Exploring Styles and Settings for a Dynamic Professional Image

Environmental portrait with formal business attire

First impressions matter more than ever in today's highly competitive corporate world. While the traditional business look against a white background has merits, there is a growing trend towards embracing diversity and showcasing individuality through various styles and settings.

The Classic Business Look

The standard corporate portrait against a white background is a timeless choice that exudes professionalism. It typically features individuals dressed in formal attire, wearing a suit or blazer. This style is ideal for industries where a traditional and conservative image is essential, such as finance, law, or executive roles. The clean and minimalist background focuses on the subject, highlighting their confidence and competence.

Environmental Portraits

An environmental portrait captures individuals in their work environment, providing context and telling a story. This style is particularly suitable for professionals whose roles are closely tied to their surroundings. For example, a scientist could be portrayed in a laboratory, a chef in a bustling kitchen, or an architect in a design studio. Including relevant elements from their workplace adds depth to the portrait and offers a glimpse into their expertise and dedication.

Casual Shots Outdoors

Recently, there has been a shift towards more relaxed and approachable corporate portraits. Casual shots taken outdoors can create a friendly and relatable image, especially for individuals working in creative fields or startups. This style allows for a more natural and expressive pose, capturing the subject's personality and portraying them as approachable and easy to work with. Outdoor settings, such as parks, urban landscapes, or even coffee shops, add a touch of vibrancy and vitality to the portrait.

By embracing different styles and settings for corporate portraits, individuals gain the advantage of versatility. Each style has its unique benefits and conveys a specific message. Having a variety of portraits to choose from allows professionals to tailor their image to particular contexts, whether for a formal conference, a personal bio on a website, or a more informal networking event. It gives them the flexibility to showcase their adaptability and multifaceted nature.

Should I Have My Corporate Portrait Taken Using Natural Light Only? Does It Matter?

Environmental portrait created with natural light only

Natural light is excellent! It looks good and usually doesn't require much setup to create professional-looking images. Due to this, the photographer can create more photos in the same amount of time.

The above sounds great, but are there any conditions to going with only ambient light? Yes!

Your light source might restrict your positioning and the direction of where the photographer can take your corporate portrait. Also, while indoors, the lighting available might be insufficient to be photographed at a low ISO setting.

Environmental portrait created with multiple studio lights

Studio flash allows the photographer to create professional-looking corporate portraits in a broader range of environments with different lighting conditions. You can still achieve Natural-looking images with proper setup and equipment.

Environmental portrait created with a mix of studio lights and ambient light

It is always a good idea to discuss your ideas with your photographer. If you have already decided on your photo shoot location, send a few images of how it looks to your photographer. The reference photo will help determine if any constraints might affect the photoshoot.

Standout with Dramatic Lighting for Your Portraits

Business portrait of aerobatic pilot for his website

Are you bored with the usual? It is common to have portraits taken with the face evenly lighted and with a white background. That is a very safe approach and is popular because you can use the photo for many purposes.

Dramatic lighting can help the photo stand out by creating contrast and interest. Of course, this would depend on how you intend to use the portrait and your profession. It is worth discussing with your photographer if this is something that would work for you.

Promote Your Business by Showcasing Action Portraits and Business Space

Action portrait of people working behind the scenes for aircraft maintenance

Images of people who work behind the scenes can help make your marketing materials look more attractive than merely using generic stock photos. It gives your customers insight into the work required to produce a particular product or provide a specific service. Such images need to be professionally taken by the photographer to showcases your company in a positive light. Professional high-resolution photos will also give you the option to do large prints which is excellent for corporate events.

The following are some of our images used at the Singapore Airshow 2018 in and around Changi Exhibition Centre (CEC), Singapore:

Consistency in Lighting, Poses and Background for Corporate Portraits

Business headshot with digital background

The marketing team may need images of the people who make up a company for various purposes, including websites, brochures, and presentation slides. Some companies may request that staff submit their images. This approach may lack consistency and sometimes even a massive difference in quality between the different pictures. Low-quality images can make your brand look cheap.

Before after of business headshot with background changed to maintain consistancy

A possible solution would be to hire professional photographers locally and provide a style guide to follow. Digital backgrounds can be created and used to ensure consistency across images coming from different photographers.