To prepare for professional headshots, decide where the images will be used, choose a style that suits your brand, and plan your clothing, grooming and timing a few days ahead. A well-prepared session takes less time and produces images you will use for years, on LinkedIn, your company website and in print.
Why do professional headshots matter?
Your headshot is often the first thing a client, candidate or colleague sees. It appears on your LinkedIn profile, in every post and comment you make, on your team page and in proposals. A clear, current portrait tells people you take your work seriously.
For businesses, consistency matters as much as quality. When every member of a team is photographed with the same lighting, background and framing, the website looks considered and the brand feels joined up. Mixed phone snaps and holiday crops do the opposite.
Good headshots also save time. Marketing teams can use them across the website, social channels, press releases and printed material without reshoots or awkward edits.
Which headshot style is right for you?
There are three main styles. The right one depends on your sector, your audience and where the image will appear.
| Style | What it looks like | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | Plain or graduated background, controlled lighting, clean framing | LinkedIn, team pages, press kits, speaker profiles |
| Environmental | Photographed in your workplace or a location that reflects your work | About pages, case studies, personal branding, social content |
| Corporate | Studio quality, set up on site, with every person framed and lit the same way | Large teams, consistent website directories, annual reports |
Many businesses combine styles. A consistent studio headshot for the team page, with a handful of environmental portraits for the website and social channels, gives you both uniformity and personality.
What are the technical requirements for web, print and social?
Each platform crops and compresses images differently. Shooting with enough space around the head, and delivering files sized for each use, keeps your headshot sharp everywhere it appears.
| Use | Recommended size | Shape | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| LinkedIn profile | At least 400 x 400 px | Square, shown as a circle | Max 8 MB, JPEG or PNG. Keep your face central so the circular crop does not clip it. |
| Company website | 1200 px or more on the long edge | Usually square or portrait | Use the same crop and ratio for every team member. Compress for fast loading. |
| Other social channels | 1080 x 1080 px | Square | Shown small in feeds and comments, so a tight crop reads best. |
| 300 dpi at the printed size | As required | A full resolution file, not a web export. Ask for the original. |
LinkedIn’s sizing is drawn from LinkedIn’s image size guides for 2026. Platforms change their specifications from time to time, so check before uploading.
A good photographer will deliver a high-resolution master file and web-ready versions, so you are not resizing images yourself.
How should you prepare for professional headshots?
Most of the work happens before you arrive. Follow these steps to prepare for professional headshots and the session will feel straightforward.
- Know where the image will be used. LinkedIn, a team page and a conference programme may need different crops. Tell your photographer in advance.
- Match your clothing to your audience. Dress as you would for an important client meeting. Plain, well fitted clothes in solid colours work best. Avoid busy patterns, large logos and anything that creases easily.
- Bring options. Pack two or three tops or jackets. Different necklines and colours give you choice on the day.
- Plan your grooming. Get a haircut a week before, not the day before, so it has time to settle. If you wear makeup, keep it natural and matte. We can arrange hair and makeup support for many shoots.
- Rest and hydrate. A good night’s sleep and plenty of water show in your skin and eyes.
- Wear your glasses if you usually do. Your headshot should look like the person people will meet. Your photographer will adjust the lighting to reduce reflections.
- Arrive with a little time to spare. Rushing shows in the shoulders and the face.
- Relax and follow direction. Small changes in posture, chin angle and expression make a big difference. A good photographer will guide you through them.
For team shoots, share a short brief with staff a week before. Agree a dress code so the final set looks consistent.
Should you book a single portrait or a team shoot?
It depends on how many people need images and how consistent they need to be.
Individual sessions suit professionals updating their LinkedIn profile, consultants, speakers and anyone building a personal brand. At Photography MK, individual sessions take place in our Buckingham studio and are offered in three packages: Profile, Professional and Executive. Each focuses on quality over quantity, with careful retouching on every finished image.
Team sessions suit businesses that want every person photographed to the same standard. We bring a full studio set-up to your office, so staff step away from their desks for a few minutes rather than travelling. One shooting station keeps the lighting and framing identical from the first person to the last, whether the team is five people or several hundred.
Teamwork is priced by the project, on a fixed budget agreed in advance, so there are no surprises when the invoice arrives. New starters can be photographed later to match the original set.
Case study: a consistent team set, delivered in 48 hours
The client: SMA Solar, a tech business based in Milton Keynes, with 22 staff from several departments.
The brief: Their website team page used a mix of old photos, phone images and missing profiles. They wanted every member of staff photographed to the same standard, in time for [website relaunch / event], without taking people away from their work for long.
What we did:
- Planning call. We agreed the background, crop and dress code, and confirmed how the images would be used on the website, and LinkedIn.
- Staff brief. The client shared our preparation guide with the team a week before the shoot.
- On site set up. We set up a single studio station in a meeting room at their offices. Free travel applies within 15 miles of our Buckingham studio.
- The shoot. Each person spent a few minutes in front of the camera, then chose their own favourite image on screen before returning to their desk.
- Retouching and delivery. We delivered finished, retouched images within 48 hours, sized for web and print. We never release unedited proofs, so every image the client received was ready to use.
The result: 22 consistent headshots, a team page that looks considered, and LinkedIn profiles that match the company website. “I would highly recommend Martyn for your professional / corporate shooting.
Quick, affordable and reliable.”
Frequently asked questions
How long does a headshot session take? An individual studio session usually takes under an hour. On a team day, each person needs only a few minutes in front of the camera.
What should I wear for a LinkedIn headshot? What you would wear to meet an important client. Solid colours, a good fit and nothing that distracts from your face.
How quickly will I receive my images? Standard delivery is 72 hours. An express 24 hour service is available.
Can I choose my own image? Yes. You review your images on screen during the session and choose your favourite there and then.
Do you photograph teams outside Milton Keynes? Yes. We cover Milton Keynes, Buckingham and the South East Midlands, and travel to central areas of the UK for team shoots.
How often should I update my headshot? Every two to three years, or sooner if your appearance changes noticeably. Your photo should look like the person people meet.
Book your headshot session
Whether you need one portrait for LinkedIn or a consistent set for your whole team, we can help.
- Individuals: book a studio session in Buckingham online.
- Teams: get in touch to arrange a short consultation. We will talk through your brief, your timings and a fixed project budget.
