Photographing Founders for the Web

A founder's face on a page does quiet work. It tells readers that a real person is behind the company and invites them to extend the sort of trust they would give someone they had met. A poor photograph does the opposite: it can make a warm, capable person look stiff, hurried or vaguely suspicious.

You do not need a studio or a large budget to get this right. You need good light, a little preparation and the ability to put someone at ease. This guide covers the practical steps for photographing founders for the web, from planning to publishing.

Plan the pictures you need

Think about where the photographs will be used before you take them.

• A profile portrait, shown small on listings and bylines. It needs to read well at the size of a thumbnail.
• A feature image, large and wide, at the top of a story.
• Supporting images inside the text: the workplace, the product, the team, moments at work.
• A social or preview image, often cropped to a particular shape.

Make a short shot list: three or four portraits, three or four environmental images, a few details such as hands or tools. Share it with the founder beforehand so they know what to expect.

Choose the place and time

The best settings are ones that say something about the person and are simple to light.

• A workspace they actually use. A baker in the kitchen, a developer at a standing desk, a maker at the bench.
• A calm corner near a large window. Daylight is flattering and free.
• Outdoors in even light. A shaded doorway or an overcast day can give soft, even illumination.

Avoid cluttered backgrounds with distracting objects, strong mixed lighting such as a window and a coloured lamp together and cramped rooms where you cannot step back.

Schedule the shoot at a time when the founder is relaxed and the light is good. Mid-morning is often ideal. Allow at least an hour so that nobody feels rushed.

Prepare the person

Tell the founder what the pictures are for and what you would like them to wear. Plain colours in tones that suit them work well. Avoid very small patterns, which can shimmer on screen, and large logos. Suggest they wear something they feel comfortable in, because comfort shows.

Explain that you will take many photographs and that most will not be used. Many people relax once they realise a single awkward frame does not matter.

Light is most of the picture

You do not need a lighting kit. Window light and a reflector are enough.

• Place the person at an angle to the window, so the light falls on one side of the face.
• Add a white card or a piece of foam board on the shadow side to soften shadows.
• Avoid direct sunlight, which creates harsh contrast and squinting. Diffuse it with a sheer curtain if necessary.
• Do not mix light colours. Turn off warm lamps if daylight is the main source.
• Keep the light in front of the face, not behind. A bright window behind the person turns them into a silhouette.

Take a few test frames and look at the faces on the screen. Move the person or yourself until the light looks kind.

Frame with care

• Hold the camera at eye level, or slightly above. Low angles can look unflattering.
• Step back and zoom in a little, if you can, rather than moving close with a wide lens, which distorts faces.
• Leave room around the head, so the image can be cropped for different layouts.
• Keep the horizon level and check that lines in the background do not seem to grow out of the person's head.
• Mind the edges. Do not crop at joints such as wrists or knees.
• Take horizontal and vertical versions, because different pages need different shapes.

Direct, do not pose

Stiffness is the enemy. A few ways to avoid it:

• Give them something to do. Ask them to explain how they work, adjust a tool or pack an order. Photograph the action.
• Talk throughout. Ask about their day or something they love. The best expression often arrives mid-sentence.
• Give light instructions. "Look at the window", "Look at me", "Look at the table and then up."
• Offer reassurance. "That is great, we are just warming up."
• Take breaks. A short break often leads to a more natural look afterwards.
• Shoot many frames. Choose later.

For camera-shy founders, start with the hands, the workplace or a back view. Build confidence gradually, and respect a person's limits.

Capture the surroundings

Beyond portraits, photograph what the founder works with. The product, the packaging, the workshop, the whiteboard, the delivery van. These images tell stories that faces cannot, and they give editors variety. Look for details: a worn tool, a handwritten label, a shelf of samples.

Edit lightly and honestly

Choose a handful of the best frames. Make modest adjustments: crop, straighten, adjust exposure and white balance. Avoid heavy retouching or filters that change how the person looks. A founder's profile is a statement of identity, and strangers who later meet them should recognise the person from the photograph.

Prepare files for the web

Pages that load slowly lose readers. Google's Core Web Vitals give targets for loading and visual stability, such as Largest Contentful Paint within 2.5 seconds and Cumulative Layout Shift of 0.1 or less at the 75th percentile of page loads, and large, unoptimised images are a common cause of missing them.

• Keep the original at full resolution in a safe place.
• Export web versions at several widths, so that phones receive smaller files than large screens.
• Use a modern, efficient image format supported by your site, with a fallback if necessary.
• Compress sensibly, checking that faces still look natural.
• Set the width and height in the page markup, so that the layout does not shift as the image loads.
• Name files clearly, for example "amara-obi-portrait-bakery.jpg".
• Load images below the fold lazily, but not the main image at the top of the page.

Write alternative text and captions

Every informative image needs alternative text, a short description for people who cannot see it. For a portrait: "Amara Obi standing at a long wooden table packing cardboard boxes in her workshop." Be concrete, and avoid phrases like "image of". Keep it to a sentence. If an image is purely decorative, give it empty alternative text so that screen readers skip it.

Captions are visible to everyone. Name the person, role and, where useful, the place. Credit the photographer.

Structured data can also help. The schema.org Person type includes properties such as name, job title, employer and a link to an image, which help machines associate your photograph with the right person. If you add it, make sure it matches the visible page.

Permission and privacy

Ask for written permission to use the photographs, and say where and how. If other people appear, ask them too, particularly children. Do not publish images that reveal private information such as a home address or confidential documents on a screen. The Information Commissioner's Office provides advice for small organisations on personal information, including images of identifiable people, and it is wise to follow it. Offer a way for people to ask for a photograph to be removed, and honour requests promptly.

Store and organise

Keep originals and edits in a labelled folder with the date and the licence or permission note. Back them up. When you update a profile, replace outdated pictures, because a photograph that is ten years old can feel misleading.

A worked example

An editor plans a profile of a founder who runs a small ceramics studio. She asks the founder to choose a time in the morning when the studio gets light from a north-facing window. She arrives with a phone, a small tripod and a piece of white foam board. They agree that the founder will wear a plain apron.

The editor photographs her throwing a pot, from the side, so that the window light falls across her hands and face. She asks her to talk about the glaze she is working on and takes many frames during the conversation. They take a few quiet portraits against the shelves of pots, then close-ups of hands and clay. In an hour, she has two hundred frames.

She chooses six, makes light adjustments and exports each at three sizes. She writes alternative text for each and a caption for the lead image. She emails the founder the selection and asks for approval. Two images are replaced at the founder's request. The profile loads quickly on a phone, the main image is sharp and warm and the founder tells her friends that it looks like her.

A checklist

• Shot list and purpose
• Good light and a simple setting
• Preparation and clothing discussed
• Natural direction, many frames
• Environmental and detail shots
• Light, honest editing
• Optimised files, dimensions set
• Alternative text and captions
• Permission and privacy
• Organised storage

The about-the-founders page here shows founders presented with portraits and links, and the submit page is where to create a listing that features them.

Frequently asked questions

Is a phone camera good enough? Yes, in good light, if you keep it steady and clean the lens.

Should the founder smile? Only if natural. A calm, attentive expression can be just as warm.

How often should I update portraits? Every couple of years, or after a significant change in appearance or role.