Regardless of whether you run your own company or you’re part of a bigger corporate structure, you need professional headshots to market yourself and establish credibility among clients. It’s also important to update your headshots regularly, especially if you’ve changed your look.

If you want to make the most of your professional corporate headshot session, here are a few tips you should save:

Company Headshots Need to Be Consistent

If you are hiring a photographer to take headshots of the entire corporate staff, it’s important to have a plan in place. From the background you use to what everyone wears, the headshots should look consistent if you want your firm to appear more credible online.

Consider Your Brand’s Visual Identity

Before you decide on anything else for your headshot session, relook at your brand’s visual identity. Are you still happy with it? Do you plan to rebrand in the near future? If so, you may want to settle on a revised identity before you take your headshots. This way, everything from your outfits to the backdrop you settle on will match.

Choose Your Clothing Carefully

The first thing to consider when choosing a style and outfit for your headshots is that these photos need to last for at least 2 years. This means the hairstyle and clothing you choose should be timeless. Then there are the finer details such as the color of your outfit. Every color is linked to a different mood and emotion, so consider how you want your clients to feel when they see your headshots. For example, blue is known to be a more trustworthy color.

Gather Good Examples Ahead of Time

To help you better prepare and decide what you want your headshots to look like, look at a few examples ahead of time. This will also give you some pose ideas, which you can practice at home prior to your session. You can even speak to your photographer about the best poses to use based on your brand’s identity and mission statement.

It’s Not That Serious

While your headshots do need to be professional, this doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the headshot photo session and have some fun with it. Your clients want to see your human side after all, which means you are allowed to smile in your photos and show some personality. Your photographer will help you find a good balance.

Keep in mind that your headshot photographer is there to guide you through this process so feel free to ask additional questions prior to your shoot if you have any.

Don Evans is a professional photographer in Greensboro, NC with over 14 years in the business. While he has a plethora of experience in many different photography styles, his main focus is on branding and professional headshots.