Portraits that mean business

Q: What’s the difference between an Executive Portrait and a Business Portrait?

A: About $500.   (It’s an old joke but sometimes it’s true. Read on.)

Business Portrait:

This is usually a head-and-shoulders photo against a plain background. Eye contact with the camera is important and a bit of a smile never hurts. A plain background, while not absolutely necessary, won’t distract the viewer. It’s also easy for any other photographer to duplicate a plain background in any future business portraits of other employees, should the need arise.

This type of portrait should never look like a passport picture, a driver’s license photo or a family snapshot. On the other hand, depending on the company, a business portrait doesn’t have to be a serious suit-and-tie picture.

At its most basic, the purpose of a business portrait is to show the public with whom they are doing business. Bonus points if the picture makes the employee look friendly and honest.

Customers don’t do business with an office, a company logo or a corporation. They do business with people*. This is why it’s very important for a business to have portraits of its key people to help put a human face on the company.

(* The exception is when dealing with the phone company, cable company and gas company. Ask customers their opinion of doing business with these faceless companies).

A business portrait is sometimes referred to as a PR Portrait since the picture is often given out for news media use and other public relations.

Executive Portrait:

This can be the same as a business portrait but often it’s more than a head-and-shoulders picture. It may include some of the surroundings such as a desk, chair, nice window, fancy bannister, etc. For some companies, an executive portrait might use a less formal location to make the executive seem more like you and me.

As this type of portrait can be more involved, take longer to set up and shoot, and have a wider usage, an executive portrait usually costs more than a standard business portrait.

Consider an executive portrait to be part of corporate image building rather than just a headshot. This picture should create a response in the viewer that says the executive is trustworthy, knowledgeable, confident and capable. It must show that the executive stands behind their work and is proud of their company.

The executive portrait is not just for the general public. It’s also for shareholders, potential investors, creditors and, for a large company, it’s also for the employees. Eye contact is important to help convey a sense of trust and strength.

For better or worse, we do judge a book by its cover. We form opinions about people based on their appearance. Politicians know this, as do celebrities. This means that a low quality executive portrait will not only make that person look bad but will also reflect poorly on the company.

Corporate Portrait:

This type of portrait, which doesn’t often get mentioned, is a group photo of several people who run the company. This portrait can be made into more than just a normal group picture by including some of the office surroundings, the factory floor, showroom, office building, products, quality control lab, etc.

The purpose of this type of portrait is usually for branding. It tries to show the company’s attitude and values rather than just a group of people.

Environmental Portrait:

This is not a formal portrait but instead it shows the person doing something even if it’s just talking. There may or may not be direct eye contact with the camera. The existing location and surroundings serve as the background for the photo. Available lighting is often used rather than photo flashes. This can be a spontaneous picture, such as the person speaking at a conference, or it can be a posed photo where the person is asked to do something.

The purpose of this picture is usually for public relations and news media use. An environmental portrait provides the news media with an alternative to a standard posed portrait. It has an editorial feel and will get more reader attention than a basic headshot. This type of picture tends to run larger in print than a headshot.

It’s important for a company to have both a business portrait and an environmental portrait of its key people.

Business Portrait Tips:

• The best clothes to wear are darker suit jackets with no obvious patterns. A darker-toned jacket will always keep attention on the person’s face. A light-toned jacket, bold patterns or wild colours are always too distracting.

• Shirts and blouses should probably be a solid colour. Avoid strong patterns and overly-bright colours like red, pink, orange and yellow. Pale or pastel colours are not usually a good choice unless worn under a jacket or sweater or if you’re photographed against a white background.

• Ties are optional, depending on your business style, and they can have reasonably bright colours or patterns, if preferred. Ties with text or logos should be avoided.

• For portraits without a jacket, long-sleeved shirts should be worn. Shirts should be a medium to darker tone with no strong patterns or prints. Solid colours are preferred. No turtlenecks, plunging necklines or sports jerseys.

• Bring one or two alternative choices. This may sound silly but make sure the clothes are clean and pressed and they fit well.

• If you wear all black you risk looking like a lounge singer or a vampire.

• It should go without saying but: no sunglasses, no hats and no hoods. I once photographed a company president who insisted on wearing a black leather jacket, hat and sunglasses. The company paid me a second time to return and re-shoot the business portrait after the president came to his senses.

• Makeup should be lightly applied because a portrait can easily reveal crooked lip liner and clumpy mascara. Do bring makeup and powder with you for any necessary touchups.

• For some men, if the portrait is scheduled for late afternoon, it may be necessary to bring a razor to the office to avoid a “five o’clock shadow”. Facial hair and stubble are impossible to retouch.

• You will be asked to smile (at least a little bit). Don’t panic. A smile need not be a toothy grin. A friendly appearance is important and that comes not just from the mouth but also from the eyes.

• Make sure to leave yourself enough time to arrive calmly and to be photographed. Rushing in frazzled and then hoping to hurry out because you’re running late will be evident in your face.

(Here are more business portrait tips.)

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A business portrait is the minimum type of photo that should accompany every press release. If a company has the time, it can always hire a photographer to do these portraits. But should the news media needs pictures right now, that company must have its own digital photo library from which to pull the requested images.

If a company cannot deliver the required photos on time, the news media will find pictures elsewhere. By issuing its own pictures, a company can help control its image. Or, would that company prefer the media use a party picture or vacation snapshot taken from an employee’s Facebook page?