200 Headshots!

We photographed over 200 people in two days.

A recent corporate "photo day" shoot  was organized by an executive who loved what we did for her at her previous company and wanted to make professional portraits available to staff at her new firm. The company's internal communications system accommodated space for each user to include a profile photo, but many staff had not uploaded one because they didn't feel they had one that was good enough or business appropriate. Furthermore, a number of the company's executives' portraits were out of date or non-existent. So the plan was made to do a two day photo blitz during which we would provide four minute mini-sessions to the general staff and half hour sessions to the executives.

I have to mention a caveat...I would not suggest that four minutes is an ideal amount of time in which do create a perfect portrait. But these quick mini-sessions are the only practical way to deal with large numbers of portraits, and they will still, ninety-nine times out of a hundred, produce pictures that far exceed the quality of a selfie or a snapshot, while making for a more professional, consistent look across company directories or websites. Photo days are also an increasingly popular way of expressing employee appreciation.

Prior to the shoot dates I visited the client's offices for a location scout, to ensure they selected the best shoot space possible. Pretty much regardless of budget I opt to do a pre-shoot scout when planning to shoot on location, because it's my job to know what kind of space will work best, and it won't serve anyone for us to find out on the day that the proposed/reserved space is going to compromise our set-up. In this case we had the use of two huge rooms, so we planned to set up the make-up artist and ID cards in one room while we set up the actual shoot in the next room. I strongly advise a closed set, ie. keeping people other than the subject, my assistant and myself out of the actual shoot space because so many people are uncomfortable already...the last thing they need is a colleague watching or distracting them.

The photo shoot 'reception' desk where subjects picked up their name cards

The client had all subjects sign up for specific time slots, and instructed them to arrive ten minutes early for make-up touch-ups. They also printed out name cards which each subject presented to us upon arrival in our 'studio' so we could enter their name into the computer ensuring each portrait file was correctly labeled. As expected some people switched times with others for various reasons so this way we didn't have to rely on just the time sheet for ID's or spelling.

Standing portrait set. We were lucky enough to have two huge rooms, and had more space than we needed. 

One thing we do to facilitate fast headshot sessions is forgo a seated pose and opt for standing, with where to stand marked very clearly. It's amazing how confusing a photo set can be to subjects who are not used to being in front of the camera and may be anxious about getting their pictures taken. So we employ the most basic indicator possible...a picture of a pair of feet stuck to the floor. 

We use are a large, sturdy tripod that extends high enough that I can set the camera to look down on even the tallest subjects (for a more flattering angle), and a small step ladder, so I can see through the camera viewfinder! The tripod allows me to keep the camera in position so I can shoot faster and more consistently without having to waste time picking it up and reorienting every time I step away from it. This way I can step up to the subject to fix hair, assist in positioning, etc. quickly, and as often as necessary. One of the reasons we get the testimonials we do is my hands on all-in attitude, as I am back and forth from the camera to the subject regularly. No "stand there, smile, click, done!" on my shoots.

My assistant checking focus and expression as we shoot

Regardless of how long or short the sessions are, or what the budget is, one of the ways we mitigate the amount of retouching required and ensure our headshots turn out as well as possible is that we always bring a basic kit: powder, combs, hairspray, blotting tissues, toothpicks, chapstick, and eyeglass wipes. This time around, to make the experience a bit more special for the subjects, the client also brought in their own in-house make-up artists which they were in a unique position to be able to do.

Client's cosmetician at work

During any shoot on location when we are doing portraits that might need to be replicated in the future we photograph the set and make diagrams. We did have to replicate this set-up at a later date back at the clients' offices, and then again back at the studio, so it was helpful to have the info to ensure the new portraits matched the previous ones.

Measuring the set so we can reproduce it consistently in the future

After the shoot we delivered retouched selects for the executives. In most cases they chose theirs at the time of their sessions when we could assist them in making their decisions, and make sure before they left that we had one they loved. For everyone else, I delivered a set of low res "as-is" files to the organizer to distribute to the staff. Anyone who wanted retouching, a high res file, or prints was invited to reach out to my studio directly and order what they wanted individually. A few did, but for most the small files were fine as they were for posting in small format online.

Here's some feedback we heard/received after the shoot:

Your professionalism, efficient responsiveness and incredible personality made the headshot day such a hit. Know that I am one of your biggest fans...

I also heard some incredibly positive feedback from a senior...leader who was so impressed with your work that she used the word ‘fabulous’ (this is a feat!) Congrats! 

Just to add to this – I was the one who took that ‘fabulous’ feedback, and she said that apart from the beautiful pictures you took, it was really the ‘experience’ that stood out. She said you made her feel so comfortable, welcome, and at ease. That is going above and beyond!

Thank you for another wonderful photo shoot.

Thanks for reading! If you'd like us to make you look good please get in touch.

kathryn@hollinrake.com
hollinrake.com