Group Portraits for Business
So we think you already get how important it is for everyone to have a killer corporate headshot. It sets the tone, gives the right impression and if you run your own business or even work for a business, it gives clients and customers the chance to meet you before they’ve met you (if you get what we mean!). We would always suggest that you get a professional photographer to shoot your corporate headshots (obviously!) but nowhere is this more important than when it comes to business group portraits.
That’s because a group portrait isn’t always as easy as it seems. Your photographer needs to focus on multiple faces and not everyone looks at the camera at the same time. Add into the mix that people come in different shapes and sizes, clothing can seriously clash and there’s always someone who can’t keep their blinking under control!
But for us, we love the challenge of a group portrait. Our style is to animate them a little to bring some life and personality to the images we produce.
So, if you’ve got a great team and you want to showcase them to the world, here’s a few things to consider when looking at business group portraits.
1. Don’t stand in a row like rabbits caught in headlights!
Animate your look to breathe some life into it. Whether it’s walking towards the camera or perching on different sized chairs there are some great ways to get your team to look fantastic! Here are some company directors, mid-stride, Reservoir Dogs-style.
2. Think about colour & style.
Brief your team before the shoot. If you’re going for company colours, make sure they know so that you’ve not got a rainbow of clashing colours and prints. If men are going casual let everyone know. The guy on the end in the suit might stick out like a sore thumb. So a little planning is key here. Clearly everyone below looks super stylish and stuck to the monochrome palette.
Black & white is very forgiving, especially if one of your team has missed the memo and arrived for the photo-shoot in the wrong thing.
4. Location, location, location.
It’s important for photographers to think on their feet here and get a little creative. It’s not always possible to place a big team in front of a studio-style background. Studio style looks great with much smaller teams (3-5 people) but as the teams get bigger think about an environmental shoot. Using your office space, a stairwell, or an interesting wall. Whatever it takes to get a winning group shot. And weather permitting, outside is always a great option.
Here we used the location not only as a great backdrop for a group shot but as the creative for the company’s advert.
5. Inject some humour.
Yes, it’s great to get a fun shot of everyone. Often we get these shots when we’ve announced ‘it’s a wrap’ and just as everyone’s relaxing we get that stand-out shot. But always sit your ‘funny shot’ alongside a serious version of the same setup. Funny is great but not always appropriate.
Here’s what one of our lovely clients has to say about us when it comes to photographing business group portraits.
“Jon is a vital addition to our marketing team. His photography is superb, bringing to life our brochures and marketing materials. The scope of Jon’s work is excellent, providing superb individual headshots, through to more complicated group shots where he organises and directs unique situations that add personality to our collateral. Jon is creative and the quality of his photography is truly fantastic, yet he understands our commercial needs and always delivers what we need in the timescales we need – I cannot rate him highly enough.”
All images Jon Bradley Photography.