Your headshots will look better with a few friendly faces in the room

Here’s something most people don’t expect when they book a headshot day: the photographer is knackered by lunchtime. Not from carrying kit or setting lights — from talking.

When you’re shooting 50 people back to back, every single person who walks through that door needs to feel relaxed within about 30 seconds. That means conversation, warmth, and zero awkward silence — from the first person to the last. Do that 50 times in a row, solo, and you’ll know about it.

The solution I’ve landed on is dead simple: don’t send people in alone.

Two ways to do it 

1. Bring a familiar face into the room

This one works brilliantly when someone from your team is already organising the day — your marketing manager, HR lead, or office manager.

Rather than hovering outside, they come into the shoot room with each person. They know the team. They know who just got back from a wedding, who’s got a new dog, whose kids just started school. So they chat.

And here’s the thing — everybody loves talking about themselves. It’s just human nature. The moment someone starts telling a story about their own life, they relax, their posture opens up, and the photos start looking like them rather than a passport photo.

I’m in the background getting the shot. Your colleague is doing the heavy lifting.

2. Send people in small groups

Rather than one person at a time, four or five colleagues come in together. The person in front of the camera has a little audience — people who actually like them, who’ll laugh at the same references, and who’ll give genuine reactions.

As the photos start appearing on the laptop screen, the group will naturally start commenting. I’ve noticed this tends to go one of two ways: women are more likely to encourage each other (“oh that’s a great one, use that one”), and men are more likely to take the mickey. Either works. Both get real expressions.

There’s a practical bonus too — swapping one person for the next is instant. No waiting for someone to be called, walk across the building, and find the room. You just swap them over. That alone can take a meaningful chunk of time off a big shoot day.

What this looks like in practice

If you’re planning a headshot day for your team, the ask is simple: either have whoever’s organising it stay in the room with me, or have people come in groups of three to five rather than solo.

That’s it. No extra cost, no extra kit. Just better photos and a more enjoyable day for everyone — including me.

Planning a team shoot? Drop me a line at [email protected] and we can work out the format that suits your team, huge thanks to Mike and his team at JPS Print Management LTD for letting me capture his lovely team.