Working on your online image isn’t just about your logo, the graphics of your website, or the number of stars you get on Google… we’re also talking about image in the first sense of the word: The Photo. As I’ve already mentioned, the trend is to Google everyone – your service providers, your customers, etc. – and so would you prefer an important stakeholder (customers, suppliers, bankers, investors, etc.) to come across your vacation photos or a professional photo shoot and interview with you…;-)
Working on your image is all about having that reflex and adding that little something extra that makes all the difference to the seriousness of your entrepreneurial life and your day-to-day communication actions. That’s what today’s corporate shoot with Gwenola is all about.
Interview with Gwenola de Crémiers, Owner of www.artshooting.fr
Hello Gwenola, thank you for accepting this interview. Can you introduce yourself and your various activities?
Hello Nicolas, my name is Gwenola, and I’ve been a freelance photographer since 2017. It’s a reconversion: I used to work at Hôtel Drouot with an auctioneer. I embarked on the freelance adventure out of simplicity: as a mother of four (now 5) children, I needed a great deal of freedom to manage my time.
I started with art photography: logical and “easier”, I came from that background and that’s where I had clients! But it’s not so easy to change hats in the eyes of former colleagues: I had a hard time moving from auctioneer’s clerk to art photographer. So I also turned to family photography, and later (the famous “impostor syndrome”), to corporate photography. Corporate photography requires more precise technical mastery, but also leadership, psychology and creativity within a more formalized framework.
I’ve also been training for a few months now, as I’m discovering that I really enjoy sharing my expertise.
Why is a corporate photo essential to your image and reputation strategy, and how often should it be renewed?
Everyone takes photos these days! So the difficulty isn’t in providing an image. On the other hand, not everyone knows how to take photos :-) and that’s where the photographer comes in.
There are two types of corporate photos: the individual portrait and the team photo.
A good individual photo stands out right away: on LinkedIn feeds, or other social networks, on CVs, these are all “little” icons that need to make an immediate impact. The photo has to say something about you that a good speech will support: it will say who you are, what your talents are.
In a more global vision by a company, a uniformity of photos will bring seriousness and a general image of expertise and professionalism. That doesn’t mean the photos can’t be fun! I regularly offer professionals who can afford it a less serious session, to create offbeat images.
Team photos – and photos of the premises – are also very important, as they reflect the general atmosphere. For recruitment or sales responses, it’s important to show that the atmosphere is good and healthy, and to demonstrate the diversity of the teams.
As for the frequency of renewal, don’t let too many years go by: a maximum of 2 years for team photos (this is quite common in large companies) and 3 years for individual photos.
What’s the best way to shoot a corporate event, alone or with others, or even during a company seminar?
For solo shoots, the session lasts up to 30 minutes. In concrete terms, it goes like this: I invite you to position yourself in front of the chosen background, and I watch how you position yourself. Often, your first position is the one that feels most natural to you: this helps you relax. I then correct the postures as I go along, consulting you if the model wishes. Generally speaking, the photos you keep are the ones taken at the end of the session.
For corporate shoots or seminars, the same process, only faster!
For multi-shot sessions, you are both relaxed and concentrated: you all have to be captured in a single shot, which can sometimes take a while…! There’s also a lot of work to be done in terms of visual coherence, dynamism and so on.
Gwenola, what are your tips for a successful corporate photo shoot in Versailles?
For a successful shoot, I’d say you need:
– a good photographer ;-)
– good mental preparation: don’t stand in front of the camera without thinking about the image you want to portray. Certain professions impose certain codes: a lawyer won’t be photographed like a painter…
– good physical preparation: think about your outfit, your haircut, etc!
In short, the photographer – at least, that’s what I do – prepares you for the posing exercise before and during the shoot.
I’m thinking of social networks, for example.
After the shoot, in concrete terms, I deliver the series of photos taken during the session, and the client selects the ones he wants to keep. I then rework them: colorimetry, contrast, correction of small details, etc.
The essential deliverables are: an individual photo in square format (the LinkedIn format), photos in formats adapted to your website page (home banner in landscape mode, shots in landscape mode), and offbeat photos for social networks (Instagram in the case of professional pages).
How important is your Google My Business reputation to you?
I systematically ask my customers to give me feedback and a Google rating. This is very important for me, because many of my customers find me thanks to my Google positioning and reviews. Some photographers rely entirely on social networks, but I’m not so sure. I think that Google My Business reputation is like the word-of-mouth of yesteryear. The only problem is in the event of an unjustified negative review: for example, I’ve had a very negative review from an unknown person, for a service I don’t provide. However, I couldn’t get Google to remove it… It’s frustrating when you’re trying to provide quality work and an invalid review unfairly undermines your work.
