Are you in charge of Business Headshots for your company? Do you feel at a complete loss with how to arrange this task? Here is how to organize a successful office headshot day.
Here are my tips for you.
Get ready for your headshots
How to find a photographer
You don't just have to use Google to find your photographer. You can also ask for referrals from friends or colleagues. Another option is to local at headshots at other local companies and ask who took their photos.
Communicated what you need to the photographer so you can get a clear quote:
-Number of employees
-Type of background
-Timeline for delivering the finished photos
-Do you need group photos?
-Do you need environmental photos?
-Do you want hair and makeup touch ups?
-Do you have a budget?
-Do you need to match the style of photo of another office?
-What type of headshots do you want? Shoulders up? 3/4? Full body? All this need to be communicated in advance.
How to prepare your staff
Pick a day when everyone will be there! If you have to ask the photographer to come back this is wasted money.
If you want people to dress a certain way let them know. If it's business casual, ties, no ties, relaxed, jackets, no-jackets, make it clear. Regardless, avoid crazy patterns - they are distracting.
Do your staff wear glasses? If so ask that they bring all the glasses they'd consider for the photo. Some glasses cause more glare than others.
Give reminders about headshot day one week and one day in advance.
It's very basic but please ask your staff to make sure:
-Clothing fits (not too big or small)
-No patterns or logos
-No stains
Think about a location
Does your location matter? Do you want them in the lobby or a specific place? If you are happy with a background I need at least 14' x 8' in order to set up (white, grey or black backdrop). If you need to, please reserve a conference room and be prepared to move tables.
Working with the Photographer
-Do you have a confusing parking structure? Or work at a large building with several entrances? Please let me know where I should park and what entrance I should go to.
-Who should I ask for at reception?
-Do I need to be cleared by security before hand? Please make sure that I am registered with security.
-I need 20 minutes to set up. I will come 30 minutes in advance to allow for buffer time.
-It works best to draft a schedule. If you have a lot of people you could simply organize by alphabet. Schedule around 7 minutes for men and 10 minutes for women.
-Do you want your staff to select photos on-site? Do you prefer that galleries are sent to you for you to decide? Or do you prefer that galleries are sent to each staff member? There may be limitations to any of these options, but it's an important decision and affects your photographers workflow.
-Again - make sure to clearly communicate your timeline to the photographer. If you need your photos within two days vs 1 month this changes their schedule and workflow.
-Do you need a test shot to get approval before we go about with all staff?
-How do you want to receive your files? I prefer Dropbox or WeTransfer.
Other important factors
-Please don't plan headshots after the Christmas party or other big dinners. Hungover is not a good look.
-Stress to your staff that you care about headshots and that they are important. The worst is when someone just wants to get the session over with and then hates their headshot. I want to get it right, but your staff has to care too.
-Photo editing is limited to contrast for pop, and light retouching. With good light blemishes and wrinkles usually go away. I do not do body sculpting.
I hope I've helped you on how to organize a successful office headshot day.
If you have any questions don't hesitate to contact me!
Headshots can be done on location or in my studio.
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