Why do you need a corporate portrait?

I’m being asked to cover more and more corporate portrait shoots in Lancashire and across the North-West. That’s good news for me (obviously) but it’s also good news for our local businesses. Because it means that more and more people are getting the message: for a whole host of reasons, your portrait matters.

“I really don’t like my picture being taken. Besides, people don’t care what I look like; it’s what I can do for them that matters.”

I used to hear that a lot. Happily, I don’t tend to hear it so often anymore. I’ve no evidence other than my own experience to give you, but it seems that more businesses realise the power of a corporate portrait that’s professionally taken.

I’ll spare you (most of) the lecture, but a corporate portrait does an awful lot more than you probably think:

•   It builds credibility and trust
•   It shows you are who you say you are
•   It makes first meetings easier (because the people you’re meeting know who to look for)
•   It builds your brand, giving you a consistent suite of images you can use far and wide, from your website and company literature to your social media profile pics

Why DIY corporate portraits are a no-no
Fair enough, you might say, but you can do that perfectly well with an iPhone and a selfie stick. To which I’d reply (and frequently do) no, you can’t.

Be honest. When you look at a selfie, however good, you know it’s a selfie, don’t you? That may be fine for certain situations. It may even be fine for certain businesses. But take my latest assignment. This was a corporate portrait shoot for a debt advice service, so what we needed was imagery to reflect the empathy, skill, and care you’d expect.

With these shots, the background, the light (daylight with flash) and the subject all combine to create an image that shows capability, professionalism and approachability. It’s all there, even though you may only absorb it subliminally.

Now compare that to the hastily taken iPhone snapshot. Yes, the image quality of the shot will be pretty good. But the composition, framing, light and subject all need to work together. And if they don’t then somehow, you know.

And that’s enough to make that potential customer look elsewhere.

Let’s talk about professional commercial portraits for your business.

 

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