Corporate Photography is not About People Crossing Their Arms

If you do a google image search on corporate photography, you probably will see portraits of people with crossed arms... I mean, way too much. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against crossed arms. People cross their arms regularly and there is no reason to not portray those people as they are comfortable. Unfortunately, too many photographers associate crossed armed portraits with corporate photography. Corporate photography should should reflect a companies identity.

In a modern world, a company's identity should be a little more subtle and targeted than the standard 'Strong, professional and confident'. For that matter, corporate photography should be more than just portraits of people in business suites. What about showing off interaction with clients or colleagues? What about showing a bit of emotion or challenge? The first thing I learned about social media is that people now want to learn more about a company than just its product or services. They want to know the story behind a company. They want to know what the company values. Is their a corporate culture that they are proud of? Sure, its a good idea to show that the CEO is a real person. While were at it, might as well make certain that he or she seems confident and intelligent. But I also think that there is more to a company than just the CEO and other top brass. Top brass barely shows anything. If a company is truly a great one, then there mighty be decent premises, passionate people, skilled people or exciting exchanges. Consequently, corporate images should reflect these things.

Authenticity is probably the best buzz word you want to be associated with. I'm willing to bet that 90% of the time, a portrait of a person with crossed arms won't give an authentic corporate image.