You need to take your corporate image seriously. Most potential clients will go to your company's website and check out the management page. This is where they will find your picture and read about your experience and background. You want that to be as professional as possible. A Los Angeles business portrait photographer has some good tips for creating a great first impression.

Whenever you are having a professional photograph taken, you need to plan your outfit carefully. It should match the type of business you are in as well make a statement about your place in the corporate environment. No matter your position however, there is clothing that needs to be avoided.

Thin stripes and busy patterns won't photograph well. They can look great in person, but when they are photographed, a moire effect can show up. This becomes much more apparent once a photo is reduced to fit a web page or corporate brochure. Solid colors and simple designs are often your best choices.

Something else you need to consider is how the picture is going to be used. A lot of times company photos are turned into black and white or reduced to thumbnails. When that happens subtle variations in the colors in the clothing you are wearing will vanish. A pale pink tie might look great against a pure white shirt, but in black and white the two colors will just melt into one another.

If you have a job in an industry considered creative, a suit and tie might not be what you want to wear. You still have to be careful if you normally wear tee shirts with logos or other types of graphics. Most corporate portraits are head shots, or head and shoulders, which will cut into your logo and detract from your image. Wild patterns on shirts and ties don't translate well when pictures are reduced.

Photographers use high intensity lighting to get sharp professional portraits, and those lights are hot. If sweating is a problem for you, you need to do something to make sure your face, your forehead and upper lip in particular, don't come out looking shiny. Photographers suggest that women apply foundation to their faces to avoid the problem. You can also wipe your face with a damp cloth right before posing for the camera.

It always surprises photographers to see clients come to their studios for formal portraits with their hair a complete mess. This happens more frequently with women because they usually have longer hair and more complicated hairdos. Having a brush, hairspray, and gel in your handbag is a good idea. They will come in handy if a gust of wind catches you on your way to the photo session. You want your hair to be as immaculate as your clothing.

To wear your glasses or not to wear your glasses is a question photographers get all the time. Their advice is to wear them if that is what you usually do. If you only wear them occasionally, leave them off. The lenses must be completely clear if you wear the glasses.