Step one: pick a location and background. 

Think about what you want your company to represent. Do you want professional looking traditional photos? You should choose an indoor studio with a solid black, grey, or dark blue background. Do you want your company logo in the background or your headquarters? You should choose a green screen and make sure your employees don’t wear green that day. Do you want more dynamic photos showing your employees posed around the office or working? We can accommodate most needs from outside to indoors to all around your building. We can even bring our studio to your office building if you can provide us with a room that’s larger than 12×12 that we can set up our background and lights in. We usually set up in cafeteria areas, conference rooms, educational centers, or any spare room that we can use for the day that your employees can filter in and out of for their headshots. The more room you have for us the better but we understand if you’re using most of your business space. If you’re near the Whittier area your employees can also come to my home-office and get their headshots taken but if you want it to be more accessible to everyone, at their place of work is usually best. If you prefer an outdoor location it’s possible but may take more days to achieve, depending on weather and number of employees, because I prefer to shoot at the best and most consistent times of day so that everyone gets the same lighting and quality. Also keep weather in mind if you’re leaning towards an outdoor session! We’ll usually be able to reschedule if rain is in the forecast but if you pick the middle of rainy season we might have to push it back further than you wanted. If you want to update their pictures yearly or bi-yearly try to keep the similar season if it worked well for you the last time. Or if half of your employees are shooting theirs in winter and the other half in summer we can try to make them look as cohesive as possible but we would recommend opting for an indoor location. Whatever location and background you choose just make sure it’s accessible to your employees and represents what you want your company to look like. I specialize in large corporation headshots that go on for multiple days but I can shoot any number of employees in most locations in the Orange County, Los Angeles County, and surrounding areas. 

Step 2: Prepare your employees on what to wear, how to style themselves, and all grooming expectations. 

Based on the location and background you picked in step one, you can now help your employees choose what to wear and how to style themselves. If you’re doing a business-formal indoor session make sure that your employees dress to match the background but not clash with it. If you chose a light gray background you probably wouldn’t want them wearing an all-light gray suit. Professional business wear like suits, ties, jackets, and dresses or skirts for the ladies is recommended. Solid non-patterned colors are also recommended and look best in a professional setting. Men should always shave or groom/trim any facial hair they want to keep. Trust me, it makes a world or difference. If it’s still looking a little sloppy, when in doubt, shave. Now for the ladies, makeup should be heavier than normal but no bright or distracting colors. The camera tends to take off about 50% of makeup off so I call the look you’re supposed to do the no makeup makeup look. I always recommend having a makeup artist hired for the day for touchups and I have a makeup artist I work with for corporate events and headshots who has been in the business with me for a long time. No one ever seems to be on the same page as far as hair and makeup goes so hiring a makeup artist for the day is a really good idea that I always recommend and doesn’t cost much. In addition, make sure to tell your employees to get a good night’s sleep and drink plenty of water to look refreshed and well rested in their photos. You also need to decide if you want your employees to wear more formal wear or business casual such as nice sweaters or blouses. If you’re looking for more lifestyle type photography like people working at their desks or with equipment or leaning on furniture then we can come ahead of time and do a consultation free of charge to see how we can accommodate for that and pick out which spots are best from a photography standpoint. If you’re a more creative or artistic based company don’t be afraid to reflect that! Your employees can wear brighter or unconventional colors and have unique makeup and hair styles. Just remember these photos will be going on your company website or your employee’s profiles and linkedins so keep that in mind when choosing location, background, and how they should dress. Whatever the look you’re going for may be, just make sure to tell your employees or email them with some tips on how to dress on the day of their headshots.

P.S. Punctuality and timing are key

When planning for which employees are going to come in when we usually have whoever is organizing the headshots on the company side have their employees sign up for time slots. When we do a time slot method this avoids people wasting their time in line or feeling rushed when getting their photos taken. They can be more relaxed and miss less work with this method. Also with a time slot list we know who we are shooting and when so that we know what name to attach with their photos when we send them back to you. This is the way I’ve done corporate head shots most of the time and tends to work out well. If people can’t make it for some reason they can always be squeezed in on the next headshot day and make it work. This way you’ll also know exactly how many days you’ll need to hire a photographer and how long it’s gonna take to shoot all the employees you’d like. This cuts down on unnecessary down time or clumps of people coming in all at once. Even if you told employees just which dates photos are gonna take place they might all wait until the last minute or all try to get it out of the way. Either way, it’s not the best way to go about organizing your corporate headshots. Also give your employees enough notice so they can plan ahead and be completely ready for picture day. With more time to prepare, mentally and physically, they’re more likely to be confident and relaxed when the day does finally come. 

To summarize – in case you didn’t want to read all of that: 

We specialize in large corporate headshots for entire companies that can span multiple days either back to back or scattered per quarter. Outdoor sessions need to be scheduled further apart as their are specific times of day that we need to photograph those particular sessions. We can bring the studio to you which includes lighting, stools, backgrounds, and more photography equipment so long as you provide adequate space for us to shoot in. Once you pick which background and location are best for your company we urge you to inform your employees of how to best dress accordingly for their headshots. We also recommend hiring a makeup artist for hair and makeup touch ups either through our company or an outside hire. I love shooting headshots and have been a professional photographer for over 30 years. I’m an award winning, accomplished, creative, amazing photographer (not to toot my own horn) and if you’re interested in hiring me for any and all of your corporate or headshot needs, contact me using the information below and we can go over pricing and details. 

• South Whittier, CA.
• Pico Rivera, CA.
• Santa Fe Springs, CA.
• Hacienda Heights, CA.
• La Mirada, CA.
• East La Mirada, CA.
• Avocado Heights, CA.
• Montebello, CA.
• Buena Park, CA.