One of the most important things for any executive or business owner is to have a good headshot that they can send to trade Corporate Headshots NYC magazines and other media. Plus it is a great piece for your website and shows that you are important enough to have professional photography. Many people believe that they can either save by having “someone” at the office take one, or that they need to spend tons of money hiring a professional photographer come out to their business.
That simply isn’t true!
Almost all department stores and even some big box have photo studios and offer extremely low sitting fees because they make up the cost on the individual photos that you order. Usually this works for them since their market is families who need wallet photos of the kids and larger portrait sheets to send to grandparents. On a recent visit to one studio, the person in front of me spent more than $100 and I spent only $10!
Luckily, just like on my recent visit, you don’t need an expensive photo package. All you are looking for is one or two good pictures that are large enough for you to scan at a high enough resolution to show up well in print. Usually this is 300 DPI and can be scanned well from a 4×6 print.
Four other Tips to Make Your Headshot Experience Perfect:
1. To get the most out of your experience, you should have at least two versions. The first should be a serious photo with good posture and looking as business-like as possible. The second should be a little more relaxed, smiling and showing more of your personality.
2. While you only need one or two poses, I recommend that you use as many as are included in the sitting fee. Even if you don’t use it, this gives you an opportunity to select the best of the images, and not settle for one if it turns out you don’t like it. Plus it is fun to pose and pretend to be a celebrity!
3. Get a haircut and take a few moments before the sitting to check your makeup or do some touch-up shaving. Between the professional lights and the camera, a little stubble or some runny mascara can be very noticeable if your session is at the end of the day.
4. Dress well, make sure your shirt doesn’t have complex patterns or is all white or all black. Complex patterns tend not to look right or “dazzle” the camera and all white or all dark can blend in with the backdrop too easily.
NOTE: before you scan your print, make sure that this is ok, some photographers may have restrictions on reproducing photos without permission.