Are you about to step in front of the camera for a professional headshot but unsure what to expect, possibly even a little nervous? That’s totally normal – over the years shooting corporate London headshots I’ve become very used to people telling me they’ve been dreading it! But I want you to enjoy it and leave with a photo you like, so in this headshot session guide I’ll walk you through how it all works so you know exactly what to expect from arrival at the session right through to receiving your finished photos.
And if you’re looking for more info about how to prepare for your session in advance I can help with that too – here’s nine essential tips to help you prepare for a headshot session.
Ready to dive into the details of the session itself? Let’s explore what you can expect on the day, and during the editing and delivery steps after that.
Arriving and getting comfortable for your session
I’ll most often be set up in a room at your workplace or venue. There’ll be at least one big umbrella-style light, and maybe one or two smaller ones depending on the style. Sometimes the camera is on a tripod, other times I’ll go handheld. Either way I’ll have a laptop connected to my camera so we can check out the photos on a proper screen.
I usually end up having a wee chat with people before we get started, depending how much time we have together. I’ll explain the basic process and if there’s anything you want to tell me about your preferences or anything you’re worried about, please do let me know – and that goes for the review and selection step too. I want you to leave with a photo you like and your feedback helps that happen.
The headshot process itself
When you’re ready we’ll step you in and make some photos – here’s how it usually goes:
A few test shots to warm up
The lighting is pretty much set overall, but sometimes I’ll need to make a few adjustments tailored to your hair, clothing, height, etc. Then I’ll make a few test shots and check everything looks good on the laptop. I’m mostly looking for details like crumpled jackets, stray hairs, mis-aligned necklaces etc. Sometimes – just sometimes! – one of those very first test shots ends up being the headshot you love, but then again it might end up being one of the last, so let’s keep going.
Headshot posing & expression
I’ll remind you of the vibe we’re going for, based on the overall brief, and then it’s all yours to reflect in your own way. I’ll take half a dozen or so photos and maybe give you a little direction here and there, tilt your chin this way, turn your head that way. You might want to try a few different expressions – for example big grins, or more subtle smiles – so we’ll do a few more to try whatever you want, then we’ll stop to check out what we got.
Immediate review & feedback
For almost all of my London headshot sessions I shoot tethered to a laptop. The files are transferred to the laptop as we take them, so we’ll be able to look at everything we just shot. As we go through them if you have any immediate reactions – especially “absolutely not that one!” don’t hesitate to let me know. Strong reactions are good, even if they’re negative, as it all gets us closer to the photo you like. We’ll keep narrowing it down until we’re left with your ‘keeper’ – or until we decide to have another go if there’s time.
Re-shoot?
If your session is ten minutes or longer there should be enough time to re-shoot if you want to. So if you don’t like any from the first batch or you just want to see if you can do better now you’re a bit more relaxed, let’s go for it! With the benefit of having seen what works and what doesn’t a lot of people get their favourite headshot from the second go.
And you’re all done!
Once we’ve settled on the photo(s) you want to use, that’s it, pressure off, you are released! Once the shoot is over I’ll take them away to edit and you (or the shoot liaison in your office) will usually hear from me again a week or two later.
Bonus question: what if we can’t review immediately?
Occasionally I’m not able to shoot tethered, such as shooting outside where it’s impractical; in that case we’ll try to review on the screen on the back of my camera.
Or sometimes even if I can shoot tethered there isn’t time to review because of how many people I need to get through in the time available. In this case I’ll either select each person’s final headshot myself later (not recommended) or I can make everything available online for each person to select from in their own time.
Please note there’s no cost benefit to foregoing selection on the day – in fact it may end up costing a bit more – see below. That’s why I always recommend allowing people to select their photo right there at the shoot, even if there’s no time to reshoot.
What happens after the headshot session
Depending on the booking details there’s a few things that will or might happen next, starting with editing and retouching. Or, if you’re not already chosen your photos there may be a step before that.
Editing & retouching your headshots.
‘Editing’ is what I call the basic adjustments to things like exposure, white balance, contrast, and cropping, that bring all the photos in alignment tonally. With headshots because I’m usually in control of the lighting and background this step is fairly simple.
‘Retouching’ is what I call the edits to how you look in your headshot. This is what takes the time, and it’s easy to overdo it so I take great care reviewing each headshot individually and collectively to make sure I’ve kept everything realistic.
You’ll have seen overdone retouching before, where a model’s skin is smooth and featureless, and their teeth and the whites of their eyes appear to be glowing. I want to avoid that!
So I’ll smooth skin enough to diminish but not remove the appearance of wrinkles and acne scars, but I won’t take it so far that all your skin pores disappear. I’ll lift shadows around eyes and under the chin (if I wasn’t able to do that with lighting on the day), but I avoid whitening or brightening eyes and teeth to a noticeable degree.
I’ll completely remove any temporary blemishes such as a shaving cut, a graze, or a pimple, but I tend to leave existing childhood scars, for example. And if you have any shiny or blotchy patches of skin I’ll try to diminish that so it matches with your regular skin tone.
Finally I’ll tone down any ‘flyaway hairs’ as much as possible to tidy up your hairdo, and remove fallen hairs, dust balls, fluff, and other marks from clothing. If there’s any eye-catching wrinkles in your clothing that we missed on the day I can often diminish these too.
The finished photos should look and feel polished, but not without your natural imperfections – you are who you are and your headshots should look like you on a good day!
What if you didn’t select a headshot on the day?
I strongly recommend allowing everyone to select their headshot on the day but if for any reason we didn’t here’s what happens before I proceed with editing:
Option 1: I select the final headshot for you
I’ll go through all the headshots myself to select one for each pose or person, then edit and deliver my choices. Depending how many people attended there could be hundreds or even a thousand potential headshots for me to go through, so this process adds a lot of time and cost to the editing phase, before I can actually start editing.
Unfortunately it’s impossible to know for sure how each person sees themselves, so it’s likely I’ll make the ‘wrong’ choice for some people. In that case if they’d like a different photo edited I’ll ask them to choose it themselves from everything we shot, as it’s the only way to be sure. Uploading all of their images for selection, then editing and licensing the replacement headshot, will affect the final invoice.
This is why it’s almost always much better to select on the day if possible!
Option 2: I upload everything so you can select remotely
I’ll strip out all the obvious duds (test shots, blinking, etc), then I’ll export all the remaining raw files to a viewable JPG and upload them into private per-person galleries that each person will be invited to select from. There’s a small cost for this based on how many people need to select a photo.
Please note: I don’t start the edit until I’ve received everyone’s selection, to ensure consistency across the full set of edited headshots.
Delivery of the finished headshots
Once editing and retouching is completed all the final edited headshots are converted to high resolution JPG files and uploaded to a fresh gallery. You can either share the full gallery with everyone so they can download themselves, or you can download everything yourself and distribute each person’s headshots directly.
You’ll be licensed to use the headshots almost any way you like (e.g. the company website, company emails and newsletters, LinkedIn and social media profiles, conference publicity, etc) with just a couple of exceptions: you can’t sell the headshots, or use them in a commercial product or an advertising campaign without my written permission.
Final thoughts
Understanding what happens during the session can transform it from a potentially nerve-wracking experience into a smooth and straightforward one – and that’s exactly why I’ve written this headshot session guide. By knowing what to expect you’ll be better prepared to get the most out of your session, ensuring you leave with a headshot that actually looks and feels like you.
If you’re considering professional headshots for your business, I’m here to help make the process seamless and enjoyable. Learn more about my corporate headshot services in London and how I can tailor a session to meet your needs. Or If you’re already booked you can read my essential tips to prepare for a headshot session.
Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or need further details, I’m always happy to help!
