Corporate Headshots are booked. Now, what do I wear?

You’ve just walked out of a staff meeting and the boss has announced that a photographer has been booked, and corporate headshots are happening Monday next week.

And now the dreaded question, what am I going to wear.

Or, perhaps you are the Marketing Manager who has booked the session and you have your own concerns about what everyone will wear. After all, these images will represent your brand.

Let me give you some guidance which is going to make the process all the more easier and without the stress and the panic buying at Witchery or Sportscraft. And, if you are the Marketing Manager, then feel free to forward this post to all the staff involved, which may eliminate their concerns as well.

Why do we need Corporate Headshots Anyway?

Firstly, you need to establish exactly what the images are being used for. First and foremost, corporate images are used to sell people.

As a Marketing Manager/CEO/Business Development Manager, you are looking for images that are going to show prospective clients who they are going to work with and a reason to connect with the business. You want to show them people who are confident, trustworthy, professional, and authoritative.

These images will potentially be used for the company website, on external articles about the company, on tenders that will go to clients and possibly any industry awards that you may have worked really hard for.

As a staff member being photographed, you are selling yourself just as much, for your position now, and any position you wish to apply for in the future. The visual part of our brains plays a significant role in perception of people, and the person who looks confident and professional is going to have the edge.

Have I convinced you to bring your A game to this yet?

How does this correlate to clothing choices?

Your clothing choices are going to give you that next level of confidence and bring professionalism to your image. So lets break it down as to what you need to take into consideration.

Industry Standards

First and foremost, you want to set the scene for the job you are doing for your company. If you are a lawyer or an accountant, you are going to dress far differently, than if you are a gardener or a child care worker. If you are a creative fabric designer, you are going to need to incorporate that aspect of your job to the shoot as well. Don’t confuse the viewer by portraying an element that is not going to provide a positive image to the job you are trying to sell.

Company Standards

If your company has a dress code, then now is the time to one up that code and make it shine. You are presenting the best of your self here, so make sure its how you want the executives to see you the next time its performance review time. And while we are on the idea of standards, those extra few wines after dinner are going to show in your eyes tomorrow morning, so maybe think about hydrating the night before and get some good sleep in as well. It can only help the story.

Personality

If you are painter, trapped inside the brain and body of Marketing Executive, you need to park that artistic, eccentric look for the moment, and think about what is going to sell you as a Marketing Executive. Then, maybe bring a small dash of appropriately toned down colour back to show that you are human, because that’s who you are and why you are so good at your job.

Photographically…

As a photographer, I want to see your images be used far and wide with pride for the person and the people they represent. The only way that will happen is if you love what you see. Here are a couple of ways you can do that:

• The camera is going to focus on the brightest part of the image. Don’t wear bright colour where you don’t want the focus of the image to be.
• This includes skin too, and I say this for all the women out there particularly. Regardless of your size or weight or background, no one likes their own upper arms in a photograph, no one. Unless you are a swimmer or a die-hard cross-fitter and your session purpose is to show off your guns, wear a sleeve. You’ll love your images so much more if you do.
• The issue with the lightest part of an image, is really obvious when you have that paired up with the darkest part of the image. So keep the stripes and spots and patterns in the wardrobe and consider wearing something that is going to highlight your eyes and your welcoming smile. Don’t compete with yourself here.
• Keep the colour corporate. Think about the website and what its purpose is. What will that hot pink top look like on your company website with the company branding, colours and logo on the same page?

Finally…

You will need to look at these images regularly. When deciding what you will wear, pick up the outfit in your hands and think about how you felt wearing it last time. If you felt strong and confident and ready to take on the world, then that’s the outfit you should choose.

Be happy and confident in what you are wearing, the rest you need to leave to me.

If you are looking for corporate headshots you can find more information here.