portraits

In the Twinkle of an Eye

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They may be the tiniest details in a portrait but they’re possibly the most important. Yet many photographers don’t understand catchlights.

You may not need catchlights in every portrait. The most famous portrait, the Mona Lisa, doesn’t have catchlights:

Unlike the Mona Lisa, many of Leonardo da Vinci’s other portraits have catchlights.

But catchlights are very important in a business portrait. Catchlights bring attention to the eyes which are the most important facial feature for conveying emotion.
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Business Headshots at Conferences

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Are you planning a business conference, workshop or other corporate event? Would you like to add more value?

Arrange to have a business portrait studio at your next event. People could get a new business headshot while they’re at your event.

This is not to be confused with those photo booths you might see at parties and other social events. A business portrait studio has no silly props, no crazy backgrounds. It’s a no-nonsense, business photo studio with photographer, assistant(s) and, perhaps, makeup artist.
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Recognizing Younger Customers

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Maybe it’s my imagination but it seems that the average age of my business customers is going down.

From the late 1980s through the 1990s, most of my business clients were in their 40s to 60s. In the late 1990s to mid-2000s, the average customer was in their 30s to 50s. For the past six or seven years, it seems my average customer was in their mid-20s to mid-40s.

This is not to be confused with the fact that the overall workforce is slowly getting older (US numbers here). And hopefully this is not about me getting old.

My customers include a wide variety of businesses from technology to healthcare to car manufacturing, from ad agencies to public relations companies, from universities to municipal governments, from small local companies to large multi-nationals. In general, the people I work with or those whom I photograph are mysteriously getting younger.
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Photography value and quality

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When hiring a business portrait photographer or other corporate photographer, you might be tempted to shop by price. You may think that the lowest price means the best value.

With some tangible products, the lowest price can be the best value. But this doesn’t apply with services like photography and especially not when quality matters.

What’s the difference between value and quality?

Value: Usefulness or importance.

Quality: How good or bad something is. A degree of excellence.

Ideally a photograph has both high value and high quality but that’s not always the case. For example, a poorly exposed, out-of-focus family photo can be very valuable to you.
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If nothing else, business portraits

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You’ve probably seen or heard a movie advertisement that used a phrase like, “If you see only one movie this summer, be sure to see . . .”

On a somewhat similar theme:

If you hire a photographer only once this year, be sure it’s for business portraits.

If your business sells a service, the photos on your “About Us” page are the most important pictures on your web site.

A 2013 survey showed that the About Us page is the second most important page on your web site next to the home page. Anyone who views your About Us page is more than a casual window shopper. Taking the time to find out who you are means that these people are starting to kick the tires. They’re looking for credibility.
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Through the looking glasses

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It’s amazing how many business portrait photographers don’t know how to properly photograph someone who’s wearing eyeglasses. Photographers like myself, who wear prescription eyeglasses, might be more sensitive about this than photographers who don’t wear glasses.

Creating a good business portrait of a subject wearing eyeglasses is not difficult to do. The photographer has to pay attention to the position of the glasses and the lighting. The subject’s eyes are the highlight of the photo and should always be unobstructed.

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The colour of business portraits

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Are you superstitious?

What happens if a black cat crosses your path? Does the colour red lead to good fortune? Will wearing green bring unhappiness? Does white cause bad luck?

Have you ever turned green with envy, felt blue with sadness, become red with anger or turned yellow and ran away? Why is a red car sporty, a black car elegant and a yellow car fun? Would you prefer medicine pills that are green or pink? Does yellow taste sweet or sour? Does blue feel hot or cold?

Every colour seems to have symbolic meanings and these can vary from one culture to another. But are these meanings based on superstitions and stereotypes?
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