August 10, 2010 by
Sal Sessa
Dallas Business Headshots
Hiya folks. Just back from Connecticut where I had a nice get-together with the peeps at a family reunion. Needless to say there was plenty of pizza and cannoli’s to go around! Just can’t get that stuff in Dallas (sigh.) But anyway. Before I left I did a nice shoot at the Dallas branch office of (one of the world’s biggest companies) Deloitte & Touche. They are located in the Chase Tower Building on Ross Ave in Dallas. I have done a number of shoots here but this one was back-to-back, one every five minutes. To do this type of shoot, you need to know that your professional business headshot photographer knows what they are doing (LOL.) As, dear client your reputation with your superiors is on the line, not only for results but for the flow of the shoot as well. To make sure this goes well, we arrive at least an hour or more before the first headshot and set up in an empty conference room. To say that the “more room the better” is an understatement, but we take what we get from “near to closet” size to very large empty spaces. The bigger the better as it allows us to spread out a bit, place our lights how and where we want them, and be able to use the right lens to get a good business portrait look. In this case, our main client contact, Leslie was right on the top of our “most organized” list and could not have been better to work with. She had all the paper-work done beforehand, had all the headshot subjects lined out a week in advance and stayed on the phone giving them schedule updates as we proceeded. We were in and out in four hours. That’s a half hour to set up, a half hour to break down and three hours of photography. We have this puppy down to “the minute” and figure it this way. Three hours X sixty minutes in an hour equals 180 minutes. Divide by thirty headshots equals six minutes per headshot. To do this, Leslie schedules her folks in fifteen minute increments. IOW three people in a fifteen minute time slot. This is at our suggestion as we have found this to be the smootest system to date. Need more info on how to schedule your corporate executive office headshot sessions? Feel free to email or call us. We have been doing this “forever” (here is a sample of just a few of this year’s corporate headshots) and would be glad to help you. We will continue this conversaion and talk about what happens after the session ends. Thanks for taking a moment to read this post.
July 20, 2010 by
Sal Sessa
Dallas Business Headshot
So, today we were called upon by a large, local international accounting firm to shoot an executive portrait at their office’s downtown. They had (new) specific guidelines as to the format of this (and future) headshots of their executives which we tried our best to follow. These guidelines called for a more casual look with an out-of-focus office or skyline background and simple lighting. The examples they gave us were, well, not the best I have ever seen and it could have been a mistake to try and match them. This is always a judgement call for professional headshot photographers as you are “darned if you do and darned if you don’t.” If a company gives you samples that are well, great then you are all set. Meet, or beat their expectations and you have done your job. But if what they give you to go by is, well, uh not up to your own typical standards you could end up in trouble. So in cases like this we follow a loose interpretation, and try to get as close to what they ask for in the way of position, gesture and the feeling they are going after. But we would not be pros if we did not up the ante and provide good lighting, interpersonal skill-set to encourage relaxed gesture and pose, as well as some nice Photoshop retouching in post-production. We shot this shot on the 34th floor of their office building and since Bruce was taller than me (who isn’t) we had to get up on a ladder in order to cut out most of the sky above the horizon line in the photo. This way we were able include the nice, out-of-focus skyline images of downtown Dallas. For this type of shot we always use an extra long lens (70-200 / 2.8) shot at 5.6 or less to get that nice out-of-focus look. In this shot we used an Octabox for the main light and a “shoot-through” very small umbrella for some added fill. The light is balanced with manual exposure all the way around. All-in-all another successful business headshot that hopefully fulfills the bill for the company, the client and one we can be happy with as well.
July 13, 2010 by
Sal Sessa
Business Headshots / Rush Job
Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting the folks at TPN (The Production Network) who contacted us Friday about a super rush job they had the need to accomplish, and were seeking the services of a professional headshot photographer. This shoot had to take place on a late Sunday afternoon, with the final files done before the end of the evening. The idea was that TPN needed these headshots for a presentation to take place, and would be used in print form. SO, there was a lot to be done. We showed up at their offices around 2 p.m. and scouted a nice spot to set up. By 3 p.m. we were “moving them in and moving them out.” Shooting for professional art directors at a big ad agency is always “a lot of fun” (ha!) But, when the pressure is on in that regard it always makes it more interesting. These folks know what they want as they have labored through thousands of shoots as art directors and it was fun to work with them. They gave _and_took direction quite easily. Done by 4, and out the door by 4:30. Up the highway to my place where I did my editing and uploaded their proof files by 6 p.m. Since both of us are on deadline they were quick to pick and within an hour I had their six headshots choices and the work in front of me. What they were looking for was a consistent look. Be that black and white, grain, crop or all three they just wanted the photos to look good together. I ended up giving them both (color and black and white as well as cropped and un-cropped versions for their own future use.) By 10 p.m. (their actual deadline was noon the next day) I uploaded their files and busted their deadline! My feeling is that if “you are on time you are already late.” So we both were able to tuck this one away successfully. Always a good thing. We love this type of shoot as it encourages us to step up our game a bit which are toes to be kept on! So if you (dear client) ever have an “emergency headshot situation” feel free to let us know!
June 11, 2010 by
Sal Sessa
Corporate Headshot
Not So Corporate Headshot
Sometimes when we shoot corporate headshots for women, we save “the best for last” just for fun and toss in a few shots for their significant other if we (and they) have time. This is always fun if they are interested and oddly enough sometimes ends up being the better photos for the whole session. Of course, they usually don’t fit the occasion or purpose but when a client can “cast caution to the wind” we are happy to accommodate and encourage. Take Melissa, for example who arrived ready for a business portrait to help market her services for a local Dallas Real Estate company. We shot plenty of nice headshots for her with a few changes of outfits and backgrounds. After we figured we had her headshot nailed, Melissa let her hair down (literally.) This led to some interesting possibilities, some of which worked out for her corporate shot as well (not shown here.) But the most fun we had was stretching out a bit with some horizontal frames, taking out the color, adding grain, etc. Oddly enough, both Melissa and I agreed in retrospect that not only were the shots at the end of the session fun, they rivaled the more “corporate ones” she came in for.
June 6, 2010 by
Sal Sessa
Headshots For Women
Continuing the last conversation. What is it they say? The “devil is in the details?” Well, same goes for corporate headshots and business portraits for women. Of course you want to come prepared to “be yourself” and present a professional appearance, but here are a few tips as well.
About your hair. Please bring some gel / spray / brush to prepare right before the shot. The photographer may have these, but bring just in case.
Bring a hand held mirror. Not a little, itty bitty one, but you know; one of those 12 inch square types with a handle. Again, photographer may have one but bring just in case. And I’ll tell you why. Hair falls out of place when you are moving your head (tilting, turning, etc.) Photographer is usually looking at your eyes (for focus points.)
During the shoot: Smooth your hair. It’s hard for photographers to get those frizzies close to the edge of the outside hairline to smooth out with out looking fake. The closer you can get to “perfect hair” the better your shot is going to look. All this is NP if you have a MUA / hair stylist on board at your shoot, but if you don’t, remember the above at the minimum. In addtion to the hair, please consider these things as well: Jewelry. Keep it simple and classic. My favorite? Pearls. Why? They pick up the lights and give a bit of a sparkle catchlight that just makes them even more beautiful in a picture than they are in person. What else? Diamond earrings. Always work. Simple necklaces. But remember that mirror? Have the photographer hand hold it for you every once and a while during the shoot to make sure it’s centered. Hands: Jewelry for shots that may include hands? Well? Rings, bracelets, etc. of course. Your very best and favorites. But, please keep it simple (but still “be yourself.”) Fingernails should be perfect (just in case) photographer does “portrait style shots” with hands in the picture, meaning maybe get a mancure before the shot, and / or at least do your nails nicely.
That’s it for now. More later for the ladies of the corporate world! I know it’s “hard to improve on perfection” but we folks at Dallas Headshots will always do our best to help you put your “best face forward” the the business world!
May 27, 2010 by
Sal Sessa
Corporate Headshot for Women
At Dallas Headshots we shoot tons of corporate women’s headshots. And I mean tons. So I have seen the gamut run from women who show up nowhere near ready to provide what we need to do our job, all the way to women who make it not only easy but a guaranteed success. So here in this little post I want to discuss what women in the corporate world should do before they show up for a headshot session with their local headshot photographer. I could write a long, negative post about what not to do, but to keep it upbeat and positive I thought it better / best to use my headshot for today (Susan) as an example of what to do. Susan reached out to me for a headshot she needed “yesterday” that a magazine had requested. The magazine was on deadline and everything would be rush-rush. We had maybe a half-dozen emails going over the formalities and Susan assured me she would take the time to go over the “Do’s and Don’ts” and the “FAQ” that I request every client view. She showed up at my studio right on time with 2 outfits to choose from and a few combinations to go with them. Additionally she brought a few choices for jewelry and we discussed it quickly and came up with just the right look. Susan took about 10 minutes to freshen up her makeup and redo her hair (she had been at her office for 4 hours before the shoot.) She looked sharp. Put together. Her clothes fit well. They were classic. Simple pearls for the jewelry. She was prepared and came ready to make it happen. Her picture makes you want to do business with her, and says who she is. It not only sells her, but sells itself.
Here are four quick “Do’s” that pertain to this post. We can expand on these in the next post with some “Don’ts” which are a lot more fun.
1. Take two or three changes of clothing so you can experiment with contrasting colors before we begin. You only need the top half of the outfit for “head and shoulder” type headshots.
2. Ask me what color background we are using and what prime color would compliment it.
3. Tell me (before you arrive) the image you are trying to convey. What type business are you in? What is your corporate or business culture? Look at other photos of those in your company for samples to compare.
4. Dark clothes attract less attention and put the attention on your face and eyes.
So please read my “Do’s and Don’ts” linked in this post for now and we will continue the conversation in more depth next.
May 17, 2010 by
Sal Sessa
Alternatives For Corporate Backgrounds
So. Moving on. As we were talking about (IMHO) using the real background for your corporate headshot photo is always the best plan. We at Dallas Headshots have a bunch on hand and available to bring with us. But for the occasion that a client puts us in “service orientation” mode and requests us to help out with “the background situation” there are always a few things we can do to help out. As we talked about in the last post, I’m a big fan of Savage Background’s “Thunder Gray” and I use it a lot for corporate headshots all by itself. It’s clean, and conservative. Goes great with dark suits and any color. But in addition to that, it’s also pretty easy to do a “cut and paste” onto other backgrounds. It has just enough contrast for my taste to perform the technique. You’ll remember I said this is not my favorite thing to do, but you know, “Price / Quality / Service” and same goes for the big three answers to client inquiries “Yes / Yes / and, uh, well? Yes.” So when we have to we will try and pull it off. Interestingly enough Photoshop CS5 which just came out recently has a nice new upgrade to their “Refine Edge” function which makes this easier that ever (well, not easy, but reasonable without going nuts.) Here is a great little video by Martin Evening (the author of “Adobe Photoshop CS5 for Photographers”) that is an extract from the book’s DVD which illustrates the technique. Additionally, check out a blog with step by step by Collin Smith which makes it fairly simple. We also use Photoshop CS5 Camera Raw brush / desaturate tool to do this (also easily done in LightRoom 2 /3 beta) which is great and really fast thanks to the auto mask feature. So to sum it up? If you are a client and have corporate headshots you need done around the country, but you want to use our service, e.g. for the bulk of them? You can easily have your out-of-town corporate headshot photography services shoot their headshots on Savage Background’s “Thunder Gray” and we will (with their permission of course) put them on our agreed upon background. I’ll give you an example here in this post with the same background we used at the Moneygram hotel shoot. While I was there I took an out-of-focus shot of the painting. Now (if they like) Moneygram can have any photographer, anywhere shoot nice headshots for them (hopefully to agree and match the lighting and tone, which is pretty simple,) and they have consistency all over the country and in their case worldwide. Now that’s service for you! In addition I can use the background, as well as others I keep on file for other clients who want something different. Here is an example of a gentleman who needed a 3/4 type shot to be inserted into a layout. I’m just using it here to show how we can go from Thunder Gray, to another one of my standard in-studio backgrounds I use all the time, to the hotel background. Bing, Bang, Boom. As they say? ”You’re only as strong as your alternatives.”
May 15, 2010 by
Sal Sessa
Story of Two Corporate Backgounds
Well, so this week we followed up on a nice shoot we had at the beginning of the year for a really fun company named Moneygram. My associate and I shot a bunch of their executives at an Irving hotel meeting. Having a professional headshot photographer available for this type of stuff is great for companies like Moneygram and others as they can flesh out their archives and get plenty of backup for future use. They use these photos for all kinds of things. Brochures. Public Relations. Corporate Communications purposes and so on and so forth. When we arrived at the hotel to shoot these headshots we were asked to shoot them with an environmental background. The hotel lobby was small and cramped and since there was a lot of traffic we had to settle on a large painting which we threw out of focus. The headshots turned out fantastic. The company was happy with them. I was happy with them. But when they called on us to shoot a similar meeting that was going to take place in their corporate office we had to decide what to do about the background. This brings us to a few options, dear client and fellow photographers (I turned off comments so if you have any email me and I will be glad to put them in a discussion fashion next post.) I am not a big fan of “cut and paste” and / or “green screens.” I don’t care how good you are, it still can look fake. If you think you want to go that route of course it is possible to just photograph a few of your own out of focus backgrounds and simply pop the folks on there. That way when you show them on the company website (especially side-by-side) you have consistency. We can go into how and when to do that in the next post. But for now lets assume that unless we can shoot a whole company’s headshots on location with the background we agree on to bring, I say go with something that can be used by any present / future / in-town or out-of-town photographer. We do this by using a nice, corporate and conservative paper background by Savage Background which any photographer / client can find here . I use “Thunder Gray # 27″ but you can choose one that fits your taste. Photographers can do this and communicate to the client down the line. Clients can do this and request the photographer pick one up for their shoot. The smaller rolls are only about $25 and are perfect for headshots. So, to wrap it up for now? If your company, or your client is starting from scratch but thinks they may have headshots in other towns, future turnover of employees _or_ photography services (LOL) remember a “Tale of Two Backgrounds” is like a “Tale of Two Cities.” You can match them up perfectly, inexpensively and with very little hassle. Next conversation we should talk about instructions to, or from your photographer on lighting, posing and etc. to make your companies headshots match from town to town, and / or if you feel you have to cut and paste some of the things to make that go well.
May 13, 2010 by
Sal Sessa
Amber's Corporate Headshot Session
To continue. Is your corporate headshot photographer versatile and service oriented? If they are not, they well should be. Why not grab a few good casual shots at your corporate headshot session. I guess that may depend on who is paying for it and if your company has any issues with the concept. But if you are already there and don’t mind ponying up a few shekels to purchase a few files we are _always_ happy to give you some breathing room. Because, you know? It’s all about value. And if you show up with one outfit and just want to get in and out quick (not that there is anything wrong with that and if it suits the purpose) we can certainly give you added value to your session with a bit of time invested from you. That’s why we always (at least) ask folks to bring three changes of clothes we can look at when they arrive. Most people are happy to accommodate. Some folks just raid the closet and bring nice combos of stuff that coordinates well and then we take it from there. A lot of times they will arrive at our corporate headshot studio and once we look at what they have we come up with nicer combos that they imagined themselves. Add then at that point combining it with a background to contrast or compliment, and well, you have a hotshot headshot coming! I have to say that sometimes we need a bit more planning in advance of these types of sessions, so it is nice to talk it out a bit first. And, you and your subject want to keep it as simple “as possible” as adding in too many changes can work against you, especially when you start switching backgrounds in and out. Therefore we usually like to stick to one or two outfits and three backgrounds, and / or two or three outfits and two backgrounds. Case in point, the lovely Amber who came in for a professional business portrait for her PR business. She liked our style and felt it fit in well with her business image. When she arrived we tried a number of backgrounds and outfit changes that gave her not only versatility for other future use but value as well. Again. Price. Quality. Service. Pick three. You always can with us.
May 11, 2010 by
Sal Sessa
2 Headshots / Same Session
When folks come to our studio we like to give them more for their money. And if your corporate headshot business photographer is not doing so you might ask them why. Once you are at the session it is just a matter of spending a bit more time with you to give you an extra look. Of course we charge additional fees for each added photo file a client is interested in adding onto their package minimum. As these photos are “one of a kind” we spend even more time touching up, etc. until they are perfect for many uses. But it is optional. We just like giving them the choice. Case in point are the photos shown here. Deidre came in as an employee of a corporate account we have had for a long time. They wanted a nice corporate headshot for their webpage. She brought along a few things “just in case” and we were happy to accommodate her, and were glad she did as her casual shot looks great! So folks? It’s about the big three. Price. Quality. Service. And yes you should be able to have all three. If not with us, you should insist on getting it from your headshot photography service in your home town, or my competition.
