Ideally we want 5-10 minutes per person, depending on the shoot. Pushing people through any faster creates a lot of compromises and potential issues later, so I don’t recommend it for publicly used images. I’ll also need 30-40 minutes to set up, 15 minutes to pack up, and breaks during longer sessions.

With ten minutes I’ve got time for a chat to put them at ease and find out their preferences. Then we’ll check how they look on camera, take a few shots, review them together, make a few changes and decide what works best, and shoot a few more before selecting their ‘keeper’. There’s no rush, no people waiting at the door checking their watch, and typically fewer complaints later over details we could have spotted with more time.

If you’re really pushed for time we can get it down to about five minutes per person, especially if everyone is well briefed and arrives ready to shoot as there’s less time to check makeup, adjust an outfit, etc. We’ll also have less time to review shots and re-shoot, and if there’s a lot of people to photograph then latecomers and delays have a much bigger knock-on effect on the rest of the shoot.

Generally I’d say that if the images need to represent your brand across multiple channels for years to come then taking the time to get them right now pays dividends. If it’s possible, taking a bit longer makes everyone feel looked after.

Everyone has their own idea of how they look, so it’s important each person chooses their own favourite before they leave. When I get to spend up to ten minutes with someone there’s ample time to shoot some and look through them together on my tethered laptop screen. We’ll also have a chance to quickly re-shoot if they spot something they don’t like in the first batch.

If the final choice is left to me I might choose something I think looks great but they hate, and the difference between a keeper and a reject can be as personal as a slight tilt of the head. And if I get it wrong it may cost you a bit more to replace with an alternative later.

Some clients ask if I can upload everything unedited so the staff can choose their favourite online later. That’s possible, but as standard everyone will be able to see everyone else’s full session, which may understandably make some people feel even more self-conscious so do bear that in mind. Making each person’s gallery private is possible but time-consuming so it’s available as a paid extra.

Finally, if anyone changes their mind about their favourite after delivery it’s usually fine to request a replacement within four weeks, charged per image. However, after four weeks rejected photos are usually deleted.

It’s highly recommended to decide the image format you need before the session, in case it affects how I shoot on the day, or the editing & delivery element of the quote.

For example, do you prefer horizontal or vertical, colour or B&W? Some clients like to have a ‘sensible’ one and a ‘fun’ one for their website (here’s an example). Others want a choice of ‘jacket and tie’ and ‘no jacket or tie’.

Whatever you want is fine by me but I recommend finalising everything first so we can factor it into our planning and the initial estimate of costs.

Editing each unique image takes about 3-5 minutes on average. After balancing the exposure and white balance across the full set I’ll look at each image individually to gently correct things like small blemishes, bags under eyes, oily shiny skin, etc.

I keep these corrections subtle enough that everyone looks like themselves but on a really good day, rather than the fake plastic airbrushed look.

If you’d like a colour and B&W version of each image that’s no problem, and there’s usually a small discount on the second version as the time-consuming retouching is already done.

Pricing depends on where and when you need me, and how many images are delivered. The total is a combination of a service charge (from £150, to cover equipment and travel), plus the session fee (from £100/hr, with a minimum booking of two hours), plus a fee per delivered image.

The per-image fee covers the costs of the edit & delivery via an online gallery,  plus a license for unlimited use on your business channels (website, LinkedIn, etc). It’s typically around £15 – £30 per delivered image depending on the details, including how many unique images you need in total.

Bear in mind my time on-site needs to include my set-up time. I’ll usually need to spend at least the first 30-40 minutes setting up and testing lights with a volunteer from the office, or a bit longer if we need to scout for a shooting location first.

During longer shoots please include a 5-10 minute break for me every hour or so (useful for catching up with latecomers, or just nipping to the loo) plus a lunch break for all day sessions – thank you!