How to Prepare for Employee Profile Photos

Purpose

To establish a uniform process for staff who need profile photos for department and media use.

Timeline

Employee profile photos are typically scheduled Monday mornings between 9:00 am and 11:00 am. Please contact the Communications team a week prior to the Monday you would like your photo taken to ensure proper scheduling. Profile photos take approximately 20 minutes per person.

Services Defined

The Communications team can assist in capturing your headshot for use on websites, the Employee Database and other publications.

Clothing

Plain, colored clothing is the best option for profile photos. Patterned clothing can be unflattering in a photo and detract attention.

Glasses

Profile photos should reflect how you look on a daily basis, so if you wear glasses daily then feel free to wear them for your profile photo! But glasses can be tricky in photography due to glare and reflections. Our best advice if you don’t have anti-glare lenses, or if you have thick lenses, is to wear a pair of reading glasses for the photo. Be sure to leave your transitions lenses at home for this photo!

Posture

The Communications team will help you with positioning and posture, but remember to pull your shoulders back for your photo, and don’t forget to smile!

Accessories

Keep your jewelry simple, and avoid too many accessories that might clutter your photo, and distract from your smiling face.

Procedure

Submit a request for a profile photo by emailing FOACommunications@ucdavis.edu, and include the office location, and employee name(s).