Business Portrait Tips
General Tips:
You should determine the appropriate dress code you feel best represents you and your company. If you desire formal business portraits or a more of a casual look communicate this to your employees and maintain this for all employees. This is especially important if you will be using the photos for presentation materials, websites, etc where multiple photos will be seen/used together just to maintain consistency.
Be well rested before your photos.
Wear clothes that are comfortable and that you feel good in.
Make sure the clothing you wear fits you well.
Turtlenecks are almost always a bad idea (they crowd the face).
Clothes should be neatly pressed and should look new or like new.
Avoid busy patterns and large lines/stripes.
Avoid wearing short sleeves for your portrait.
Avoid wearing light-gray suits. Also, avoid black as well. It will photograph flat and lack detail/dimension.
Tips for Women:
Avoid big prints and busy patterns.
Different necklines will change the apparent shape of your face. Wear what you feel you look best in.
For a no jacket portrait wear a colored blouse ideally darker than your skin tone. (Red is usually not a good choice).
Be stylish and fashionable but remember this photo is about your face, not your clothes.
Keep jewelry extremely simple, small is better.
Avoid jewelry that will distract from your face or that looks dated.
Avoid “frosts” or overly bright colored make up.
Bring “touch up” and or “refresh” make up to the shoot.
Tips for Men:
Standard business look is a suit jacket, dress shirt and tie. You should avoid ties that are bold in color and/or have a busy pattern/design on them.
A casual business look is often a jacket and open dress shirt, shirt and tie (no jacket) or dress shirt on its own.
Polo shirts are good look for some businesses. Be sure the shirt is in good condition and fits well.
For a no jacket casual look, wear a colored shirt, ideally darker than your skin tone. A white shirt generally is a bad idea unless you plan to wear it under something such as a jacket or sweater.
For a late day portrait session try and schedule a mid-day shave to avoid the 5 o’clock shadow.