Most people don’t enjoy having their photograph taken. That’s not a problem — it’s just where we start.
Corporate headshots and portraits are one of the more psychologically interesting commissions in photography. The subject knows the image is going to be used professionally — on LinkedIn, on a company website, in a press release, on marketing materials — which means there’s a level of self-consciousness that you don’t get in most other types of shoot. Getting past that, and finding the version of someone that looks genuinely like them at their best, is the actual skill.
What makes a good corporate portrait
The brief for a corporate portrait sounds simple: make this person look professional and approachable. In practice, those two things pull in slightly different directions and the balance between them depends entirely on the context. A barrister’s headshot should feel different to a creative director’s. A CEO portrait for an annual report sits in a different register to a LinkedIn profile picture for a business development manager.
We start every portrait session with a conversation about how the image is going to be used, who’s going to see it and what impression it needs to make. That conversation shapes the lighting, the background, the styling suggestions and the direction we give during the shoot.
Helping people relax
Over 30 years of portrait work, you develop a reliable set of approaches for helping subjects get past self-consciousness and find a natural expression. It’s partly technical — the right focal length, the right shooting distance, the right pace to the session — and partly just about creating an environment where people feel comfortable rather than scrutinised.
Most people are genuinely surprised by how quickly a portrait session moves and how much they enjoy it once they’re in it. The goal is always an image that the subject looks at and thinks: yes, that’s actually me.
Individual portraits, team shots and full workforce headshots
We work with individuals who need a single updated headshot, small teams needing consistent imagery for a company website, and larger organisations requiring portrait sessions for entire workforces. For larger commissions we can set up an efficient workflow — a consistent backdrop and lighting setup, a clear slot time per person — that produces a cohesive set of images across a full team without taking the whole day.
We shoot in our Bromsgrove studio and on location at your premises. For team sessions, coming to you is usually the more practical option — it saves your people travel time and means we can set up in a space that feels familiar to them.
We also offer subtle retouching on portrait work as standard — nothing drastic, just the kind of refinement that makes an image look polished rather than processed.
Need updated headshots? Get in touch — whether it’s one person or a hundred, we’ll make it straightforward.
Our portrait photography page covers our approach to headshots and corporate portraits.
Related reading: Ten Professional Profile Photo Mistakes to Avoid.
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