When building a brand in the financial sector, trust is crucial. Letting your customers know who they will be dealing with is a key part of reassuring them they’ll be receiving the best quality service and that they are in good hands.
As part of their rebrand Partners& engaged Nick Bright of Photos by Bright to help showcase the staff, come across as personable and approachable all while maintaining a consistent brand.
A key part of this was headshots to fit their new brand, the very first person who needed a headshot was their Chairman, Stuart Reid.
As with anyone in a senior position, time can be at a premium. As a result, the photoshoot was done at a location that suited him, with the studio being built and ready to go before he arrived. As a result of the approach, Stuart’s headshot only took around 5-10 minutes to capture allowing him to get back to his busy schedule.
Following Stuart’s headshot, the staff from a range of Partners& locations were photographed. Each time Nick travelled to each office and set up the studio to save all of the staff having to take time out of their day travelling from the office to another location to have their headshot taken.
The right studio set up is important, but there is more to taking a headshot than just having the right lighting. The key was to capture something genuine. Having your headshot taken doesn’t come naturally to everyone so getting everyone relaxed before the shoot was key. Rather than asking for some specific stance or directing everyone as if they were an experienced model, Nick starts things off with a couple of photos to find their preferred side and then starts a conversation.
When you get your corporate headshot taken, it can be a strange experience so Nick works to ease that. By having a conversation instead of just snapping away with the camera it is far more relaxed. Some of the conversations he’s had include what makes a good Sunday roast, 90’s music and favourite podcasts. There are methods you can use to pose people for a headshot, but getting someone comfortable before taking the photo is also incredibly effective.
On top of headshots, Partners& required provided bespoke stock photography, as well as images celebrating events for PR and social media. Some of these were even done during April 2020, when the UK was in lockdown so flexibility in approach was crucial. Using the right photography equipment and using creative problem solving, it is still possible to get eye-catching images that tell a story.
Nick has traveled to a number of the Partners& offices around the country including Cambridge, Chippenham, High Wycombe and Reading. With a portable photography studio anywhere can be made into a suitable setting for headshots or stock photography.
“Nick is a great photographer and superb to work with. During the beginning of lockdown, Partners& were trying to arrange headshots before the office closed and whilst it didn’t come to fruition that time, Nick was really responsive and flexible to our needs.
Later in April we launched our business virtually to the market and Nick was on hand to take shots of our signage replacement. More recently, Nick has travelled to our regional offices to take headshots.
On site, we altered the brief to incorporate some other elements and Nick was really happy to take the additional shots and work around the request, flexibly and with great professionalism. Most importantly, the finished edited shots are always fantastic!”
If you want to find out more about how your company can create the best possible first impression with corporate headshots and bespoke stock photography get in touch with Nick.
Email - nick@photosbybright.com
Phone - 07783960478
You can find out more about Partners& on their website: www.partnersand.com