Corporate Headshots in London: What Actually Happens on a Headshot Day

Book a photographer. Tell people where to be. Take photos. All done. Except anyone who has ever tried to coordinate a senior leadership team, a floor of lawyers, or an entire office where half the team are client-facing and unavailable on Tuesdays knows that nothing involving diaries is ever quite that simple.

A good corporate headshot day should feel calm, efficient and well-organised. It should not feel like a school photo day with better shoes!

I’ve had a really busy few months of corporate headshots: regular sessions with large professional services firms, ad hoc shoots for new joiners at media companies, and plenty of diary-wrangling in between.

So I thought now would be a good time to share what actually happens on a good corporate headshot day. And what makes the difference between one that runs smoothly and one that turns into a small internal crisis.

What is a corporate headshot day?

A corporate headshot day is when a photographer comes to your office, or another agreed location, to photograph multiple people in one planned session.

For London businesses, this usually means setting up professional lighting and a backdrop in a meeting room, boardroom or quiet office space, then photographing people at scheduled times throughout the day.

Depending on what you need, the shoot might include plain-background headshots, environmental portraits around the office, or I have just photographed a team of lawyers in a park. Or it might be a mixture of both plain-background and environmental.

For larger teams, the focus is typically on efficiency and consistency: same lighting, same background, same crop, same quality, without eating into everyone’s working day.

For senior partners, founders or leadership teams, it often makes sense to build in more time so there’s room for both classic studio-style headshots and more contextual images that show the person in their working environment.

Who usually books corporate headshots?

Corporate headshot days are usually booked by marketing teams, HR teams, office managers, executive assistants, internal communications teams or founders who need consistent images across the business.

The images might be used for website profiles, LinkedIn, pitch documents, press requests, speaker bios, internal directories or new starter announcements.

The person organising the shoot is often trying to balance brand consistency, senior diaries, nervous employees, room availability and a deadline that is probably closer than ideal.

So the smoother the process is, the better for everyone.

Before the day: getting the brief right

The best corporate headshot days start before the camera comes out. Before anything else, it helps to be clear on what the images actually need to do and what your brand needs.

The answer shapes everything: how formal the images need to feel, whether you need variety or consistency, and how to make the most of the day.

Before I picked up a camera, I spent over 20 years working in communications so I’ve planned loads of these days myself. I’ve always thought of a headshot day as something to be designed rather than just turned up to.

That means asking the right questions upfront about your brand, your existing imagery, your people, and what you actually want to walk away with, so nothing is being worked out on the morning.

If you already have a visual style or brand guidelines, I can work with those so the new images sit neatly alongside what you already have. If not, I’ll advise on what will look consistent, professional and useful across the business.

For larger shoots, I’ll sometimes visit the office beforehand to look at the available space, light and layout. It makes the day itself run more efficiently. It also helps avoid discovering on the morning that the only available room is the size of a cupboard with a glass wall next to the printer. Not impossible. I’ve shot in a store cupboard before (honestly!), and it actually worked out well.

But it’s better to plan.

What does the business need to provide?

Really not much at all.

Usually, I need a meeting room or quiet office space with enough room for a backdrop, lighting and camera setup. And access to power. A main contact on the day who can help keep things moving, track people down when meetings overrun, and answer any quick internal questions is also very helpful.

For larger headshot days, a clear schedule really matters and I can provide a scheduling template so people know when to arrive and how long to allow. Most people only need around 10 minutes in front of the camera, but I usually build in 15 minutes per person because diaries slip, calls run over, and someone is always just finishing something.

That extra time also covers a quick briefing before the camera comes out: talking each person through what to expect and how the session will work.

It sounds like a small thing, but those couple of minutes do more to settle nerves than any advice about posture ever could. Although I also do that as well.

How many people can be photographed in a day?

It depends on the style of shoot and how much variety you need.

As a rough guide, a straightforward corporate headshot setup usually allows for around 25 to 35 people in a full day. That depends on how tightly the schedule is managed, whether people are choosing images as they go, and whether you want simple head-and-shoulders images or a little more variety.

For senior leaders, partners or founders, I usually recommend allowing longer. That gives us time to create a wider set of images, including both classic headshots and more relaxed environmental portraits.

If you have a larger team, we can look at whether a full day, multiple days, or regular headshot sessions for new starters would work best.

What should employees know in advance?

I find a little preparation goes a long way. Before the shoot, I’ll send practical guidance on what to wear and what to expect so there are no surprises on the day.

The advice is specific rather than vague: what works on camera, what to avoid, how to think about colours and necklines, and whether to wear glasses.

For professional services firms, the aim is usually polished, credible and approachable. Not stiff.

What happens when people arrive?

When each person arrives, the setup is already done.

I shoot tethered, which means images appear on a laptop as we go. People can see what’s working, which tends to bring the anxiety down fairly quickly.

Most people are not comfortable in front of a camera. They don’t know what to do with their hands, their face, or their whole body the moment the lens appears. That’s completely normal, and it’s entirely my job to handle it.

I’m known as the photographer for people who hate having their photo taken. That matters just as much on a corporate headshot day as it does on a personal branding photoshoot.

In every company, there will be people who are perfectly happy being photographed and people who would rather be absolutely anywhere else. A good headshot day has to work for both.

I direct everyone through the small adjustments: posture, angles, expression, shoulder position - that make a headshot feel natural rather than like an ID photo.

The technical setup matters, but so does the atmosphere. A corporate headshot day works best when people feel guided, not exposed. Most people arrive slightly braced for the experience. My job is to make it feel easier than they expected.

Plain backdrop or office environment?

Many companies choose a clean studio-style setup with a plain background. It’s ideal for consistency across website profiles, LinkedIn photos, internal directories and pitch documents. It also means new joiners can be photographed in the same style later, keeping the whole team visually aligned without having to recreate everything from scratch.

Some companies also want environmental or contextual shots: images taken around the office that feel less formal and give more of a sense of place. These tend to work well for partners, founders, senior leaders, or anyone who needs images for press, speaking profiles or social media.

A plain backdrop gives consistency. Environmental portraits give context.

Often, the best approach is a mixture of both. When we’re planning the day, I’ll look at the space with you to find the spots with good light, enough visual variety, and a background that reads as professional rather than distracting.

Can people choose their own images?

Yes absolutely. Some companies prefer people to select during the session itself to reduce admin afterwards. More commonly, I create individual gallery links after the shoot so everyone can choose from a set of options.

Each person only sees their own images, which matters to more people than you might expect.

Either a company representative makes the final selections, or individuals choose their own favourites, whichever fits best with how you work.

Files can be named to whatever convention you need: employee name, ID, department, office location or anything else that makes life easier at your end.

Retouching: natural, not smoothed-out

All selected images are professionally retouched. I approach retouching very sensitively. The aim is for people to look like themselves on a really good day, not a version of themselves that’s been processed into something unrecognisable.

Skin tone stays natural. Texture stays. Lines stay but might be softened slightly.

The images are polished and fresh, but still real.

I ask before the shoot what tone and expression you’re going for, so I’m not delivering images that are off-brand in feel or crop.

If you’re updating existing headshots and need the new images to sit consistently with what you already have, that’s part of the brief from the start.

Can you match existing company headshots?

Yes this is something I do very frequently.

If your company already has a headshot style, I can work from examples so the new images sit consistently with the existing set. That might mean matching the background colour, crop, lighting style, pose, expression or overall tone.

This is particularly useful for new starters, office moves, website refreshes, or businesses with teams across multiple locations.

Makeup artists

I work with some excellent makeup artists and can bring one in if it would be useful.

A lot of people find it makes a real difference to how they feel on the day, and that comes through in the images.

It can be particularly helpful for senior leadership teams, speaker profiles, press images, media-facing roles or longer shoot days where people want to feel more polished.

It’s not essential, though. Plenty of corporate shoots work perfectly well without one. I’ll give you an honest steer when we talk through the brief.

What affects the cost?

Corporate headshot day pricing depends on a few things: the number of people being photographed, the amount of variety you need, whether you want a makeup artist on the day, and how quickly you need the edited images back.

A half-day shoot for a small leadership team is a very different brief from photographing 80 people across multiple departments, so I price each job around the time, planning and final image requirements involved.

Because corporate headshot briefs vary considerably, I quote each shoot individually based on what your team actually needs. If you get in touch, I will come back to you with a clear figure once I know the scope.

Turnaround and delivery

First-round galleries, with a selection of images for each person to choose from, are usually delivered within two weeks.

Final edited images are delivered after selections are made, typically within ten work days, depending on the number of people.

Faster turnaround is available for an additional fee, which can be useful if you’re working to a website launch, press deadline or event.

Images can be supplied in the formats you need, whether that’s high-resolution files, web-ready versions, LinkedIn crops or specific sizes for your website or internal systems.

Frequently asked questions

• How long does a corporate headshot take per person?

  Most people need around 10 minutes. I usually allow 15 minutes per person so the day doesn't fall apart if meetings overrun. But equally I’ve had some corporate headshot days where I’ve had less than 10 mins per person. For senior leaders or anyone needing more variety, it's worth allowing longer.

• Do you come to our London office?

  Yes. I come to you with all my equipment and set up on-site. If your office isn't suitable, I have access to a couple of central London studios.

• What space do we need?

  A meeting room or quiet office space usually works well. I need enough room for lighting, backdrop and camera setup, plus access to power. Most spaces work, it's just worth sorting in advance rather than discovering the situation on the morning of the shoot.

• Can you match our existing headshot style?

  Yes. If you have a visual style or existing headshot format, I can work with that to keep everything consistent.

• Can senior leaders be photographed differently from the wider team?

  Yes. For most of the companies I work with, I spend longer with partners, founders or senior leaders, creating both studio headshots and contextual office portraits. The wider team is then photographed with a consistent backdrop setup. It gives the business variety where it matters and efficiency where it counts.

• Do you retouch corporate headshots?

  Yes. Selected images are naturally retouched. The goal is for people to look like themselves on their best day. So people are not over-edited or fake looking.

• How quickly will we receive the images?

  I usually deliver the first-round galleries within two weeks. With final edited images within ten work days, after selections are made. It does depend on other commitments I have in the diary at the time of booking and I will always let you know at the time of booking. Faster turnaround is available for an additional fee.

• Can you provide a makeup artist?

  Yes. I work with a couple of excellent makeup artists and can arrange one for the day. It's optional, but many people find it helps.

• What should people wear?

  I send practical guidance before every shoot. Generally: something that feels professional and comfortable, in colours that sit well with your brand. I'll give you specific advice once we've talked through what you need.

Planning a corporate headshot day in London?

Whether you need to update a few new starters, photograph a senior leadership team, or bring a whole company up to date, the process works best when the planning is clear before anyone steps in front of a camera.

Get in touch and we'll work out what would actually work for your team. I'll ask you the right questions upfront, come to you with all the equipment, and make the whole thing as straightforward as possible - for you and for the people being photographed.