Booking a portrait session can feel like a big step.
Especially if you don’t enjoy having your photo taken.
Most people arrive with at least one worry.
They think they’re not photogenic. They don’t know what to do with their hands. They worry they’ll look awkward. They’re not sure what to wear. They’ve had bad photos before and would rather not repeat the experience, thank you very much.
All completely normal.
The good news is that you don’t need to arrive knowing how to pose, perform or suddenly become confident in front of a camera.
That’s my job.
A good portrait session is a guided process. We’ll talk through what you need, choose the right setting, work at a pace that suits you and create photographs that feel useful, honest and properly like you.
Here’s what to expect.
First, we work out what the photos are for
Before I pick up the camera, I need to understand what the photographs need to do.
Are they for LinkedIn?
Your website?
A speaker profile?
A book jacket?
A personal brand refresh?
A portfolio?
A press feature?
Or do you simply want a portrait that feels more like you than the one you’ve been using for the past eight years?
The purpose matters.
A headshot for a solicitor probably needs a different feel from a portrait for a musician, actor, artist or small business owner.
You might need something clean, simple and professional.
You might need something more creative.
You might need a full set of personal branding images, with different looks for your website, social media, email newsletters and marketing.
Or you might just need one strong portrait that helps people trust you before they’ve met you.
We’ll talk about that first, so the shoot has a clear direction.
No guessing. No awkward “let’s just see what happens” energy.
Choosing the right location
One of the best things about working in the Surrey Hills is the variety of locations.
We can keep things simple in the studio.
That’s often a great option if you want clean, controlled portraits with good lighting and no weather drama. It also means we can try a few different backgrounds and lighting setups without worrying about wind, rain, dogs, traffic, or someone walking past eating a Greggs.
Outdoor portraits can work beautifully too.
The Surrey Hills gives us woodland, fields, village streets, quiet paths, textured walls, open views and plenty of natural backdrops that don’t feel too staged.
Winterfold Forest and Knowle Park are two of my favourite nearby locations, but the right place depends on what you need from the images.
A personal branding session might also work well at your place of work, studio, workshop, office, café, venue, or somewhere connected to what you do.
The location should support the story.
It shouldn’t distract from you.
We’ll talk about what to wear
Clothing can make a huge difference to how confident you feel.
You don’t need to dress up as someone else. In fact, please don’t.
The aim is to look like yourself on a good day.
I’ll usually suggest bringing a few options, especially for longer sessions. Layers work well. Jackets, shirts, knitwear, simple tops and pieces with a bit of shape can all photograph nicely.
Avoid anything that feels uncomfortable, needs constant adjusting, or makes you feel like you’re pretending to be someone from a corporate brochure.
If you never wear a suit, don’t suddenly wear one because you think a headshot demands it.
If your work is creative, your clothing can show more personality.
If your work is more formal, we can keep things sharper.
The main thing is that your clothes fit well, feel good and make sense for how you want to be seen.
You don’t need to know how to pose
This is probably the biggest worry people have.
“What do I do with my hands?”
Honestly, nobody knows.
Hands are ridiculous the moment a camera appears.
The important thing is that you don’t need to work it out.
I’ll guide you through the whole thing.
I’ll help with posture, angles, shoulders, hands, chin, expression and all the small adjustments that make a portrait work.
Most posing direction is tiny.
Turn slightly this way.
Drop your chin a little.
Lean forward.
Relax your hand.
Take a breath.
Look away for a second.
Now back to me.
That’s it.
It’s not about striking dramatic poses or suddenly becoming a model. It’s about helping your body look relaxed and your expression feel natural.
You’ll be directed throughout, so you’re never left standing there wondering what to do.
The first few photos are just warm-up
Almost everyone feels a bit strange at the beginning.
That’s fine.
The first few frames are often just about getting used to the camera, the light and the process.
There’s no pressure to be brilliant straight away.
In fact, I expect a shoot to build.
People usually relax after a few minutes, especially once they realise it’s not going to be painful. I’ll show you what’s working as we go, so you can see that we’re getting somewhere good.
That feedback helps.
It removes some of the mystery.
It also stops the voice in your head from inventing terrible possibilities about how you look.
Most people are pleasantly surprised much earlier in the shoot than they expected.
I’ll use lighting properly
Good light changes everything.
Sometimes that means studio flash.
Sometimes it means natural light.
Sometimes it means a mix of both.
I use lighting to shape the image, flatter the face, separate you from the background and create the right mood for the portrait.
This doesn’t mean making you look fake or overly polished.
It means creating an image with care.
A quick phone snap in poor light can make anyone feel bad about themselves. Proper lighting helps you look more like the person people see in real life.
That’s the goal.
Not perfection.
Just the best, most confident version of you.
We’ll create variety
Depending on the session you book, we can create a good range of images.
That might include a clear headshot, a more relaxed portrait, a wider image for your website, a few social media options, and some images where you’re looking away from the camera rather than straight down the lens.
For personal branding sessions, we can go further.
Different outfits.
Different backgrounds.
Working shots.
Detail images.
Photos with space for text.
Images you can use across LinkedIn, your website, email newsletters, blog posts, speaker bios, press features and social media.
The aim is to give you photographs that are genuinely useful, not just nice to look at for three minutes before disappearing into a folder.
After the shoot, you’ll choose your favourites
After the session, I’ll go through the images and send you a proof gallery.
These are lightly prepared, unedited images, so you can choose the ones you’d like me to finish properly.
This part is important.
You get to make the final selection.
Some people know immediately which images they love. Others take a bit longer. Some ask a friend, partner or colleague for a second opinion, which is absolutely fine.
I’m also happy to help if you’re not sure.
Choosing portraits can feel strange because we all look at ourselves differently from how other people see us.
I’ll help you pick images that feel strong, natural and useful for where they need to appear.
Then I edit them properly
Once you’ve chosen your favourites, I’ll hand-edit the final images.
The aim is to polish, not change who you are.
I’ll tidy distractions, refine colour and contrast, adjust tones, soften temporary blemishes where needed and make sure the finished portrait looks professional without feeling overdone.
I don’t believe in editing people into plastic versions of themselves.
You should still look like you.
Just well lit, well directed and properly finished.
You’ll receive high-resolution files suitable for print and web-ready versions for online use. Depending on the package, I can also provide colour and black and white versions.
The experience should feel easier than you expect
The thing clients most often tell me afterwards is that the session was much easier than they expected.
That’s always nice to hear.
Because a portrait session shouldn’t feel intimidating.
It shouldn’t feel like you’re being judged.
It shouldn’t feel like you’re being asked to perform.
It should feel guided, useful and surprisingly enjoyable.
You’ll probably laugh at least once. Usually at yourself. Possibly at me. Either is fine.
By the end, the aim is simple.
You should have photographs you’re happy to use, and you should feel better about being photographed than you did when you arrived.
Ready for a portrait session in the Surrey Hills?
If your current photo no longer feels like you, or you need stronger images for your website, LinkedIn, personal brand, acting portfolio, speaker profile or press use, I’d be very happy to help.
We can keep things simple in the studio, head outdoors in the Surrey Hills, or build a fuller personal branding session around your work and personality.
You don’t need to know how to pose.
You don’t need to feel confident before you arrive.
You just need to show up.
I’ll guide the rest.
