Company Headshots

What Are Company Headshots?

Business headshots are formal portrait photos for a variety of uses such as company websites, business cards, press releases, and LinkedIn profiles. The most commonly used way is to represent individuals looking as professional and as polished as possible on various platforms. The most popular platform for presenting a company headshot is most definitely the average professional’s LinkedIn profile.

These headshots function as a visual representation of competence, accessibility, and professionalism. A great headshot is a strong first step toward building an exceptional personal brand that puts you in front of job interviews sooner, boosts selling numbers, or draws investors to your business.

For reference, it should be noted that “company headshot” can refer to either a single session or bookings for a company as a whole.

 Are Company Headshots Important?

Did you ever get to meet someone with whom you immediately liked or didn’t like? It is amazing how we create these first impressions about people sometimes without even knowing ourselves. Surprisingly enough, most people take only about a fraction of a second to create these “first impressions” about others – precisely 1/8th. And these first impressions strongly influence different aspects like recruitment decisions, buying decisions, and even willingness to listen.

The first impressions these days are often made online. Hiring managers use LinkedIn to review job candidates, potential customers view your employees through PowerPoint presentations, and investors research on the company’s About Us page to get a glimpse into its leadership. The online world is now the portal to making these critical first impressions.

Having an excellent company headshot is indispensable to making a positive first impression with these individuals, something that will have a great influence on your career and business.

What Do I Wear for Company Headshots?

For business headshots, choosing the right outfit is also very important to create an impactful first impression. Your clothing should reflect your personality, business, and how you plan on using the pictures.

We suggest a suit-and-tie outfit for men or its feminine equivalent for conservative professions like law and finance. This outfit carries an image of reliability and professionalism with it, and it is thus a perfect choice for projecting your expertise in these professions.

For other professions, watching the way high-performing peers and senior management dress on sites such as LinkedIn is helpful. Draw inspiration from others who have accomplished what you want to do instead of restricting options to people you personally know.

Remember the old adage: “Dress for the job you desire, not for the job you have.” Your attire should indicate how much you want to move forward in terms of greater organizational roles.

Should you require assistance with dressing professionally for your company photographs, consult our professional photographers. Our team is always happy to give you personalized suggestions that match your personal style and industry dress codes.

How Do I Pose for Company Headshots?

You don’t have to overdo it with over-the-top poses for business portraits. Our shoots emphasize understated poses, eliminating the odd and contrived ones some photo studios put clients through. Our attention is on presenting you as a professional, not on demonstrating our photography capabilities.

We suggest starting with basic poses to get you warmed up for your session. Just stand there and smile naturally. As we get going, we can try some other options such as crossed-arms headshots and even some candids.

Rest assured that we will try to portray your very best while capturing an element of elegance and authenticity.

What Backdrops are Best for Company Headshots?

For conservative professions such as finance and law, utilize neutral backgrounds in gray, white, or black tones. These tones are used to take stable and consistent shots. Preview all studio background options on our page for headshot backgrounds.

Bring out more personality in your photos for those in creative careers, non-profits, or tech. Select a colored studio background or have an in-office/outdoor photo shoot. These pictures have more personality.

For booking senior executives or thought leaders, it’s best to take multiple photos that will have multiple uses across various outlets. Ideally, have a few outdoors photos to add to the studio headshots. Different background options are available at Zen Studios!

How Should I Prepare for Company Headshots?

Preparation is key when it comes to getting picture-perfect company headshots that radiate confidence and professionalism. The following are three key steps to get you ready for your headshot session.

1. Prioritize Self-Care: Schedule vital self-care activities before booking a professional headshot photo shoot. Get plenty of rest, maintain regular physical activity, and soak in natural sunlight’s reviving radiance. Practicing proper self-care enhances confidence and allows our photo-editing experts to better work their magic, rendering natural and enviable-looking photos.

2. Dress Rehearsal: A few days prior to your shoot, do a brief try-on of your final outfits. Your clothing having a proper fit and no creases or stains will have a great impact on how the final headshots will turn out. This ensures that there are no last-minute disappointments and you appear at your best on shoot day.

3. Seek Inspiration from Prior Photos: Look over past photos of yourself and note any poses or angles you really liked. Taking these photos with you to the studio and passing them along to your photographer can act as great direction. Our experienced photographers will take this insight and use it to discover the most complimenting angles that suit your own unique personality.

At Zen Studios, we value capturing your best you in professional headshots. In just three easy and efficient steps, you will feel comfortable and prepared, and have headshots that reflect you and your business in its best possible way. Trust us to provide you with confidence-inspiring headshots that impress clients, colleagues, and partners. Get in touch with us now!

What If I’m Not Photogenic or Hate Getting My Photo Taken?

Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Far too often, portrait photographers unintentionally create an uneasy environment for clients. They tend to use forced poses and fail to get a sense of what their client wants. Or, conversely, they are rushed and don’t take enough time.

At Zen Studios, our first priority is to create a pleasant and stressless experience for every client. In our studio, we provide an energetic atmosphere with background music while always looking to get feedback from our clients. Our team of professionals is dedicated to getting that perfect headshot you will proudly wear online.

How Much Do Company Headshots Cost?

Want to take your business photo to the next level? You need company headshots.

The thing is, though, that it depends on where you are, package, and provider. What you need to keep an eye out for is licensing and retouching charges.

Now, when it comes to licensing, most photographers only sell ownership on photos that you “purchase” from them. That’s separate from paying a “session fee” for the hours you spend at their studio. There may be extra licensing charges depending on whether you use your photos on press releases, advertising, publications, or book covers.

And now let’s discuss retouching. Photographers will charge anywhere from $50 to $150 a photograph. So factor these into your total investment for the session. Hold on! With Zen Studios, we have something unique. Our prices begin at $225. You have 100 percent usage rights for ALL photos from your photo shoot. Not only that, you also get a retouched image, tailored to your liking. This is definitely a winning proposal!