Can you imagine spending an hour in a room with them?
Of course you need someone who understands lighting, composition and how to use a camera. That’s a given. But once you’ve cut your search down to the people who are actually professionals in their field, the thing that will have the biggest impact on your photographs probably isn’t technical ability. It’s chemistry.
You’re about to spend an hour with someone asking you to sit or stand in front of a lens and potentially feel a bit vulnerable in the process. If you don’t feel comfortable with them, the camera will notice.
That’s why I’d encourage anybody looking for a headshot photographer to spend just as much time reading their words as looking at their pictures. Do they talk about helping nervous people feel at ease? Do they explain why they photograph people the way they do? Can you imagine spending an hour in a room with them?
Every photographer has a ‘philosophy’ of sorts, whether they acknowledge it on their website or not. Some are committed to dramatic, cinematic, arty portraits – the sort of thing that looks great in their portfolio but may not be super useful to a working actor’s Spotlight profile. Others will always prioritise clean, commercial imagery.
Some will direct every tiny movement you make. Others will barely say a word throughout the session. None of those approaches are inherently correct or otherwise. They’re just different.
Personally, I’m more interested in photographs that feel believable than photographs that feel perfect. I don’t think a headshot should reinvent somebody. I think it should introduce them.
And that ‘philosophy’, if we can call it that, is likely influenced by my day job – in a field I’ve worked in for over 10 years before I started photographing people on the side. By day, I work in advertising and theatre marketing, commissioning photography for campaigns seen by millions of people.
My job wasn’t to decide which photograph was technically the strongest. It was to decide which photograph made people stop scrolling, buy a ticket or trust what they were looking at.
Whether you’re selling a West End show or introducing yourself on LinkedIn, the photograph you pick to do so has the same objective. It has to create enough confidence for somebody to take the next step.
The camera is only part of that process. The relationship between photographer and subject matters just as much.
So definitely look at portfolios, read reviews and compare prices. But I’d also encourage you to find the photographer whose ‘philosophy’ feels right to you. Whose words sound like somebody you’d actually enjoy spending an hour with.
Because for me, the best headshots aren’t produced by photographers who simply know how to use a camera. They’re produced by photographers who know how to make people forget it’s there.
A few practical things to look for
Once you’ve found a photographer whose work and approach you like, I’d encourage you to seek out the answers to a few practical questions before you book. The best photographers will tend to pre-empt your questions and answer them on your website, but if not, never feel embarrassed to reach out to them direct.
The first question is whether they regularly photograph the sort of people you’re looking to join. If you’re an actor, you want someone who understands casting and Spotlight. If you’re an entrepreneur or business owner, you’re likely looking for something that feels polished without becoming overly corporate. And if you’re somewhere in between – as many people are – it’s worth finding a photographer whose work doesn’t feel limited to a single style.
Location is another consideration, although if you’re likely only going to update your headshots every few years, it’s worth weighing up whether an extra twenty or thirty minutes in the car is a relatively small investment if it means working with someone whose style and approach genuinely suits you.
I’m based in Nottingham’s Oldknows Factory (10 mins walk from the city centre, with free on-street parking on weeknights and over the weekends), and have photographed people travelling from across Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire and elsewhere in the East Midlands – as well as performers, based in London, who are visiting Nottingham or Leicester as part of UK tour contracts.
It’s also worth checking what’s actually included in the session. How long will you have? Can you bring multiple outfits? Do they have monitors where you can review the photographed in real-time and make adjustments as you go? Will you be able to properly sort through your images before you leave? How many retouched photographs are included? What’s the turnaround time? Those practical details often make a big difference to the overall experience.
So whether you’re based in Nottingham, Mansfield, Newark, West Bridgford, Derby, Leicester or anywhere else in the region, a good photographer should be happy to answer your questions and help you decide whether they’re the right fit. If you come away from that conversation feeling understood rather than sold to, you’ve probably found someone worth spending an hour with.
the best headshots aren't produced by photographers who simply know how to use a camera. They're produced by photographers who know how to make people forget it’s there.
