5 Headshot Tips For The C-Suite Executives Photography Sessions

www.alanrowlette.ie

© Alan Rowlette 

Executive headshots have become critically important for C-Suite execs as the world has become increasingly digital and socially enabled. 

From LinkedIn profiles, to company websites, to press releases – high-powered executives need corporate headshots that show the the outside world that they’re competent, friendly, and trustworthy.

While some corporate and startup executives may think that “their work speaks for itself”, oftentimes investors, media, and even potential employees will make split-second decisions about whether you look like they 

And these days, many of those first impressions start online.

In this article we’ll cover our top for executive headshot tips. Let’s get started.

Choose an Experienced Corporate Photographer

If possible, resist the temptation to hire a generalist photographer or someone who is just starting out. 

While anyone can take a photo with a fancy camera, there are a bunch of small details that are critically important for ensuring the best results possible. 

For instance:

Can anyone edit a headshot to remove distracting stray hairs, whiten teeth, and acne – without making the edits obvious?

Can anyone ensure that you have a smooth experience on the day of your session? Can anyone show up on time and be prepared with the right equipment? 

Can anyone coach you on posing and smiling so that you look smart, friendly, and charismatic in your corporate headshot?

Probably not. And that’s why you hire a pro who focuses exclusively on headshot photography.

Choose the Right Style and Backdrop for your Industry

In general, some industries tend to use certain backdrops. While these are not hard set rules, it’s wise to take a look at your peers on LinkedIn and their company websites to see what backdrops they’re using.

To make things easier for you, we’ve outlined the most common industries and their typical backdrop below:

Dress for the Job You Want (Even If You’re Already the CEO)

Make sure to dress up for your executive headshots. In general, you’ll want to wear solid-coloured new-looking clothing. 

While some people, particularly in the Bay Area, like to dress casual in their headshot, we don’t recommend wearing a t-shirt in your photos.  

Usually, for executive headshots, that means a solid-coloured button down shirt and blazer. For C-suite executives or corporate leaders working in highly-regulated industries, wearing a tie is also the norm.

However, its OK for professionals working in tech to wear more casual attire like a nice sweater or polo, but you should be aware that your clothing choice may not impress old-school corporate execs who are used to professional formal attire.

So, if you’re selling to those people or hiring them (as the owner/CEO) your casual clothing may appear unprofessional to those audiences. 

Get a Range of Photos to Use 

If you’re a senior executive or entrepreneur getting your CEO headshots, you’ll want to have a variety of photos to use in different scenarios. Ideally, you would get a combination of studio shots along with photos at your office/outdoors.

If you use the exact same photo across multiple platforms (LinkedIn, Email, Website, and Marketing Materials),  it can look a bit amateurish to the outside world. For these circumstances, we recommend out Platinum Branding Session, which is 60-minutes split along studio and outdoor backdrops for maximum variety. 

Professionalism

Make sure your photographer is a working professional in the corporate photography area. You don’t want the CEO having to wait while the photographers gets their camera settings right. Or, worse still you don’t want someone who can’t keep the CEO happy during the shoot. 

The photographer must be fast, efficient, friendly and highly skilled.

Alan Rowlette is a Dublin-based corporate, PR, event, conference and commercial photographer. Alan's corporate photographic practice specialises in corporate headshots, corporate events, meetings, launches  and conference photography.

 Alan's commercial photography focuses on food, restaurant, people, fitness, product and property photography.  

As with all of our work we shoot in a contemporary and dynamic reportage style. 

To make and enquiry, or to view more of our work please go to

 www.alanrowlette.ie.

Alan’s background is firmly rooted in photojournalism and documentary photography and this shines through in his work. Alan specialises in bringing events, brands and businesses to life with his fresh and dynamic reportage approach. Alan's client list includes Google, Meta, Salesforce, Hubspot, TikTok, Diageo, The Royal Convention Centre Dublin, Aviva Stadium, The Convention Centre Dublin, Croke Park, Allied Irish Bank, Bank of Ireland, Bord Bia, Failte Ireland, The Happy Pear, Lidl, Bord Gais, Gala Foods and Wicklow Wolf Brewing.

Alan is a member of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, The Dublin Convention Bureau, Association of Irish Professional Conference Organisers and SITE Global.

You can view more of Alan Rowlette’s work here:

  Dublin Headshot Photography

Dublin LinkedIn Photography

  Dublin Corporate Photography

Dublin Event Photography

Dublin Conference Photography

Dublin Business Photography

Dublin Press/PR Photography

Dublin Industrial Photography
Dublin Award Photography

Dublin Brand Storytelling Photography

Dublin Portrait Photography

www.alanrowlette.ie

© Alan Rowlette