A team photo and portrait commission for a small business website usually has three parts. The first is a portrait of each person. The second, a photo or two of the team together. The third, a handful of images of the place where the work happens, whether that is an office, a workshop or a shop counter. The individual portrait is usually a close-up, the most common format in portraiture. The face fills almost the whole frame, and each person's features and expression come across clearly.
Group and workspace photos
The group photos and the workspace photos show what day-to-day life is like. These days there is a lot of demand for what is known as lifestyle business photography: people working in their usual surroundings, without stiff poses. Those images say how the company works and what matters to it, something a portrait alone does not always manage.
Consistency across every photo
What stands out most in the end is consistency. Everyone gets the same light, the same background and the same framing. It makes no difference who goes first or who joins a year from now. That way the team page and the profiles read as a series, with every face at the same height and in the same tone.
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A quick, unobtrusive session
The session itself needs to be quick and unobtrusive. That holds whether only the management team is being photographed, the website photos are being refreshed or there is a corporate shoot for the whole staff. Nobody wants the office at a standstill for long. Each person comes in, has their photos taken and goes back to what they were doing.
Natural retouching
Then comes the retouching. The norm in corporate photography is natural retouching, which improves each person's overall appearance without the retouching being noticeable. The idea is that the person on the website is the same person who then answers the phone.
Formats for the website, banners and social media
Nor do the photos stay on the website alone. They work for banners, presentations, corporate and marketing material, and for social media too. That is why it helps to think about formats from the outset. One example: leaving empty space on one side of the photo so that text fits in a banner, or making vertical versions for mobile. If video is wanted as well, the same day can stretch to a short piece introducing the team. Photography and video with the same light and the same style fit well together.
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What to settle before booking
Before booking, it is worth being clear on three points: which background will be used, how many photographs are delivered and what they will be used for. It is also worth asking about travel, make-up and hair, because these are often not included. With that sorted, there are no surprises on the day of the session.
The next step
Clear on what you need? The next step is simple. Just make a list of who needs to appear on the website, note down where the photos will be used and find a corner of the premises with good light. With that information, a short call is enough to settle the background, the number of photos and the uses. Evan & Natalia Simon do photography and video for companies and brands from Gijón, Asturias, and that first conversation comes with no obligation. Afterwards, everyone decides in their own time.
Links
More useful links: acelerapyme.gob.es.
