t work well on camera.
6. Don’t cut or dye your hair right before the shoot. A new haircut looks its best after a week, and freshly colored hair can look too vibrant and unnatural on camera.
7. Make sure to get enough sleep the night before the shoot and drink lots of water.

Ladies

1. The standard corporate look is a suit jacket and blouse.
2. For a no-jacket casual look, bring solid colored blouses or collared shirts that are darker than your skin tone. Keep patterns to a minimum.
3. A white blouse by itself isn’t recommended unless you plan to wear it under something.
4. Don’t wear sleeveless tops or dresses unless worn under a jacket or sweater. Bare arms can be distracting.
5. Avoid shiny and sheer fabrics.
6. Keep jewelry simple – small is better.
7. Avoid statement jewelry that would distract from your face or that looks dated or too trendy. The picture is about your face, not the jewelry.

Gents

1. The standard corporate look is a suit jacket, dress shirt and tie.
2. A casual business look can be an open jacket and shirt, collared shirt under a thin sweater, or button-down shirt with rolled cuffs.
3. Short sleeves are typically not recommended for guys, even for casual looks. Exception to the rule are branded company polos or t-shirts.
4. Wear solid colored shirts or small darker patterns.
5. A white dress shirt by itself doesn’t work well on camera unless you plan to wear it underneath a jacket or sweater.
6. Bring a v-neck undershirt or no undershirt at all so it doesn’t show.
7. Make sure your jackets and shirts fit you properly. Not too tight. Not too loose. A poor fitting jacket or shirt will be obvious in the photos especially around the neck and shoulders.
8. Don’t wear shiny ties or fabrics.
9. The best rule of thumb for facial hair is to commit to your look- either a beard, mustache, or nothing at all. Anything scruffy or stubbly in between is not advisable. If you have a beard, trim it evenly so it’s nicely groomed. If you’re going clean-shaven, get a good shave the morning of your headshot.

After you’ve checked all of these pre-photoshoot to-do’s off your list, you’ll be ready to take professional company headshots that make you look amazing.You may want to get really creative and break some best-practice rules for headshots. We’re all for breaking rules. Just make sure the results are better off for it. 

Most importantly – have fun with this. If you do this at the office for the entire team: It’s a great way to get your team bonding!