portraits

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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Still Life and Portraits

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Still life photography is making pictures of inanimate subjects. Portrait photography is the opposite; it’s about making pictures of animated subjects. Yet the photo techniques of the two are the same.

What separates still life photography from portrait photography is that the former is still while the latter should have (e)motion.

A still life is about the photograph but a portrait is about the subject.

In a still life, the photographer is visibly important. But in a portrait, the photographer should be invisible.

It took me a long time to understand this.

 

If it sounds too cheap

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A Toronto-based mining company just found out that if it sounds cheap, it probably isn’t a bargain.

In February this year, a mining company requested a quote for business headshots of six executives for its new web site. I quoted about $1500 which might be average for a job like this. The company replied that it had “decided to go in another direction.”

A few days ago, the same company e-mailed to ask if my February quote was still good.

Before replying, I went to the company’s web site and saw six business portraits. The photos’ EXIF data revealed that these were shot by another Toronto photographer in late February, about two weeks after my quote was turned down.
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Photographer or Psychologist

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A portrait photographer’s primary job is to make their subject feel good about themselves. Sure, you also have to do flattering photos. But if the subject doesn’t feel confident about themselves, they won’t like the photo results.

Why might they not like the finished pictures? They might think their nose is too big, their jaw is crooked, their eyes uneven, their hair not right, their smile not good enough, or any of a hundred other things.

A person doesn’t see themselves the same way as others see them. This is partly due to lateralization of emotion: a photograph shows the real us and not the reversed mirror reflection that we’re used to.

It’s also due to expectation and hope. We expect to look as young as we feel and we hope to look like a movie star. We expect to look better than average and we hope no one can see our flaws.
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Portraits and self-esteem

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It’s long been known that portraits boost the self-esteem of children. Family portraits are the most effective but sports and school portraits also help. These portraits have to be on display in the home and not left on computer hard drives or hidden away in drawers.

If you have young children, including adolescents, be sure to get many portraits done throughout their early years. Formal family portraits, sports portraits, school portraits and casual portraits. It’s important.

And it’s not just for children. I’ve seen the positive effects that good portraits have had on girls in their late teens and early twenties. I’ve also seen what can happen with older women.
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