Like everyone these days, we’re connected on Linked In. When I saw her profile picture it just didn’t do her justice so I invited her to our Business Portraits Day in January. Here are a few pictures from her session.

I thought it’d be good to do a post about the day itself, reflecting on how the day unfolded and people’s reactions to their pictures when they saw them.

Not surprisingly, most people don’t want their pictures taking. Most of us are a bit camera shy or think we’re not photogenic. Sometimes I wonder if we’ve been conditioned to think we’re not worthy, that we don’t deserve fabulous photograph of ourselves, as if fabulous photos are only for the rich and famous.

People are surprised when they find out that I don’t have a studio with loads of lights because that’s what they expect, because that how portraits are normally done right. Well, not by me. Natural light and real backgrounds are so much better – more flattering, less intimidating and so much easier for getting the subject relaxed in front of the camera.

Trish Peters was our first client of the day. Trish is well known amongst the Warrington business community for her networking events so I knew her business portraits would be seen by many people across the NorthWest. I think it was fair to say she was worried about being photographed. Once we’d got her settled down and she had a coffee whilst Josie did her makeup, Trish became more relaxed. We then set off around the hotel, looking for interesting backgrounds and soft flattering light, which was a challenge as the weather was terrible – cold, overcast and drizzling.

Trish was surprised by the my approach and really enjoyed the session. If people have fun then they get better pictures. When Trish saw the pictures she loved them all and found it hard to choose her favourites. That’s what I call a result!

Getting people relaxed in front of the camera is the key to getting flattering natural portraits. Some photographers aim for technical perfection. Technical perfection doesn’t interest me – showing a person’s fabulous side is my only goal. If I can help someone’s self esteem by showing them and the world how fabulous they look then I’ve done my job.

A business portrait that creates the perfect first impression is the first step to winning business and building strong business relationships. Here’s a selection form the day.

For more information about our business portrait sessions, click here.

We did the shoot one sunny afternoon and Jake, who did work experience with me, came to help me. We started in Angie’s back yard and the middle of Lymm village, which was really funny as we stopped the traffic quite few times, partly because some of the best shots were in the middle of the road under one of the canal bridges and partly because the drivers were interested to see what we were doing.

The last part of the shoot was done in a corn field on Cherry Lane. It was a great afternoon and here’s a small selection from the day.

The wedding took place on a warm and sunny afternoon in August 2011. With perfect weather and friends joining them from far and wide, Catherine and Bryan had a wonderful day. When we were doing a few formal shots by Lymm Cross, the owner of a local restaurant called Elmer’s popped out with drinks for everyone. Here’s a small selection of pics from the day.

The explosion in the popularity of networking, both in the flesh and online social networking, means that many people are going out and making new connections, creating those first impressions as they go, hoping to find opportunities for their fledging businesses. Many established businesses, especially SME’s and those in services and the professions are realising the value of networking and about their brand identities.

Many people are now ‘on Linked In’ but only a small proportion really use it properly. I’m still learning about it but I’ve realised it’s a really powerful business networking tool and it makes a powerful first impression.

Having looked at so many profiles on Linked In, Twitter and even Facebook’s business pages recently, it amazes me how many people have inappropriate avatar pictures. Pictures taken at parties, on holiday, at the beach, wearing sunglasses. The list goes on. My favourite was of two women at a party for the profile of the sales director of a baby goods company, and another was the holiday picture of the mortgage broker sat in a bar holding a pint. Great photos in their own right but totally inappropriate for business purposes. Even some professionally taken pictures don’t convey the right message. A really serious, almost moody picture can look fantastic and makes a real statement about a person, but does it send out the right messages about that person as someone we’d all like to do business with.

Many people don’t initially realise the importance and power of their profile pictures. Once people realise how important the right profile picture is, they then need to find a photographer who can give them a portrait that shows what sort of person they are to do business with. And it needs to be affordable. That’s why I decided to do portrait sessions where anyone can book a half hour slot, have a phone consultation about the type of pictures they need, get advice about what to wear, have professional business makeup and professionally retouched images. All for an affordable price. What we do is exactly the same as our business portraits for bigger clients with a larger number of people to photograph.

Click here to find out more about my business portrait sessions.

Click here to see examples of business portraits on my blog.

As a small business Denis liked the idea of having professionally taken portraits, with a little business make up and a little retouching to keep things looking natural, but at an affordable price. For bigger companies with several people to photograph, there’s an economy of scale, but for an individual or a business with a couple of people our portrait days provide the best of both worlds; high quality, original images at an affordable price.

Click here to find out about business portraits for individuals.