What to wear for a business head shot portrait

April 13, 2018October 4, 2017 by Steve Nelson

collage of various business portrait wardrobe choices

What to wear for a business portrait

This is probably our second most asked question (second only to “what will it cost?” and maybe “when are you available?”).

We only have one universal response, and that is “unless your work attire demands it, avoid solid white.” If you are a chef or a lab technician or a physician you might need to wear solid white. Otherwise, if you don’t need to, please don’t. Getting a good exposure for a normal complexion generally causes solid white garments to wash out. That being said, a white shirt or blouse or dress under a darker jacket is almost always fine.

I’ll get into some more detail in a moment, but our second generalized response is “wear something you feel good in.” Seriously, if you’re feeling good – confident and professional – that will reflect in the appearance you project.

Headshot Business Portraits: How it Works

April 13, 2018September 18, 2017 by Steve Nelson

How it Works: Portraits

You may have worked with other commercial photographers in the past. Or, you may not have and you have no idea what to expect. Either way, this article will outline what to expect if you hire FayFoto Boston for a business portrait, or “headshot” assignment.

(Note: While we certainly work directly with individuals in need of a head shot or business portrait, the bulk of our interactions are with marketing or practice development staff, or with executive AAs. The tone of this article reflects that orientation.)

The first half of this article deals specifically with sessions conducted in your office. The second half applies equally to location assignments and sessions in our Brighton studio. The former is more convenient for your personnel. The latter is more economical. If you have any doubts as to whether to send your people to us or ask us to come to you, please get in touch. Outline your needs, and ask us for a quote.

How to book a portrait assignment

April 13, 2018September 6, 2017 by Steve Nelson

How to book a portrait assignment

We try hard to make it easy for you to work with FayFoto but there are a few things to be aware of when setting up an assignment. This article will focus on setting up a headshot portrait session at your office, but much of the information applies to assignments of other types. (Note: Portraits in our Brighton studio don't require setup time.)

Details Matter

With a little attention given to clarifying a few critical details, arranging for a photo shoot at your office becomes a lot easier. Here's a little script:

The x-Company would like to arrange a photo shoot for x-Number of employees on x-Date at x-Time (am/pm).

That was easy, wasn't it? So here's a little additional information. It takes us 20-30 minutes to set up, so when you specify a time we'll invariably ask "is that ready-at or arrive-at?" For example, if you state that 10:00 am is the ready-at time (meaning when the first subject has been told to show up), we'll probably arrive at your office by about 9:30.

Aspect Ratio and File Size

September 18, 2017March 16, 2017 by Steve Nelson

Aspect Ratio and File Size – Avoiding Problems

We do a lot of business portraits. The majority of assignments (by far) go smoothly. In the cases where it doesn’t go quite so smoothly the issue often has to do with communication prior to photography and delivery.

Aspect Ratio

What is “Aspect Ratio“?

In a nutshell, this is a description of the image’s width vs. its height.

Unless instructed otherwise, we assume a portrait will be in, well… “portrait” mode which means it’s taller than it is wide. Vertical in other words.

Why does this matter?

Here’s one example. LinkedIn profile photos are square. If the intention is to use a portrait image for a LinkedIn profile, we need to capture our images a little looser than we might normally in order to give some room on the sides for a comfortable square crop.