16 May The Dos and Don’ts of Taking Great Website Headshots
The Dos and Don’ts of Taking Great Website Headshots
When branding your business–especially in such a visual industry–you want the photos you have of yourself and your employees to both accurately portray the vibe of your business and appear cohesive and professional. It is incredibly common to include team headshots on your salon or spa’s website, particularly under an “About” or “Meet The Team” page.
That being said, whether you’re editing a website yourself or passing along photos to a web developer, there are a list of pointers that you should take note of before attempting to use your headshots on a page.
Here are the do’s and dont’s of uploading the perfect set of employee photos:
File Size
The larger the file size, the better. While it is possible for a developer to easily convert a file type, it is not so easy to make a smaller, blurry image acceptable for a professional headshot.
Image Orientation
The headshots you take should always be horizontal, never vertical. Additionally, give yourself (or your photographer) enough room to capture a wide photo. The more space between the camera and the shot means that there is more room to potentially crop and edit the photo to fit a certain theme. If you think you might like your team photos to be circular, this is important to take note of!
Composition
When taking headshots for your website, the composition of your photography matters. Composition dictates the focus elements of the shot, what’s included, what isn’t, etc. It’s important that the collection of headshots on your website is consistent with its composition.
If each image is balanced differently, the entire collection of photos will appear off.
If one stylist is photographed at the center, don’t allow another to submit a selfie. Likewise, if the composition of one photo is centered around a full body shot, don’t allow another to be cropped at the shoulders.
Whatever composition you decide on, just stick with it. Experimenting with the rule of thirds is an excellent way for you or your photographer to spice up your salon’s headshot collection.
Background
No matter the background you prefer, make sure that it is consistent in all of your headshots. While some owners prefer to showcase the inside of their salon, others prefer to use a themed graphic that flows with the overall website’s branding. Either way, consistency is key to achieving an overall cohesive look.
Dress Code
Just as it’s recommended to keep the background consistent, it is also recommended to keep the dress code consistent. The dress code of you and your employees doesn’t have to be identical, but at least staying in the same general theme and color scheme can drastically make a difference to the eye. Whether it’s plain black t-shirts or a diverse range of black and white business casual attire, there should at least be a noticeable theme. After all, you are introducing a team.
For more website tips, you can read our blog on shooting a video header for your salon’s home page here.
