A big percentage of my work as a headshot and personal branding photographer is done at the offices and businesses of clients, usually in Melbourne’s CBD.

Clients love it because their staff don’t have to waste time travelling and everyone can be photographed on the same day. You can also create a unique look by utilising your office location or the views from your windows.

So what’s involved and what are the requirements?

Request a quote and book.

After your initial contact I’ll work with you on the style of headshots, and what you need for your business. After I get all this information and the numbers, I’ll put together a quote. If you’d like to request a quote with Photoform* head to our contact page.

It’s really important to cover all details of the scope of your project. This may include group photography as well as headshots. Why is this important?

Professional office photography needs careful planning for success. It’s not like whipping out your camera phone. Group photos need space and extra lighting may be required. They need to be included in the quote because they also take more editing and sometimes require compositing in Photoshop to achieve the perfect shot. It can be so complex I wrote another blog post on planning and composing corporate group photos.

Planning and room requirements.

After you set a date for your office headshots, I’ll work out all details with you and send you a link to an online spreadsheet. The spreadsheet will be divided into 10-15 minute slots. You can then slot your team into the spreadsheet so they and you can plan best for the day.

I always recommend a private room for headshots, ideally 4-5m x 4-5m. Board rooms usually work well. Why private? Not everyone is super confident and an audience may make people feel self conscious. And it’s nice to have a little chill music playing to help make your team feel at ease.

The photoshoot.

I’ll arrive 30 minutes before the first person is due to be photographed to setup my equipment. I bring my own lighting and backgrounds in a little trolley I call Barbara.

Setup takes 30 minutes and I always communicate that before a photoshoot so the schedule runs on time.

There’s two types of office headshot setups, one with a background roll like the previous example, and one where I use the office or building location as a background like below. Do note that not every office is suitable for location photos like below. Why? Well your office might be ugly as hell. In that case we can explore other options.

During the office headshot session, I usually like to have a little soft music playing to get everyone in the mood. I goof around and tell you some bad dad jokes to help you relax. My process? I try and be as human as possible and work from a place of empathy and kindness.

A lot of photographers forget being photographed can be an alien and overwhelming experience for some people. My laser sharp focus is always the person being photographed and work to make them feel seen and at ease.

Most of the time I spend with a person (about 10-15 minutes) is having a good banter and getting to know each other a little. Sometimes I’ll spend 9 minutes chatting then take about 3 pictures and I’m done! That time spent connecting is the key to a great photo, not how I direct and light you (though that’s important too).

Sometimes I will help you choose the photo on the day if we have time. I typically work with my camera (Canon R5) tethered (attached) to a laptop so you can see the photos on the day. I reckon if I guide you with the selection we get a better outcome because I can give you my professional opinion and eye. Left to our own devices, all sorts of weird psychology comes into play when looking at photos of ourselves. So much so I wrote another blog post on it!

After the photoshoot and delivery.

If you haven’t chosen on the day, after the office headshots I’ll send a link to an online contact sheet using Capture One software. Depending on your quote or package, each person will select one or more headshots for editing.

I’ll edit them in Capture One and Photoshop and deliver them via a Google drive folder in the cloud. I keep the Photoshop light, but quality work to make you look your best. My process is typically: In Capture One I correct and even out facial skin tone and colour. Then I whiten teeth a little. I make sure the white balance is correct and add a little contrast and clarity. Then I transfer the photo into Photoshop where I’ll fix any background issues. I’ll give the eyes a little pop and fix flyaway hairs. I’ll remove face blemishes and if required soften the skin a little. Finally I add a little signature Photoform* filter and that’s it.

I usually deliver 3 versions of each file. 1. The high res full crop. 2. The low res full crop. and 3. The low res as a square crop for websites, social media avatars etc.

And that’s it. Oh then I deliver you invoice for payment. Promptly please, haha!