New year, New headshot

Is it 2026 already? Time is whizzing by. I don’t feel any older but my kids are certainly growing, but often I can’t tell because I’m with them so much. It’s only when other people see them; people who haven’t seen them for a while who tell me and my wife how much they have grown or changed.

Everyone always says that when you reach a certain age, you never really feel older. I’m not so sure about that - physically I feel more aches and pains than I did when I was younger, though there probably is a remedy to that - more exercise and more stretching. However much time I have on my hands, at this time of year I find it difficult to motivate myself to do that. Anyway, I digress, slightly.

We all do change, whether we like it or not, and it’s important to update your online persona to reflect that.

I often hear people say, right before I take their headshot at their office, that they like their current headshot, so weren’t sure why they need a new one. I ask them how old their current headshot is, and their answer is often more than 5 years. It’s no wonder they like their current one, it was taken when they were 5 or more years younger!

I’ve recently changed my headshot - one I took of myself whilst on a shoot for a client. I’ve gotten quite good at a fake laugh or smile. What do you think?

My new headshot for 2026

Clean and simple style.

My old headshot

A little more hair up top and a moodier style.

Do you think it’s time you updated your headshot? What about the headshots in your team at work? Or perhaps the whole company?

I can replicate any headshot style that’s been done before for your business or I can create a new look for you.

You can see more about the options on my London Corporate Headshots page.

Thanks for reading. Hope to hear from you soon!

Back To Work: Corporate Headshots, Events, Office Lifestyle

It will be of no surprise to you that the Covid-19 pandemic had a serious negative effect on my business as a corporate photographer in London. My job has always been reliant on people being at work in offices, so the lockdowns were not good for business. But there were little bits of work, here and there, which helped me make it through, and I’ve come out the other side of the pandemic with all guns blazing. It’s been a super busy year so far, dominated by headshots but with an increasing number of corporate events happening again since the easing of restrictions.

It was such a great relief to be busy again, visiting my clients’ offices to shoot an enormous number of headshots because so many people have changed jobs in the last two years. I’ve met loads and loads of people doing that, and I’ve been really enjoying getting back into the swing of things. Events have come back into full force, and I’ve been loving getting creative again to help my clients’ events look outstanding.

Probably the best thing to come out of the pandemic is the new approach to working that the majority of businesses and society have adopted. Businesses realised that many employees are more productive when they work at home because there are fewer distractions. Less time is wasted commuting back and forth to the office each day, less time is used up moving between meetings because they are all lined up back to back on Zoom or Teams.

But people really missed being in the office; the atmosphere, the company, the interaction and environment. There are some meetings and work that are best done face to face, in the flesh. It’s the interaction and atmosphere in the office that often attracts people to work for a particular business. So office lifestyle photography is as important as ever; photos and imagery that showcases what it’s like to work for an organisation.

It’s so good to be busy again in London taking photos of events and people again. Here is a selection of some of my favourite images since the pandemic eased towards the end of 2021.

Top 10 Tips For Corporate Headshots

So you’ve decided you need a new corporate headshot. Great!

I’ve got years of experience taking corporate headshots and I’ve learned a few things along the way, through practice and training. Here are ten things that will help you attain a killer corporate headshot. Nail all ten and you’ll be set.

1. Great Lighting

The most important feature of a great headshot is lighting. It’s all well and good making sure your outfit, hair and face all look their best, but if the lighting is bad, it’s not a worthwhile exercise. Hiring an experienced professional headshot photographer is a surefire way to get a headshot with lighting that helps you look your best.

2. Simple Outfit Choice

Your outfit shouldn’t be distracting. A headshot is about the person, not the clothes they’re wearing, so make sure you’re not wearing anything too bright or busy.

3. Breathe!

You should look confident and relaxed. But that’s the hardest thing to achieve. Most people don’t like having their photo taken, and that’s totally understandable. Unless they were a model, in which case it would be a little strange! The skill of the best headshot photographers is to help their subject relax and almost forget that they’re having their photo taken at all.

4. Composition

A lot of people think a headshot is a photo from the waist upwards, but that’s not the case.  A good corporate headshot should show the head and shoulders. Anything below the shoulders doesn’t really belong in a headshot.

5. A Distraction-free background

A distraction-free background is really important. Like the outfit, the background shouldn’t draw the viewer’s eye more than the subject themselves. Of course it doesn’t have to be a completely plain background. Sometimes the background can show the context of where the person is, but it should be sufficiently out of focus not to draw attention away from them.

6. The right expression

It sounds obvious, but the right facial expression counts for a lot. If you want people to do business with you, your expression should be friendly but usually not a full-on wide smile. You should come across as approachable yet professional.

7. It’s all in the eyes

People look at the eyes first when they look at a portrait photo. So the eyes should be perfectly in focus, and that’s the photographer’s responsibility. What can you do to make your eyes look good? It’s easy when you’re being photographed to be concentrating so much on not blinking that you end up with eyes wide open, which is not a great look for a headshot. In order to not look like a deer in the headlights, try squinting your eyes just a little. It might feel a little strange but it will help you look better in the resulting photo.

8. Your Posture

Your pose can say a lot about you too. It’s easy to feel a bit stiff when you get in front of the camera. As before, it’s the job of your photographer to help you loosen up and find the right posture for you. Small changes in your posture and pose can make a massive difference in the resulting photo.

9. Look after yourself

Another important factor in making sure you get a great headshot is all in your hands. Getting a good night’s sleep before your headshot session really helps you look and feel your best, which will show up in your headshot.

10. A great jawline

In the best headshots you will notice the person has a well-defined jawline. No-one likes having a double chin in their photo, but even for people without a double chin, it’s important to make sure your jawline looks great. Moving your chin towards the camera and down can really help with that. It might feel uncomfortable but it works great.

Why You Need A Great Corporate Headshot More Than Ever

One of the societal effects of Covid-19 is that more and more people are working from home. As some businesses try to move back into their offices, many have realised that the way they use an office may have changed forever. The lockdown(s) has forced companies to adapt to their employees working from home, and they may have now realised that their business is still just as, if not more productive than it was before. People are being trusted to work from home, so when the pandemic is over, office and business life may never be the same again.

With remote working more accepted than ever before, and lots of new small businesses springing up as people explore new income streams, it’s important to look after your online image. A key part of your online image is your profile picture, so having a great headshot is crucial.

It’s an old cliché about interviews that the interviewer makes up their mind about the interviewee within the first few seconds of meeting them, based on their appearance and manner. It’s no different online, with people making snap judgments about whether they would like to do business with a person within seconds of seeing their profile picture. So it’s important to make the best impression you can with your headshot.

Browse through LinkedIn and you’ll see a huge range of profile pictures; ranging from great headshots to poorly lit selfies. Who do you think most people would do business with? A great corporate headshot helps your profile stand out from the crowd, encourages people to connect with you, and most importantly tells people that you take yourself and your career seriously.

Whether on LinkedIn, another social media platform or your own website, people are deciding if they want to do business with you partly based on your image.

A great corporate headshot can tell potential clients that you understand what it takes to portray the right image online. It can show people you mean business, but at the same time can show off some of your personality. You can even have multiple different headshots for different purposes; one very serious headshot for instances when gravitas is needed, one where you’re really smiling which shows your fun and approachable side and maybe one somewhere in between. That’s before trying different outfits, which, even in a head and shoulders headshot can show off a different side to your character to the viewer.

If you think it’s time to book a corporate headshot session, I am available, although the location for shoots may change depending on the ever-changing government Covid-19 restrictions. Please get in touch for more information about organising a shoot.