Professional Headshots & Business Portraits
"You will never get a second chance to make a first impression."
Every photograph tells a story, but not every photograph will tell the story you want told, and this is where your professional headshot photographer comes in. Our objective is to help your organization present an image of itself that represents it in the best possible light. So the question for you becomes: What do you want your professional headshots to portray? What do you want them to say? Whatever your story is, we can help you tell it.
Let us make your first impression be a great one.
What makes good business portraits? Well, your business portraits are often your prospective client's first impression of you, and they need to look professional. Your business portraits can mean the difference between lots of phone calls and no phone calls at all. So unless you are a professional photographer (who specializes in photographing people), your business portraits shouldn't look like you did them yourself. You're probably also going to want your business portraits to show some of your winning personality! And in most cases, you'll also want to look friendly and approachable (unless you're a trial attorney who wants to show how mean you can be in court).
We understand this isn’t easy for everyone. So many people tell us that they have trouble relaxing in front of the camera, and that they don’t photograph well. And what we find when we take them on as clients and begin working with them is that all they really needed was a professional headshot photographer who can make them feel comfortable and who can identify the most flattering camera angles and lighting for them.
None of our clients are professional models. Choose a headshot photographer who specializes in creating business portraits & professional headshots of people that they love, when these same people usually don't like photographs of themselves at all.
"Myself as well as my company has nothing but great things to say about Irene and her work."
"I found Irene through a friend that does photography as well. Since she [my friend] does not specialize in corporate photography she reached out to some other photographers in the area. My company was looking for updated business headshots as well as working shots of employees around the office. Irene was unbelievably amazing to work with right from the start. She was always so fast and responsive to all of our needs. The professionalism of her proposal really sold my boss. Anytime we had a question or wanted to make a change she got back to us very quickly. We were extremely happy with how the photos turned out and she provided the final shots to us in a matter of days after we made our selections. Myself as well as my company has nothing but great things to say about Irene and her work."
--Melissa Blum, Rockville, MD
Jubilant Business Headshot & Corporate Photography Client
We offer two different types of retouched business portraits & professional headshots: 1) the standard studio-style corporate headshots on a backdrop, whether grey, white, black, blue, marbled, or other color; and 2) the environmental business portrait. Scroll through the two pinboards below to view samples of each type of business headshot.
Pinboard 1:
Studio-Style Corporate Headshots
Don't miss out on yet another opportunity to make a great first impression.
Pinboard 2:
The Environmental Business Portrait
"I would recommend her to anyone..."
"Irene is absolutely amazing. Our organization has used Irene's professional photography services for 6 separate occasions, mostly for headshots and for a retirement event. Irene has consistently produced beautiful headshots for us no matter what the weather condition (extreme wind). She is very responsive via phone/email and has a quick turnaround time for sending us the final products. We definitely plan on using Irene again for future events and staff headshots and I would recommend her to anyone in the area looking for an excellent professional photographer."
--The Campbell Foundation, Annapolis, MD
Enraptured Headshot Photography & Corporate Event Photography Client
Still not sure whether studio-style corporate headshots or the environmental portrait is a better fit for you? Here are some pros and cons of each.
Studio-style business headshots are advantageous when you’re looking for standardization between headshots of many employees, such as for a national company with hundreds or thousands of staff across the country. The disadvantage of studio-style corporate headshots is that they are the standard. It’s what most companies do, including your competitors. So studio-style business headshots won’t help you stand out from the crowd the way an environmental portrait will.
In fact, that’s the best feature of environmental business portraits – they’re unique and innovative, and they send the message to your prospects that you too are unique and innovative. Environmental business portraits are more memorable and will stick in the mind of your prospect. Furthermore, by carefully selecting the environment in which your environmental business portraits are created, they can also emphasize your business strengths and/or type of business.
So in a nutshell, if your objective is to simply help your clients match faces to names, then a studio-style corporate headshot does that. But in addition, if you ALSO want your business portraits to help you stand out from the crowd, then consider a series of environmental business portraits.
"[It] may seem like a lot of money... but it is really a very fair deal."
"I hired Irene for a professional headshot session because I need professional bio pictures to be used on the web and for brochures and the like. I happen to know a number of professional photographers, and have a number of friends and family members who have taken pictures of me in the last 30 years, but there are very few pictures of me that look like me and that I like... Since Irene Abdou had made me feel comfortable when I met her at a party, I decided to hire her. She sent a contract ahead of time and I signed it electronically knowing in writing exactly what to expect.
Irene came to my home for [the professional headshot] session when she said she would, contacting me ahead of time to confirm. In less than an hour, she had shot some very nice photos in several different poses, making me feel comfortable from beginning to end. Her assistant handled lighting; the session was outdoors. She checked in with me every 10 or so images to get my feedback through the camera. We… spent a little more time selecting the two finalists. Irene went off to digitally process the pictures and emailed them to me the next day (today!) It was a sweet experience for someone who usually freezes up being photographed.
Irene is very personable - she clearly really likes people and is an excellent listener - and so her personality made the session very pleasant. The final headshots are excellent and I am very satisfied that I can represent myself professionally with them AND I can share them with my loved ones and they will like the pictures, too! I highly recommend Irene Abdou's photographic services. [It] may seem like a lot of money for two headshots -- it initially did to me -- but when you consider travel time to my place, the expensive equipment, her training, an assistant, her professionalism, etc. it is really a very fair deal. "
--Cathy Carr, Silver Spring, MD
Thrilled Professional Headshot Client