Why would your talent in business escape this rule?
In advertising, you could spend hours exploring a concept, staging it. Forty people on set for a bag of sweets or a box of cheese. But to showcase the people who drive a company, we often assume a selfie in the corner of a desk will do. Yet if advertising spends so much on the details of an image, it’s because we’re all highly sensitive to them, even unconsciously. Princeton researchers have shown that a face is enough to form a judgment of trust or competence in a tenth of a second, and that judgment barely shifts afterward. Our brain analyses, qualifies, forms an opinion on what it sees, before it has read a single line.
Preparation is the key
Everything shows in a photo. Before I pick up the camera, I take the time to understand what the shoot is for, what’s expected of it, how the images will be used, where the company stands with its image. There’s what’s said clearly, and what isn’t necessarily said but matters just as much: the mood we’re trying to create. Good preparation upfront is what makes the difference in the final result.
Whatever time it takes to ring true
Everyone needs their own time to feel at ease — some are ready in ten minutes, others need a bit longer, depending on the person and what we’re aiming for: an authentic, bold portrait that truly speaks to who the company is and the people behind it. My experience mostly helps me start the conversation and understand people’s hang-ups. I don’t like this angle, I don’t like it when I smile, I don’t like my arms: we all carry a few of these, often unjustified, but that’s how it is, and it’s worked through with time, not against it.
An image you recognise
I deliver a contact sheet, with two to three options per person depending on budget and deadlines, sometimes more for an executive whose image will be more exposed. What really matters to me is that the company doesn’t look like its neighbour, or worse, its competitor. If you placed the company’s logo on one of these photos, ideally you’d recognise it instantly: the light, the setting, the poses, the details tell you who it is. Once the selection is made and the uses confirmed (print, web, social), I send the final files quickly.