Choosing between Corporate or Environmental Portraits

Head shots aren't just for actors and models. Corporate head shots are an important part of presenting a professional image and promoting a consistent and memorable brand. Deciding between standard corporate head shoots or an environmental portrait depends on a number of factors, including the sort of corporate culture you have and the image you wish to portray to clients and customers.

Branding: Match Don't Clash

Staying in line with your established brand is important. If you clash severely or come off as indecisive, that may impact how people interpret and relate to your company. Think of your head shots as part of your overall messaging and public relations plan. As you know, reliability is essential if you want to offer up an impression of stability, strength, and integrity. Businesses and customers are often unwilling to take risks, and unexpected or bizarre changes can give the unfortunate impression of being unsteady or erratic.

What does that mean for you? If you're a fun company that has a relaxed approach, don't feel like you need to go with a stock and stodgy presentation. Is your company more traditional? Stick with that tradition. You don't have to change your established corporate culture. Stay true to your company's identity, and you'll be much happier with the results.

Corporate: Fast and Efficient

How much time will your photographer have to shoot your head shots? If you expect to complete the process quickly, you should consider corporate portraits. Each employee will be set before the same backdrop, and there's limited time allotted to adjust the lighting. This provides very consistent pictures, and they can be completed in a reasonably short amount of time. You may finish as many as 40 head shots in a single day.

If you want uniformity, corporate portraits are an excellent idea. You can coordinate attire and stick with a particular color scheme or design plan. This prevents people from getting too creative or off-brand with their wardrobe, and it allows you to have a very clean and controlled image. These head shots are often used for websites, so you'll want to keep that in mind as well. How will they look on your webpage, and what sort of style do you already have in place? Communicate any ideas you have with the photographer. Direct him or her to your website for a point of reference.

Environmental: Versatile and Dynamic

Environmental portraits are a bit different. With environmental portraits you can use different locations throughout your office and lighting can be altered much more significantly. Do you have any architectural elements that you'd like to show off? Are you excited to demonstrate some of the character of your headquarters and your company's unique style? That's precisely what environmental portraits provide.

Of course, this takes time. Don't expect dozens of head shots to be completed in the same day with environmental portraits. It's a longer process, but it allows for significantly more creativity. You can have both interior and exterior shots, and you can incorporate much more of your work space into the photos. Because they're so much more versatile, you can allow your employees to present a bit more of their personal styles as well.

Both corporate and environmental portraits can produce excellent head shots for your company. Ultimately, it depends on what you want from the images. Your corporate head shots in DC by Tim Coburn can be as unique or as traditional as you like. To learn more, speak with the experienced professionals at DC Headshots.