Fresh natural employee headshots in the workplace

Lots of small to mid-sized companies want to sell themselves as  "boutique" and approachable. Their branding needs to show them as a small responsive group of caring people.  To me, that calls for relaxed business headshots where someone visiting their website can feel like they are meeting and learning about who this company really is and what's important to them.  If a visitor asked "Are they the firm for me?" or "Who is the audience for what these people do?" would they be able to tell from YOUR website?

We visited a great group of people known as ARTISANS DESIGN GROUP a few weeks ago and their plan was simple.  Let's show off the new office and tell people who were are!  We photographed every employee with natural light (supplemented with just a touch of on-camera flash) in several positions designed to make them look friendly, approachable but still professional.  We used the neutral color scheme in their office as the starting point. Paired with natural light, this gave us that fresh look. Similar to what your eye would see if you just walked in off the street. 

We used a bar stool as a simple prop in some of the poses, just to give people something to do with their hands.  And we brought a hair/makeup artist with us so that everyone in the office was given a simple updated look. All very natural, but flattering. As soon as the employee finished with hair and makeup they stepped in front of the camera and had a brief coaching from the photographer.  Nobody was stressed and everyone left looking their best. 

Here's a few samples.