How to save money on business portraits:
1. Go to a department store or grocery store photo studio and get their $29.95 special. While you’re there, you can also pick up some shampoo, socks, cereal or any other supplies that you need. Sure, this will take a couple hours out of your work day but who doesn’t like to skip work?
2. Have the lowest priced photographer on Craigslist come to your office to do the photos. Hopefully this $79 photographer will show up and won’t leave you stranded because they couldn’t get time off from their day job.
There’s no guarantee that these pictures will create the proper business image that you need or that the pictures will meet the technical standards required by media publications.
3. Hire a professional commercial or corporate photographer. Trying to cut costs on your business image is usually a false economy. However if the fee seems beyond your budget, ask about changing the production values.
Instead of the photographer bringing a background, studio lights and maybe an assistant, the photographer might be able to do the portraits without these. Lower-production value does not mean lower quality. Just as much care and effort goes into an ambient light portrait as a studio-lit picture.
Ambient light photos won’t look the same as portraits done with studio lights and studio background. But this might be a good thing depending on your needs.
4. Arrange for several colleagues to have their portraits done at the same time as yours. Most photographers offer volume discounts.
