Michael Benabib Corporate Photographer NYC interview in MASS APPEAL

http://massappeal.com/contact-high-photographer-michael-benabib-on-shooting-bad-boys-family-portrait/

We caught up with photographer Michael Benabib to talk about the time Sean “Diddy” Combs rented Cher’s Miami house for a photo shoot…

Ask Executive Photos NYC: What should I wear to my corporate headshot session?

To which, we ask right back at you: What are you trying to say? If you are a lawyer, or CEO, a suit and tie is often worn for your corporate portrait. However, if you’re at a forward thinking marketing startup, maybe you can wear something more tailored, and casual. However the case, we recommend looking up coworkers and competitors in your field to take a look at what their personal branding is if you are unsure.

That being said – there are a few guidelines.  (Keep on reading to learn more)

MENS CORPORATE HEADSHOTS

1. Wear your favorite suit that doesn’t bunch up when you sit down in it. Avoid distracting patterns and colors. When in doubt, think more conservatively.
    

2. Ties look best when they are a shade in between the suit color and the shirt color.  (ex. A black suit, a white shirt, and a blue-grey tie).  Avoid repeating patterned or tightly stripped ties.
    

3. If you’re looking for a more casual look, avoid polo shirts and T-shirts. A colored, button up shirt is a good in-between for a professional, but casual look. Darker colors for fairer skin tones and lighter colors for darker skin tones are a good choice, if you are unsure about what color shirt to wear.

WOMENS CORPORATE HEADSHOTS

1. While you have more options for variety in your nature of dress, make sure your outfit remains classic – on trend styling, however corporate, can look out of date very quickly.
    

2. Just as with mens corporate headshots, avoid loud patterns. Bright colors are acceptable, although it is inadvisable to wear red. (Red is the color your eye is most attracted to in any photograph.)
    

3. Keep jewelry minimal, so that it doesn’t distract from your face.
    

4. A little bit of texture in the fabric of what you choose to wear can add a nice accent to your headshot.

MAKEUP ARTISTRY

Interested in hiring a makeup artist for your shoot? Feel free to inquire about rates when you schedule your corporate headshot session. 

Yoga Photography & Headshots in the Studio - Portraits of Yogis

Being a yoga instructor is more than just teaching class – you also are running a small business, and have to promote it as such. Yoga photography can be vital to the practicing yoga teacher for social media, a headshot for their website, or to promote a yoga retreat. Michael Benabib, yoga photographer, captures you in your favorite poses, as well as a more traditionally styled headshot to help you promote your business. 

One tip to the aspiring yogi photographer - get down low! Photograph on your belly if you need to! You can shoot yoga photography in the studio or (if weather permits) amongst nature, for a unique and beautiful full body portrait. 

The above portraits were taken in Michael Benabib's studio in midtown manhattan.

On Location Portrait Photographer - Headshots for Data Driven Storytellers

Kelton Global is a research consultancy firm with offices in Silicon Alley, New York City. While having both qualitative and quantitative data analysts on their team, their ultimate goal is to provide data analysis that is readable and easy to interpret by the client. Clients of theirs have included Bloomingdales, Viacom & Target. 

This form of data journalism is growing more and more popular in the digital era. Kelton Global's branding is approachable and demonstrates out of the box thinking. As a result, they required corporate headshots that had visual variety and were a little more creative than the average studio shoot. On location portrait photography was the decided route of action; studio portraiture just wouldn't do. Executive Photos NYC Photographer Michael Benabib went on a walk in downtown chelsea with each new employee and photographed them in a variety of unique locations, conveying a unique part of their personalities. 

Luckily, Executive Photos was lucky to have a client that understood and appreciated the value of quality images. As written on the Kelton Global blog, Sarah Stone writes, “If imaginative empathy is fueled by great photography, then we can build the empathy habit by looking at powerful images every day. By pausing briefly to consider the feelings, lives and experiences of people we view only from a distance, we practice imaginative empathy, broaden our range of understanding, and become better 21st century marketers.”

All images from our day with Kelton Global will be used on their website. Click here to read more about personal branding and photography for websites as an important marketing tool. 

Book Cover Photography - What Your Headshot Says About You as An Author

So you've wrote your first book - now think twice about your book cover headshot. 

Robynne Chutkan, a leading gastroenterologist, bestselling author, and founder of the Digestive Center for Women, needed a doctors headshot that that was both welcoming, and authoritative. Her "power stance" and smile helps communicate both of these things, simultaneously - her studies are now easier to trust, as there is a face behind the facts. A power stance is a common choice for authors, doctors, and lawyer portraits alike who want something less traditional but professional.

Hiring a trusted portrait photographer is vital because you're also hiring a personal branding expert. After all, first impressions are not just when you meet someone - in this case, the first impression is a book cover. 

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The Microbiome Solution explains how the standard Western diet and lifestyle are starving our microbiome, depleting the “good bugs” that keep us healthy and encouraging overgrowth of exactly the wrong type of bacteria. For more info, please visit www.gutbliss.com.

Photo Copyright 2016 Michael Benabib

Branding and Website Photography - Why Professional Corporate Portraits Matter

It's that time again. You are rebranding your business, and now you want to revamp your website to match. You could go to a stock photo agency to find images that illustrate what your company is about, but if you really want to stand out and give yourself a unique look, it might be time to consider hiring a photographer to provide the photography for your entire site. 

Using one corporate photographer to work on the job side by side with you ensures consistency with your branding and personal image, and gives your website a cohesive, professional look that would be hard to acquire otherwise. 

Michael Benabib photographed all the images for the below site, for Dynasty Financial Partners. Note how the headshots and board of directors portrait all have a consistent style with the feeling of the site. 

 

A shoot with a professional corporate photography company such as Executive Photos NYC also gives you the opportunity to update your headshot. It's extremely important to keep your headshots updated as often this is the first impression any client or potential business partner will have of you. 

Loretta E. Lynch, Attorney general of the United States

"Loretta Elizabeth Lynch (born May 21, 1959) is the 83rd and current Attorney General of the United States, having previously served as United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. Her tenure as U.S. Attorney began in 2010, and she also held that position from 1999 to 2001. As U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Lynch oversaw federal prosecutions in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Long Island." - Wikipedia

Corporate Photography Copyright 2016 Michael Benabib of Executive Photos NYC

David F. Swensen Editorial Portrait, for Bloomberg Magazine

David F. Swensen has been the Chief Investment Officer at Yale University since 1985. He is responsible for managing and investing the University’s endowment assets and investment funds, which total $19.4 billion.[1] Realizing an average annual return of 11.8 percent on his investments over the ten years to 2009,[2]Swensen’s consistent track record has attracted the notice of Wall Street portfolio managers. Currently, he lives in New Haven, Connecticut with his children Tory, Alex, and Tim.

He is chiefly notable for having invented what has become known as “The Yale Model” which is an application of Modern Portfolio Theory.

Copyright 2016 Michael benabib

Shooting for New Client Linkedin

I always like getting a call for a job shooting interesting people for a new client. And to top it off they are located across the street at the Empire State Building.

Business Photo Copyright 2016 Michael Benabib

Corporate Headshot Photographer - Rockefeller & Co.

From the Rockefeller & Co. Website: 

From its roots over a century ago as a private investment office to the diversified financial services firm that it is today, Rockefeller & Co. has always taken pride in the integrity, depth, and vision of its professionals. 

Today, the firm serves a wide range of individuals and institutions. Successful families and individuals rely on our planning and wealth management skills in seeking to preserve, diversify, and grow their wealth – often from one generation to the next. Institutional investors select us for our asset management expertise. Charitable and other organizations recognize the sophistication of our financial and investment services, as well as our longstanding credentials, in the nonprofit world. And we remain, as we have been since our inception, the financial stewards of one of America’s great family legacies.

Executive Photo of Stephen Dubner, Award Winnning Journalist and Author of Freakonomics

Stephen J. Dubner is an award-winning author and journalist who lives in New York City. He is the co-author, with Steven D. Levitt, of Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. He is also the author of Turbulent Souls: A Catholic Son’s Return to His Jewish Family(1998),Confessions of a Hero-Worshiper(2003), and a children’s book, The Boy With Two Belly Buttons (2007).

Freakonomics, published in April 2005, instantly became an international best-seller, with more than 1.5 million copies sold in the U.S. alone. It won the inaugural Quill Award for best business book; was short-listed for the inaugural Financial Times/Goldman Sachs Business Book Award; received a Visionary Award from the National Council on Economic Education; is a BookSense Book of the Year; and was named a Notable Book of 2005 by the New York Times.Turbulent Souls was also named a Notable Book, and was a finalist for the Koret National Jewish Book Award. Turbulent Souls is being reissued in late 2006 under a new title, Choosing My Religion.

Author Photo of Stephen Dubner Copyright Michael Benabib 2016

Bob & Harvey Weinstein, corporate portrait for Newsweek Magazine

The Weinstein Company (TWC) is an American mini-major film studio founded by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in 2005 after the brothers left the then-Disney-owned Miramax Films, which they had co-founded in 1979. They retained ownership of the Dimension Films label of Miramax. It is one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America.

Highest grossing films include Django Unchained, Silver Linings Playbook and The Kings Speech.

Photographed for Newsweek Magazine Copyright 2016 Michael Benabib

Corporate Portraiture of Dr. Mehmet Oz and His Wife, Lisa Oz

Lisa Oz with her husband, Dr. Mehmet Oz

Dr. Oz is vice-chair and professor of surgery at Columbia University. He directs the Cardiovascular Institute and Complementary Medicine Program at NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital. His research interests include heart replacement surgery, minimally invasive cardiac surgery, complementary medicine and healthcare policy. He has authored over 400 original publications, book chapters and medical books and has received several patents.

Lisa Oz is a producer, writer, actress, and frequent co-host of The Dr. Oz Show on Oprah & Friends’ XM radio telecast. Lisa has co-authored three New York Times best selling books, including the “YOU: The Owner’s Manual” series.She is President of Ozworks LLC, a media and investment consulting company that she founded, and directs Pine Room Pictures, a production company specializing in family friendly media.