How to prepare for a corporate portrait. The guide I send my clients
I have been photographing professionals for over 8 years and I see a clear pattern: clients who come prepared leave with portraits they use for 3-4 years. The rest redo the shoot within 12 months. Here is what actually matters in the days before the session.
01
Why I send this guide before every shoot
A working corporate portrait lasts for years and ends up on LinkedIn, in presentations, on the company website, in press releases. The best frames come from calm preparation, not from a long session. I work in the studio with Nikon gear and a lighting setup built for business portraits, but the part I cannot do for you is how you arrive in front of the camera. That is where the difference shows between a portrait you publish confidently and one you keep postponing.
02
Wardrobe: align with your industry, not with the trend
The most common mistake I see with new clients is buying a special outfit for the shoot. Don't. Bring three outfits you already wear to serious meetings, ones already in your closet. Banking, legal, consulting: structured shirt, blazer, neutral palette. Tech, creative, entrepreneurial: a shirt without a tie or a well-cut knit works just as well. Avoid fine patterns that cause moiré on camera, visible logos, jingling accessories. Shoes matter even if they aren't in frame, because they change your posture. When you arrive at the studio I help you pick which outfit works best with the light we have set up.
03
Makeup and hair: simple and natural works best
For all clients, regardless of gender, the rule is the same: hydrated skin, your natural expression amplified. Matte T-zone removes reflections, a minimal everyday-style makeup is enough. Get a haircut 2-3 days before the shoot, not the morning of. Let it settle. For clients with press or annual-report use I recommend a makeup artist and can include one in the Executive package. The difference on camera is instant, but if you choose to do it yourself, keep things simple. A studio is always lit too brightly to hide any exaggeration.
04
The 24 hours before do half the work
Dark circles read instantly on camera, no matter how good the retouching. Sleep at least 7 hours. Drink water consistently the day before, skip alcohol. If you have a heavy week, schedule the shoot in the morning after a quiet evening, not after a late client dinner. Posture-wise: lift your chin slightly, pull your shoulders back, relax your jaw. These are three adjustments I repeat during the session and they visibly change any frame. You can practise them at home, in front of a mirror, for two minutes.
05
What to bring and what to leave at home
Two or three outfits on hangers, not folded. Clean shoes. Water and a light snack. Phone on silent, the mental to-do list for the next 90 minutes parked. If you bring a short list of 3 to 5 use cases (LinkedIn profile, company site, team-page slide, press release) you orient my direction and I make the post-session selection more efficient. Leave at home anything that rushes you. A shoot done between two meetings always looks like it was done between two meetings.
06
Mindset during the shoot: confidence through process, not control
Adina Mircea, one of the clients I have worked with across several sessions, told me at the third one that the first thing that relaxed her was not having to make any visual decisions. Every client I work with realises their role is to be present, to breathe, to respond to direction. The rest is on me. The best frames appear mid-session, when you stop thinking about the camera. If you feel tense, say so. I shift the pace or pause for a minute and we recover. I have never delivered a gallery from which the subject could not pick at least 5 frames that represent them.
Published by Lightsun Studio · Cluj-Napoca
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