By Elena · Cup of Green Photography · Caterham, Surrey
If I had a pound for every time someone said this in the first two minutes of a headshot session, I could retire to a very nice corner of the North Downs. And yet the people who say it walk out with photos they like. I don't talk anyone out of the feeling; the way a good session works removes the reasons for it. This is how.
First: you're not "unphotogenic"
There's no such thing, and I mean that as a professional statement rather than a kindness. What people call being unphotogenic is almost always one of two fixable problems: bad photos taken in bad light by someone in a hurry, or the very human freeze that happens when a lens points at you and someone says "just act natural". Neither is a fact about your face. Both disappear with light, time and direction, which is precisely what you're paying a photographer for.
Why "just act natural" never works
Being watched is the least natural situation there is. Told to stand still, smile and be yourself, your brain does the opposite of all three, and you get the stiff, glassy look you hate in photos of yourself. So I don't ask for it. Instead I give you something real to do: walk towards me and glance up, turn away and come back, tell me about the worst client you've ever had. The expressions in my headshots are real reactions to real moments, which is why they look like you. The camera just happens to be there when it counts.
A real reaction beats a held smile, every time.
What happens in the hour
We start with tea, coffee or at least a chat, never with the camera. Then we ease in with frames that don't matter, and within about ten minutes I'll show you the back of the camera. This is the moment the session changes. People expect to flinch at their own picture; instead they see someone who looks calm and, to their surprise, quite good, and the whole body language of the session shifts. From there it's conversation with occasional photography, and the hour tends to end with the sentence I hear most after the one in this article's title: "that was actually fun."
One of my recent clients, Anna, put it exactly this way in her review: "I hate having my photo taken, but Elena made me feel totally at ease and we had so much fun." I've stopped being surprised. The dread is nearly universal, and so is the recovery.
What you can do to help (very little, on purpose)
Wear something you feel yourself in. Soft, plain colours; nothing that needs tugging or checking. The same rules as family shoots apply, minus the wellies.
Bring a second top. A one-minute change gives you two distinct looks from one session.
Don't rehearse a face. Practised smiles photograph as practised smiles. Arrive with nothing prepared; that's my job.
Book it for a low-stress day. Not between two difficult meetings. The hour works best when nothing is chasing it.
Where we shoot
Wherever you'll feel most like yourself: outdoors around Caterham with soft natural light and greenery behind you, at your office or in your own workspace. I photograph headshots across Caterham, Reigate, Redhill, Oxted, Purley, Croydon and South London, for LinkedIn, websites, press and speaker profiles, and for whole teams if you'd like everyone to match without anyone suffering.
Need a headshot that doesn't make you wince?
An hour of your time, a proper chat and photos you'll use. If you're the "I hate having my photo taken" type, you're exactly who this session was designed for.
Don't try to hold a pose. Natural headshots come from movement and conversation: walking a few steps, turning back to the camera, reacting to a real chat. A good photographer directs you into small actions rather than asking you to freeze, which is why the photos look like you rather than a passport picture.
Will you show me the photos during the session?
Yes, early and often. Seeing a good frame on the back of the camera in the first ten minutes changes everything: the worry stops, the shoulders drop, and the rest of the session gets easier and better from there.
How long does a headshot session take?
About an hour. Camera-shy people often find this reassuring: it's long enough to relax into it and get real variety, and short enough that it never turns into an endurance event. You leave with fully retouched images in multiple crops, ready for LinkedIn, your website or press.
What should I wear for a headshot?
Something you already feel confident in, in soft plain colours, the outfit equivalent of a firm handshake. Avoid busy patterns, big logos and anything brand-new you've never sat down in. If you're stuck between two options, bring both; changing tops takes a minute and gives you two different looks.
The simple rules that make everyone look like themselves, only better. Colours that photograph well together, fabrics that behave and how to dress a family for the weather without anyone sulking.
Cup of Green