Corporate Portraits Photography and profile headshots aim to convey a message about a company, its people and its offering of services. Annual reports, brochures, catalogues, websites, social media pages and profiles all require Corporate Portraits to show your team professionally and make the right impression for your brand.

Below are some examples of our recent Corporate Portraits Photography…

What is Corporate Portraits Photography

Corporate Portraits are are essential to any modern day business to some extent. Marketing materials, publications, company websites and online profiles all require good quality images. Images that make the right impression about your company and your team. Corporate Portraits are a specialised type of Photography. A good Corporate Portraits Photographer needs to be able to set busy people at ease. To coach them through the shoot, and help find the right expression and poses to show their personality and create a professional impression.

Depending on the circumstances of the shoot and type of shots needed, special lighting equipment may be required to achieve professional results. After the shoot there is usually some touching up that needs to be done. This post processing is required to refine the final images and get you looking your best. Your Corporate Portraits Photographer will also need to be innovative and have ability to achieve good results under conditions that are not ideal. For example getting good results in low lighting situations or working with busy CEO’s who don’t have much time to spare.

Avo Photography specialises in Corporate Portraits Photography and documentary storytelling images. Strong images that communicate your company’s offering and make a statement about who you are. We have a track record of delivering good results consistently even under pressure. Get in touch with us to discuss your requirements, one of our photographers will be able to discuss your needs and help plan a shoot that will give you the best results possible within your budget.

Types of Corporate Portraits Photography

There are various types of Corporate Portraits Photography styles that are suitable for different types of businesses and circumstances:

  • Studio Portraits
  • Outdoor Portraits
  • Documentary or Storytelling images
  • Group Portraits
  • Environmental Portraits
  • Headshots

These six different styles can be used to create a wide variety of Corporate Portraits Photography, so it may be a good idea to combine a variety of styles

Studio Corporate Portraits:

The key to consistently good Corporate Portraits is the correct lighting. The benefit of shooting Corporate Portraits in the studio is the ability to completely control how much and what type of light falls on the subject. If you are looking for clean, crisp portrait on a white (or plain) background then shooting in studio is the best option.

Outdoor Corporate Portrait Photography:

Outdoor Corporate Portraits can give a much better sense of the company than a studio shot. This can be used to highlighting the place of business or in some other setting that is relevant for the subject. Sometimes working with available daylight is sufficient, but often additional portable lighting needs to be taken along to create the right feel.

Documentray storytelling images – The Editorial Shot:

A business-in-action shot can give far more insight into your company than a simple face to camera view. Capturing your team in action in their workplace can be very interesting to your clients and people outside the industry. It tells a behind the scenes story, which helps to give an impression of how your operation works and establish trust. The key to successful documentary storytelling images is to capture a great portrait that feels like it has been taken spontaneously while someone is busy at their work.

Environmental Portraits:

This is similar to the storytelling images in the sense that the work environment is used as a backdrop. But these portraits are more formall posed and do not show people in action at their work. It is important to pick a relevant environment for your environmental corporate portrait that is as much the focus of the shot as the person being photographed. In corporate portraits this might mean in a factory, an office or some other location appropriate to the subject’s business.

Group Portraits:

Capturing a good corporate portrait of multiple subjects can be tricky for a number of reasons, the first being that you have more than one face to focus on. Also you need to make sure everyone is lit well, visible and looking good. Space may be at a premium depending how many bodies you need to squeeze into the frame. The photographer will need to be prepared for this and know what size group will be shot and what type of location will be used so they can bring along the appropriate lighting and lensing equipment.

Headshots:

These are probably the most common of corporate portraits. Some imagination is required to make your headshots stand out from the the rest. Unusual angles, lighting and cropping can help to achieve a different look.  Incorporating something from the business, or following a distinctive theme with the headshots for everyone in the team may also be something to consider. Generally headshots are done in studio on a plain colour background or on-site with a simple, non-distracting background.

Corporate Portraits on-site or in studio

Shooting your corporate portraits on-site at your business using your offices or operations centre as a backdrop is an effective way to give your audience a “behind the scenes” feel of your company. Using a combination of environmental portraits and documentary storytelling images is very effective for this and requires the shoot to be done on-site at your factory or offices.

Alternatively if the look and feel you require calls for a white or plain coloured background we can set up a temporary corporates portraits photography studio in a boardroom or office on your premises. If your team is flexible and can come in to the studio for a shoot you will have a cost saving compared with arranging a shoot on site. We can arrange to shoot your corporate portraits in our Johannesburg or Cape Town photo studio.

Formal Corporate Portraits vs. Storytelling images

In addition to capturing individual or group portraits it is often desirable to tell a bit of a story about your company. These kind of business-in-action shots or documentary storytelling images give your potential clients and stakeholders a behind the scenes view which creates a sense of the scale and energy of your operations and helps establish trust.

Capturing corporate portraits of your team in their work environment is a great way to create an impression about who you are and what you do. An effective way to achieve this for your company is to shoot a combination of documentary story telling images, environmental portraits within the work environment and formal corporate portraits that can be used together.

Getting the best results from your Corporate Portraits shoot

The human face of a company will often be represented by a small number of people: the CEO, board members and the officers who make the key decisions. Shareholders, clients and partners like to get an impression of who lies behind the strategy and who is setting the direction. They want to know whom they’re doing business with.

Executive Corporate Portraits becoming more important
(CEO and Directors Portraits)

These days so much more business is conducted at great distances. It is possible to enter into agreements with people on the other side of the world and begin doing business without even meeting in person. The importance of a CEO and Directors Portrait that portrays exactly who runs your company, and shows that they are professional, dedicated and trustworthy, has never been greater. The right Corporate Portraits turns a corporation into an individual, and helps form a more personal relationship. This is not something that can be obtained through a stock library images or amateur team photos.

The right photographer makes all the difference

Every professional should be capable of creating a picture that reflects the subject’s appearance. But a good Corporate Portrait Photographer will know how to capture the executive’s personality, connect their look and image with the company they represent. They will deliver high quality images reliably, even under challenging circumstances, and will make sure the final images are capable of being used in all the different ways the company’s communications department might need.

The right location is important for the story you will tell

Consider the story you want to tell: A portrait behind a desk can say a lot about the executive, but not necessarily about the company. An executive shot on the factory floor or surrounded by visuals that reflect the work of the corporation looks like an executive who is an integral part of his industry and of his company. It is often better to select locations that add meaning and impact to the shoot.

Plan well and avoid rushing

It is rare for a top executive to be able to be able to take much time out of their schedule to be photographed. In most cases the executive will be keen to move on to the next meeting or in a hurry to get back to their desk. Part of the solution is good preparation—not just by the photographer but also by the company. If everyone is briefed properly on what need to happen and when, then they can set aside a suitable amount of time and subjects tend to be more relaxed and the shoots tend to go more smoothly. Good preparation can also help with locations, some locations require special permissions and security clearance for the photographer.

It for the entire team

Shareholders, clients and partners like to get an impression of who lies behind the operations, support and service delivery of your comapny as well as who makes the decisions. If it is not possible to cover the entire team, then consider covering at least one or two elements of each important department to help complete the story.