The Art Of Taking A Great Team Photo – Team Photography Ideas

Your work team photo can say a lot about your organisation. Get it wrong and you can end up looking like an amateurish operation, but get it right and you will exude confidence and professionalism, making the right first impression on potential clients and partners. So let’s look at some team photography ideas.

team photography ideas

If you’re taking new photos of your work team, it is important to understand how to catch everyone in the best possible light, so here are some top tips provided by Keith Barnes Oxford photographer and specialist in team photos.

Understand The Purpose Of Your Team Photo

To get the most out of your team photo, you need to understand why you are taking it. For most businesses, you’ll have team and you want to let the world know that you work together to give clients confidence in you – but the purpose is can be varied beyond this.

It may be that you want to show that you are more than just one freelancer doing all the work. Or perhaps you want to show that you have a range of skills in your team that make a cohesive unit to support the customers?

If you want to show the breadth of skills in your team, your group could be taken while you are working. Alternatively, if you’re trying to present your team in as human why not go outside? Just make sure that it doesn’t look contrived.

Team Photography Ideas – Get The Organisation Right

Organising a team photo requires some diplomacy and tact but that comes later. First you need to set a date and hire a photographer. Please forget about getting Kevin from IT to take it; you need a professional who has the equipment and experience.

Once that is set up you need to inform everyone who will be involved, get them to put it in their diaries and make sure you remind them the day before. You do not want your sales director turning up as if it is dress-down Friday.

Make sure everyone is appraised of any dress code – some businesses choose to dress-up smartly for team photos, while others prefer a more natural look; decide which one is best for you. If your company requires staff to wear company dress e.g. polo shirts with logo make sure everyone has one and it has been washed and ironed.

Location

This is an important one when it comes to  team photography ideas.  Think about where this group photo might happen but be aware that what you think is great might not work for your photographer. The group size might determine where, if you are a large company then outside will be best as at least you will get even light but you might have to contend with inclement weather.

If you are planning on having the photos outside make sure that you have a backup available in case the elements conspire against you.

If you are a small enough group to accommodate inside then get your photographer to arrive early to scope out the locations and give you advice. Of course if you have a beautiful office, you might want to show that off too!

Overcoming Office Politics

Organising the troops is fraught with political difficulties as there may be a hierarchy that determines who is at the front. If not just isolate the main people to be placed towards the front in a group and let the photographer take the flack for putting someone at the back.

There should be someone from the company to help the photographer with this. If there are a number of people the photographer may need to get higher to see everyone or use steps for the assembled group to stand on.

Much less formal and usually more interesting are small groups spread out around the office, not in serried ranks but subtly placed by the photographer. These sorts of loose arrangements are often the most attractive but hard to do with more than about eight people. The photographer will be able to light the space to ensure everyone is evenly lit and not in the gloom of a shadow.

Plan your group photo, organise the day and the people, set enough time and allow it to be a bit fun – this is the best way to get natural photographs of your team feeling comfortable and confident. We hope you enjoyed these team photography ideas.

All written content (and most images) in these articles are copyrighted by the authors. Copyrighted material from Apogee Photo Mag should not be used elsewhere without seeking the authors permission.

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