Media Training Worldwide

Time for Your Photo Close-Up

So you have just been interviewed by Fortune or Time or your local glossy business publication. The interview went well, but now the publication wants to send a photographer out to you to take some shots of you to accompany the article.

What rules should apply when preparing for a business photo shoot?

1. Print is different from TV, so it is OK to wear white shirts or red dresses or ties.

2. Dress consistent with your image. If you are a celebrity chef, wear a chef’s outfit, not a business suit.

3. Keep it simple. Your photo may be quite small or it may appear in black and white, so avoid complicated patterns and color designs. Think simple, bold and uncomplicated.

4. Avoid pins, ribbons, broaches and other objects on your shirt or jacket because it might not be discernable in the photo, or it may distract. (Obviously if you are head of a national organization trying to get people to wear purple ribbons at all time, then wear the purple ribbon.)

5. Go with the photographer’s flow. Don’t try to micromanage the photographer by saying, “take my head shot this way and you only have two minutes.” Be nice to the photographer; this person has the power to make you look good or horrible. The photographer is a professional, so let him or her do her work. The photographer is looking for something that doesn’t seem like the typical canned corporate photo.

6. The more photos that are taken, the greater chance you have of getting a good photo in, any photo in or even more than one photo in. So don’t rush the process.

7. Remember that you don’t have final authority of which photo is used any more than which quote is used.

8. Be flexible and playful, but don’t pose in anyway that makes you uncomfortable or cuts against your image. A photo of you at home in the kitchen make take the hard edge off of a tough executive, but a shot at the beach in an unflattering bathing suit may make you a laughing stock. Remember, you have the option to say “no” to any request for a staged photo shoot.

9. Don’t forget to smile!