Piranha Photography - London Corporate Photographer

Backgrounds – Business Portraits require a background check

Business portrait in London

What should we use as a background for a business portrait?

The correct answer is ‘it depends’. It depends on the size of the image and its usage.

A smaller portrait for a website needs a plain, probably white, background. This delivers an uncluttered image and ensures the face is easily distinguishable.

A white background is versatile as it’s also the starting point for a cutout. A cutout requires a series of backgrounds to have already been photographed and, for technical reasons, are shot with the appropriate amount of blur.

The benefit of a cutout means staff and directors can have their portraits taken anywhere – say while away on business – yet they can appear as having been present in the boardroom.

The technology is so good that the image appears completely natural and it’s no wonder that more and more companies are using cutouts. What’s more, all our plain backgrounds are easily portable and can be set up in any office.

Larger profile images, say for pitch documents or website career summaries; work best when the backgrounds provide a sense of place and context. These help the pictures be part of a company narrative and bring corporate documents to life.

Also used by many clients is the ‘working’ portrait option, where we blur the boardroom background to give the impression of the shot being taken during an actual board meeting. When converted to black and white it has a lovely ‘documentary’ quality.

Other background options include standard colours, such as grey or mottled blue, which provide a unified branding. These photographs are used particularly on websites that have plain white backgrounds which then prevents the head appearing to ‘float’ in a sea of white, again giving a natural looking image.

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CORPORATE PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS, NEWS & CREATIVE PROJECTS BY PIRANHA PHOTOGRAPHY
Douglas has an amazing ability to set anyone at ease (even if they don't speak English!) and has always delivered superb results for both my corporate and consumer clients - often at very short notice. He's my first port of call when I need a professional photographer. I can't recommend him highly enough. Client at London PR Agency