How to Select the Best Photographer for Company Office Headshots
As a professional photographer who specializes in headshots excusively, I get a lot of inquiries from companies looking to bring someone in for headshot photos on location in the office. For businesses, this happens maybe once every few years, but for me, it’s my daily professional life. This means that I often see companies make mistakes when choosing the right photographer (I know this because they hire me for retakes) because they are focusing on the wrong variables when making that hiring decision and are often not even aware of the most important things to consider for this sort of job.
This Blog post is all about how to make the best decision for your business when it comes to bringing in an on-site headshot photographer and what you should really be looking at when making your choice.
5 Things you absolutely must prioritize when hiring a corporate headshot photographer for office headshots:
How organized/responsive is the photographer?
This is #1. It comes before price considerations and before quality of work, because if the photographer you hire takes 3 weeks to get you photos and delivers a jumble of files with mismatched names and missing people, you have a big problem. Are there clear policies in place for image delivery? How long is the turnaround? Does the photographer answer your questions in a timely manner during the inquiry process? All of these things will matter much more in the end than literally anything else. This is the biggest complaint I hear from clients about their past experiences and it’s the biggest unforeseen issue that can come up. Above all, you need to hire someone who is professional, responsive, organized, and is able to manage the process from start to finish.
Is the work actually good?
Most of us can’t tell a good photo from a mediocre photo. And that’s ok! We don’t need to be headshot experts in order to pick the best photographer out of the bunch. But it is important to review all work a photographer is presenting in order to confirm that the quality is on a professional level. Seeing accreditations, awards, and professional certifications helps as well since those usually require a certain degree of knowledge to acquire.
One of the most important things to consider when it comes to work quality is actually retouching. Retouching is the one aspect that is harder to master for photographers as it is technically a different creative field altogether (that’s why there are professional retouchers). But bad retouching can absolutely ruin the result of a headshot, while good retouching can address many of the issues team members might have about their image.
It’s also a mistake to assume that retouching is optional. With high resolution cameras, at least some retouching is absolutely essential. Post production is also the best way to get matching backgrounds no matter when/where headshots are taken (more on this later) and to satisfy the needs of every person getting their headshot done. It absolutely elevates the headshots to a different level of quality, but only if it’s done well. Which is why this is something you need to make sure you’re getting.
Is the price a good fit?
As a business, there is always a consideration in terms of cost. The big thing to watch out for is when the cost is too low. It shouldn’t be a surprise that any photographer who is truly professional will charge accordingly. If you’re deciding on the cheapest option, you will probably get exactly that in terms of the results. You will have to do more of the work on your end (like organizing, emailing, and directing the project), there might be more issues, and yes, the image quality probably won’t be as good.
But that also doesn’t mean that you should go for the most expensive option. It’s important to know what you need in terms of the work and to find a photographer that will meet those requirements within the professional-quality price point.
What are the policies if things go wrong?
Having worked on-site for headshots, things never go perfectly. What sets a good photographer apart is the experience they’ve had and how they’ve been able to implement processes in order to avoid those issues in the future. Obviously not all things can be avoided, so it’s important to understand the policies in place for those types of scenarios. What happens if people get sick or can’t make it on headshot day? What about if a team member doesn’t like their photo? What does the photographer provide to make sure people show up photo-ready? Will there be a mirror and lint roller on-site for employees to use? I have a bag full of items I bring with me on headshot day to make sure I can handle any surprised that come up, but I also send out detailed directions and wardrobe guidance ahead of time to prep everyone. Smooth, problem-free photoshoots require work and forethought, which doesn’t happen by accident.
What happens for new hires?
Having a photoshoot day on-site in the office is the best way to get headshot images for everyone, but what happens when a new hire joins the team a few months from now? Working with a headshot photographer is an on-going relationship that can make your life easier or harder, depending on who you decide to work with.
The biggest consideration is being able to match the new photo to the headshots taken previously. Followed by where this photoshoot will actually take place. Having a photographer come into the office for one or two people every few months really doesn’t make sense for most companies. It causes too much of a distraction and takes up too much admin time to manage. This is why having a photographer with a Studio location that the new employee can go to is ideal. Even better if the employee can book their own date/time and receive all the information they need without the company having to manage all of it on their end (this is once again where organization is quite important!).
5 biggest mistakes companies often make when hiring a headshot photographer:
Looking at the price only
There is a reason why some photographer are cheaper than others. You will definitely be getting LESS if you’re paying less, and that tends to be consistent across the board in life in general. Less prep, less posing knowledge, little or no retouching (or even worse, bad retouching), longer delivery times, unorganized files, and more work for your team. There are some things that aren’t worth saving money on. It’s not worth the headache or the time that will potentially have to be spent on trying to rectify a bad process, lack of foresight, or skill on the photographer’s part.
I hear way too often that companies bring in a photographer and go through all the work only to never actually use the images because so many people simply hate their headshot. This isn’t rare or uncommon. There are so many shoddy headshot photographers out there due to lack of required accreditation and the absolute ease and cheapness of starting a photography business that it’s imperative to know the difference between hiring a professional and a potential hobbyist. We all start somewhere, but for companies who need professional representation online, this isn’t an area where you should skimp to save a few dollars.
Taking on all the organization work
Tasking a person at the company to do most of the work can easily and quickly overload them. A good photographer will have a process in place for these types of jobs that make it easy for any company or business on the day of the photoshoot. Things like making sure that everyone is happy with their headshot before they leave the office, delivering properly named files in a timely manner, and providing all required file sizes should be standard, but unfortunately many photographers simply don’t do this.
There is no reason why you should be hunting people down for weeks after headshot day to have them pick their preferred headshot (only to hear that they hate them all). You shouldn’t have to wait for files and then have to sort through them and rename them with people’s names, not all of who you might actually know in person. And there shouldn’t be any back and forth on background colors that don’t quite match up and aren’t consistent because the lighting is different from shot to shot. All those little details can and should be handled by the photographer!
Not considering the human element
The most challenging part of my job isn’t the Studio lighting or the camera setup, it’s interacting with people. Going into an office environment, I understand that every single person will come into the room with a set of preferences, concerns, and yes, even outright biases when it comes to how they look in photos. A good photographer will know how to pose people for the most flattering result, how to make everyone feel comfortable right away, how to draw out a natural relaxed expression, and how to work with individuals who aren’t happy with what they’re seeing.
It’s so important to respect and appreciate that everyone will have a different opinion about how they look and to work together to create a good headshot. This is also where retouching is important as we can often address concerns that cannot be fixed in real life. There’s nothing wrong with having the best possible headshot and using all tools and skills available to make that happen!
Not making headshots a priority
I can only imagine how un-important headshots can be to a large, or even small, business. Getting photos for your team, usually to update the website, is probably one of the last things anyone wants to dedicate lots of time and money to. But when you think about it, the image of the team out there on the internet is fairly important. Many times that’s how potential customers will decide whether to do business with the company. Those headshot images are often a direct reflection of how much the company cares about its people and what type of investment it’s willing to make in their team, marketing, and brand. And that’s a big deal!
Not asking questions
Not asking the photographer questions (especially if their website is fairly sparse in terms of information) or having a clear vision for your headshots can definitely result in bad images in the end. What do you want the background to look like? Are there any considerations in terms of lighting style? Where will the headshots appear online? First you need to outline exactly what you need and then you really have to make sure the photographer you hire is able to deliver on that vision. You also need to see that type of work in their portfolio to make sure they’re capable of delivering those those types of images (or email and ask for samples).
It takes a lot of experience and yes, some missteps, to develop a fool-proof process for on-location corporate headshots. If you’d like to learn more about my company headshot process, please click below to view the page with all the info. You can see details about the process, all the pricing info, and reach out to reserve your headshot photoshoot date (existing clients can easily book online).
