How I photographed 20 lawyers in Marylebone in one afternoon, without the lost billable hours
Most of what you read about corporate headshots is advice. This is the opposite: a real job, start to finish. A few weeks ago, in the thick of the summer heatwave, a boutique London law firm in Marylebone asked me to photograph their team. Twenty lawyers, one afternoon, and a firm rule that nobody could lose real time away from their work. As a London corporate headshot photographer, this is the job I do most, so here is exactly how the day ran.
| Client | A Marylebone law firm |
|---|---|
| Team photographed | 20 lawyers |
| Time on site | One afternoon |
| Time per lawyer | 5 to 10 minutes |
What the firm actually wanted
The brief was clear. They needed a consistent set of headshots for the website and everyone's LinkedIn, the kind that finally makes a team page look like one firm instead of twenty strangers who happen to share a logo.
They also wanted personality and warmth, people who look approachable, a world away from the classic lawyer pose of gazing off into the distance. That mattered to this firm more than most. As the client explained it, people book them because they are competent and approachable, and their own clients say that mix is not always easy to find. The headshots needed to carry that, whatever the pose.
And, this being a firm of people who bill by the hour, they needed it done with as little disruption as humanly possible. That last point is where most team shoots fall apart, so it is where I do most of my planning.
Before I arrived: no surprises
Every corporate booking starts the same way. Before the day, I send the main contact, in this case the practice manager, a simple guide to how it will all run. When I will arrive, how long set-up takes, the shooting window, time for reviewing images, and how long I need to pack up. Nobody enjoys surprises, least of all an office manager trying to keep a floor of lawyers on schedule.
On the day itself, I arrived at the office 45 minutes before the shoot, a good 15 minutes before I was even due, which the practice manager and I had agreed in advance. I do this on purpose. You never quite know which room you will be given or what will need moving, and I would far rather find that out early than eat into anyone's time later.
Making the room work
This time I was shown into a meeting room with a decent-sized table, six chairs, a couple of armchairs and a low coffee table. Not a studio. That is completely normal, and it does not faze me. I asked if I could shift the furniture to clear some space, the client said yes, and I moved the table and the armchairs to the side to open up a working area.
Then I set up. The firm wanted bright, warm images, so I used a two-light setup and kept the mood light. Nothing dark or dramatic. Backdrop up, lights and reflector in place, and then the part I never skip: my laptop on a stand. For me it is not optional that people can see their photos properly on a big screen, instead of squinting at the back of a camera. I got the tripod and camera ready, took a few test frames to dial everything in for the first person, and with ten minutes to spare I was set.
Twenty lawyers, about ten minutes each
The firm chose to manage the booking slots themselves this time, which made sense given how fast a lawyer's calendar can change. People came down as they were free, sat for their session, and were back at their desks in about five to ten minutes. That is the whole point of shooting on-site. Nobody crossed London, nobody wrote off an afternoon, and the billable clock barely noticed I was there.
The heat did make itself known. On a day like that I reached for the mattifying makeup far more than usual, and I was glad it lives in my kit as standard. A good number of the team were grateful for it, several of the men included. I also carry a range of tones so I can look after most skin types, because turning up without it is not a mistake you make twice.
One more thing sped everything up. Each lawyer picked their favourite there and then, on the big screen. No waiting for a gallery link to sit in an inbox they might not open for a week.
Because I edit every image myself, I was at my desk working on them the next morning, and the finished set was with the firm three days after the shoot. My quote says ten working days, but I treat that as a safety margin, so nobody is ever left waiting on me.
The result
The day ran exactly to plan. Twenty lawyers photographed in a single afternoon, a full set of consistent, warm headshots ready for the website and LinkedIn, and everyone's picks already chosen before I packed away.
Because every headshot was lit and shot the same way, the firm has one matching set it can keep using as people join or refresh their profiles, without the directory drifting back into a patchwork.
If this sounds like your team
If you are the one staring at a mismatched directory before a big investor meeting or a website refresh, this is roughly how it goes when you work with me. You get the plan up front, your people are away from their desks for minutes at a time, and you get a clear quote with proper corporate invoicing, none of the vagueness. As a Marylebone and London corporate photographer, more often than not I am the one coming to you. if you are wondering why so many businesses opt for on-site over going to a studio, you can read all about on-location corporate headshots here.
Ready to sort your team's headshots?
If you want a London headshot photographer who comes to you, whether that is Marylebone, the City or anywhere else, tell me roughly how many people and when, and I will send you a clear quote and a plan for the day. Book your team's headshots in Marylebone, or get in touch for a quote.
