Corporate headshots & portraits in London

I specialise in corporate headshots and portraits perfect for your website, LinkedIn, social media, press releases, or anywhere else it comes in handy.

I work with everyone from individuals to whole offices doing a full team refresh, and my goal is to make sure everyone leaves with a professional business headshot that they actually like.

Best of all, I can bring my mini headshot studio to you – you don’t need to travel to me.

The Style

What headshot background works best for you?

A plain background is the traditional corporate headshot look; I can provide a light or dark background or we can use a plain wall at your office. A 'location' background can add some personality and feel more relatable. Or I could even remove or replace the background completely in editing.

a professional portrait of a young woman with long blonde hair and a black top, photographed against a background of windows
A professional business headshot of a middle aged man in a pale grey suit and burnt orange tie on a white background

Light backgrounds – the more common choice for plain backgrounds, and can be edited to appear more grey, or add a gradient.

A corporate portrait of a brunette woman in a dark green blouse on a dark background

Dark backgrounds – a mid-grey background can be lightened or darkened using lighting on the day, or editing later.

A professional portrait of a middle aged man in blue shirt and navy jacket

Location backgrounds – for example if there’s a good view out the windows, or you’d like to capture your office space.

A business portrait of an executive in white shirt and navy jacket and pale blue tie, on a dark grey background
The Style

Tie on or tie off?

Little differences in how you pose can make a big difference to professional headshots. Some clients like to have options to choose from later, such as tie on and tie off, or smiling and not smiling.

The Style

Professional headshots don't have to be boring

Sometimes clients want a 'fun' alternative to their regular LinkedIn style headshot, which you'll often find by rolling your mouse over their image on the company About Us page. Sometimes we use one of the funniest out-takes, other times they pose for it.

The Time & Place

How long is a headshot session per person?

For a good balance of quality and options I recommend at least ten minutes per person; but if you have the time fifteen minutes is ideal. Five minutes is possible with some compromises. Some people will be in and out in a few minutes but most people appreciate having a bit longer.

15 mins each

• Ideal if you need multiple shots per person
• Ensures a relaxed session with time to chat
• Time to check and adjust outfit and makeup
• Review, discuss, and fit in up to two reshoots
• Or we can shoot and select a 2nd or 3rd option
• Late arrivals don't affect the schedule much

10 mins each

• Ideal when you just need one great shot per person
• Ensures a relaxed session with time to chat
• Review, discuss, and fit in a reshoot if needed
• Late arrivals don't affect the schedule too much

5 mins each

• The minimum I'd recommend for one good headshot each
• Enough time to review, discuss, and select one shot
• Isn't always enough time to reshoot
• Late arrivals can disrupt the whole shoot

Scheduling

Include enough time to relax into the headshot session

Ideally we want at least 5 minutes per person – ten minutes is great. I don’t recommend rushing a headshot session if you’ll use the photos publicly. I’ll also need 30-40 minutes to set up, 15 minutes to pack up, and a break during longer sessions.

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

If time or budget are an issue we can work with five minutes per person, especially if everyone arrives ready to shoot as there won’t be much time to adjust makeup or outfit. We’ll also have less time to review the headshots and re-shoot, and if there’s a lot of people to photograph then latecomers will have a bigger knock-on effect.

If the images need to represent your brand across multiple channels for years to come I do recommend ten minutes if possible. It pays dividends in terms of a relaxed session and a much higher satisfaction rate.

a professional corporate headshot photograph of an asian man in a blue suit on a grey background
professional corporate headshot of a female teacher in a red top
professional corporate headshot of a blonde woman in a bright pink shirt
a professional corporate headshot photograph of a white man in a blue suit on a grey background
Selecting images

Everyone reviews their headshots on the day to select their favourite.

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.

a professional corporate headshot of a smiling black woman in a white top with a red headscarf
professional corporate headshot photograph taken with window light on a plain background
headshot of a man with black hair and beard, and a blue suit
a professional headshot of a smiling black woman in a white top
Delivery

Every selected image is edited & delivered to meet your needs.

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 headshot takes about 5-6 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 a big discount on the alternative version as the time-consuming retouching is already done.

corporate headshot of a smiling woman in a black top and white patterned jacket
black and white corporate headshot of a black woman in glasses
corporate headshot of a white woman in a patterned white blouse
Pricing

Pricing: one session fee, plus a per-image editing & licensing fee

Pricing depends on where and when you need me, and how many images are delivered, and can vary depending on the details.

The typical office headshot session starts at £400, including 45 minutes setup time, a one hour shoot, and five edited digital images (this could be five images of one person, or one image each for five people).

Extra shoot time is £100/hr, and additional edited images from £15 each.

If you have a very large headcount – for example 30+ people – it may call for splitting the shoot up over a couple of days. In this case we’ll discuss your requirements before suggesting a schedule and preparing a custom quote.

One more thing! For longer shoots please include a 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!

head and shoulder portraits of a man in a checked shirt

Corporate headshot FAQs

What do you need to know from us when booking headshots?

For best results try to get in touch at least a week or two before you’d like to shoot. We can execute a shoot with less notice if we’ve worked together before or you know exactly what you need, otherwise it’s best not to rush it.

For an estimate we’ll need to know the following upfront: how many people you want to shoot; how many edited headshots per person; the shoot location; and if there’s a time limit on-site.

Before booking we’ll also need to finalise these details: the format the headshots should take (horizontal or vertical, looking to camera or off-camera, etc); indoors or outdoors; if you need a plain background (light or dark) or prefer an environmental background; and if you have any existing headshots you need to match.

We’re happy to discuss the style details with you, but numbers and time available are the absolute basics we need to know up-front for an estimate – thank you!

Who chooses the final images?

I’ll typically bring a laptop and ask each person to select their favourite image(s) before they leave the session, then I’ll edit and deliver those images afterwards. If this isn’t practical I’ll provide a private gallery for each person’s unedited images afterwards and ask you to select the images you want me to edit, but this costs a little extra.

Do you have a studio?

My London corporate headshots are shot entirely on location. For office-based headshots all I need is a decent-sized room with space to set up lighting and my camera. I can provide a simple background, but I can also create environmental headshots using your own office or preferred location as a backdrop. Please note, some outdoor locations may require a permit.

How much does a corporate headshot session cost?

Headshot photography fees are composed of a time-based shoot fee, plus a per-person edit fee. Pricing varies depending on how many people I’m shooting, where the session will be, how many options and/or variations you’d like per person (e.g. horizontal/vertical, outfit changes, angle, pose, etc), and how you want to use the photos.

Is editing included in the corporate headshot fee?

Yes, all quotes include a basic round of editing to correct for exposure, clarity, and colour balance, plus light re-touching as required, for example to correct shiny skin or blemishes. If you need extra re-touching this is charged at an hourly rate starting at £75/hr.

Can we use the images for anything we want?

Just about everything you’d need to use a headshot for is covered: unlimited editorial and organic PR use on your website, social media profiles, press releases, etc. Use in an advertising campaign or a commercial product isn’t included as my clients don’t tend to need it, but you can upgrade to include it any time.

Do you charge for travel?

For shoots in central and SW London if I can travel light on public transport (i.e. cameras, lenses, simple lighting) travel is included. If I need to drive or take a taxi to carry equipment I charge related expenses such as parking, Congestion Charge, or taxi fees. For shoots outside London I charge a combined fee for travel time and expenses.

Do you do headshot photography sessions outside London?

Absolutely, I’m based in Kingston Upon Thames and I can go pretty much anywhere you need me, charging a combination of travel time and expenses.