Organising a team photo shoot is a scheduling nightmare, especially for remote teams. But a team page full of mismatched photos — one in a garden, one at a wedding, one cropped from a group shot — looks chaotic. Here's how to fake a professional shoot with everyone's own photos.
1. Send simple instructions
Give everyone the same brief:
- Face a window, daylight only
- Phone at eye level, someone else taking the photo if possible
- Plain top, no busy patterns
- Head and shoulders, with some space above the head
- Send the original file, not a screenshot
2. Choose one background
Pick a single colour or gradient that fits your brand. Soft neutrals, muted blues and warm greys all look professional. Write the hex code down so you can reuse it for new joiners.
3. Process everyone at once
Drop all the photos on the background remover, choose Person, select your background, and download them all as a ZIP. Up to 20 at a time — run another batch for bigger teams.
4. Crop consistently
Use the same crop for everyone: eyes about a third of the way down, same amount of shoulders. A design tool with a fixed-size frame makes this quick.
5. Keep a template for new hires
Save the colour, crop size and instructions in a shared doc. New starters can follow it in their first week, and the page stays consistent for years.
FAQ
What if someone's photo has very different lighting?
Colour-correct it slightly in any photo app, or ask for a retake in daylight. Matching backgrounds hide a lot, but not wildly different lighting.
Should we use transparent PNGs for the website?
Transparent PNGs give your web designer flexibility — they can place them on any colour or shape in the page design.
