Tag: headshot

Mini headshot sessions – images with added Vitamin D ☀️

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December 2025

Putting some fun and lightness into your images 🌟

I’ve been offering headshots in my Ealing studio for over 17 years now but this year I introduced a more branding-style environment to complement the natural light that streams in. I still offer full studio lighting sessions but the natural daylight option is perfect for headshot & branding photoshoots 💫

There is lots of light, whites, plants and neutral colours but I work with you to bring in pretty much any colour to give your branding images the unique touch 🎨

My mini photoshoots involve a little 25-minute tour round the studio with or without props, having a chat and me capturing your personality with no effort on your part ☺️ If you’re super quick we can usually fit in one or even two outfit changes if that’s your priority. The time is yours…

One of my early adopters, Lisa Talbot (featured above), a brilliant Personal Stylist, did a great insta video post of her experience in the studio, have a watch HERE to see inside my natural daylight studio 🎥

Below is a mini gallery of just a few of my recent clients and the different images they were excited to download after their photoshoots. In no particular order although a certain Moss does appear first!

It’s always so lovely spotting my client’s new images on their LinkedIn pages, author profiles, website bios and social media posts. I love seeing how much they enjoy the positive reaction from their friends, colleagues, clients 😁

If you’re interested in booking a mini headshot and branding photoshoot have a look on my website HERE to see my next dates 😁 📷🎥 (and yes I can offer mini video clips too)

Melanie x

Team photoshoot with Aboria Capital 💫

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12 September 2025

What a great team to work with 🌟

Earlier in the summer I did a branding photoshoot for Aboria Capital, a real estate and investment manager and partner. They were just the friendliest of people.

I always visit a company before any branding photoshoot to ensure that we have the opportunity to talk through what they need in the context of the location we’ll be using. Most people hate having their photos taken so it’s a great time for them to meet me and be reassured that my approach will be one of fun rather than anxiety-inducing!

It also gives me the chance to do some sample shots so that on the day we can go straight to the set ups that perfectly fit their brand vision. That’s not to say that we don’t fit in some spontaneous shots if we discover something extra whilst walking around during the photoshoot ☺️

Aboria’s Rebecca is the most amazing organiser and had done a super efficient schedule for the photoshoot, which meant we could use every minute of the photography time. We did headshots in their beautiful offices, a series of team shots outside, duo shots of the founders Jessica and Bay, followed by some candid action images of the team. Capturing different angles of a company really brings out the human side to a business and leaves no doubt that Aboria are people you’d really like to work with.

Thank you for asking me to do your photos Aboria, it was a real pleasure working with you all and getting to know your ever-growing business.

If you’d like to learn more about Aboria Capital have a look at their website. I can guarantee you’ll want to work with them 😁

Mini Headshot Photoshoot with Virtual Executive Assistant, Kelsey Pienaar

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24 July 2025

A great time to chat ☺️

I love offering mini headshot photoshoots as they are brilliant at giving clients a real boost of creative images in a short time, as well as a taste of how branding photography might help grow their visibility and business. They are only 25 minute sessions but don’t underestimate how many backdrops and set ups we can pack in! There’s always time for plenty of chat and laughter too 💫

Creating Space for You to Lead is Kelsey Pienaar’s strapline. She is a Virtual Executive Assistant, founder of The VA House and offers a number of comprehensive administration packages which support senior leaders and allow them to focus on their priorities. It was such a pleasure to chat to her and understand more about the business she runs – we talked whilst making full use of all the gorgeously furnished areas that Mill House, Wooburn offers 😆

There are colours and types of set ups in Mill House that suit most brands which is why it’s one of my favourite places to do mini headshot photoshoots. The result is always a diverse portfolio of images that can be used across websites, social media and marketing materials. The natural light is fantastic so there’s no need for big lighting set ups which means we can move around the building and outside as much as we want.

The Mill House staff are amazingly friendly and offer a free hot desk for the day for any of my photoshoot clients, so incorporating your headshot session into a working day is even more efficient 🌟

If you’d like someone to take away some of the stress of running your business and seamlessly get stuff done, Kelsey is your person. Have a look at her website for information and the route to calmness & space in your life…

Pop up headshots with the Businettes ☺️

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9 June 2025

A room full of female founders 💡💡💡

One of the things that I offer, as a photographer is not just covering events but also providing a pop-up headshot studio at events. This can be a super easy way of giving your guests a new profile image for their business as part of their goody bag. It’s hassle free as they’re already looking fab for the event and only takes a couple of minutes away from their networking 🌟

Vaida Ska-McNeill set up Businettes UK, a brilliant community for female founders. She joins Victoria Arnhold and Claire Siegert who set up Businettes in France and Germany, the largest female founder communities in their countries 💫

Vaida ran a brilliant event recently in London and asked me to provide headshots as part of it. The whole evening was completely buzzing full of women talking all things business and social before some really inspiring talks by guest speakers, including cofounder of Olio, Tessa Clarke, featured here. Am so impressed that she managed to find the time for a quick headshot before she went on stage 😆

I usually set up in a corner of the main part of the event space, discreet enough not to get in the way or have everyone watching the headshots, but near enough to the crowds that it’s only a few steps to come for your micro headshot session. I’ll do a couple of different set ups in the same area so that there’s a nice variety of images to choose from afterwards in the online galleries.

Aside from creating fab new headshots for people, what is really great is that I get to speak to so many of them on a 1:1. What’s not to love!

Have a look at some of the exciting Businettes events coming up in London, I can really recommend them ☺️

Headshots with the plumbers 🪠

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21 May 2025

Bringing the tools of your trade into your photoshoot 🌟

I’ve worked with many schools over the years and done lots of branding photoshoots with all sorts of businesses but Southall College definitely upped the game in terms of props 😁

Southall Community College run all manner of courses including a strong plumbing department. Their students were really eager to have new headshots so they could finish setting up their websites and have profile photos to show their faces to prospective clients. Some of the students are only recently out of school so might not usually think of having headshots done but they are keen to be taken seriously in their profession and having good profile photos supports this.

It’s always great to include props when client’s professions involve regular use of tools and it can make people feel in their zone during their headshot sessions. The plumbing students were more than happy to bring some and they added some nice pops of colour 🎨

Good luck to course tutor Jason (featured above with a pipe bender) and all the students pursuing their plumbing careers 💫

Headshots with Katharina Dalka, fintech guru

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16 May 2025

Doing a series of headshots with Katharina Dalka was so interesting💡

Katharina set up her company, StellarOne with the aim of reshaping the landscape of financial advisory services for the tech sector. She has nearly two decades of corporate finance and strategy and is growing her business all the time 🌟

It makes a real difference if you start up with a bank of profile images early on so that you can use different images for a variety of platforms, speaker profiles, pitch decks. Your posts and proposals always look fresh and you’re never having a last minute scramble to find the right photo. We used the beautiful Allbright Townhouse and then all around Bond Street for her images and they really suited her style of super calm, confident, purposeful and professional.

It was really great to meet you Katharina, I love seeing your business flourishing 😊

Coppett Hill – a fun team to work with 🌟

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2 April 2025

A photoshoot full of character 😁

Coppett Hill got in touch with me as they were creating a new website and wanted it to truly represent their company style and ethos. They are a technology-enabled growth advisory business and have a really friendly, innovative approach. My brief was to capture their team at work and give them images to show off what they’re about.

First off we talked through lots of different location suggestions that would capture their vibe. We wanted somewhere that related to the more traditional style of institutions they often work with yet an environment which would lend itself to capturing animated images of the team working together. So we hired some meeting rooms at The Hoxton which worked really well for a variety of backdrops, for headshots and team images.

Quite often the best time to do a photoshoot can be when there’s an away day or team meeting and individuals can pop out of the room for their headshots before we do action team shots. Sometimes the action shots are staged if we want to incorporate specific scenarios that weren’t part of the team meeting, other times they are live shots. Whether staged or not, it makes for a fun session as everyone is involved and can also enjoy whichever fab location we’ve booked. I’ll always give photoshoot tips and tricks on how to prepare and what to wear, which takes away some of the fear of having photos taken and everyone knows they’re all in it together 😁

Coppett Hill are a really fast growing company so it was great to meet their new team members and now watch their business go from strength to strength. They’re such a fun lot, the photoshoot morning was full of chat and laughter. I can recommend them all as brilliant people to know. Have a look at how they might help you here 💫

A personal branding photoshoot from Mars!

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25 March 2025

A C-Suite branding photoshoot in a fab location 🌟

Emma Evison has been director of many segments of Mars Inc over her career and is currently Chief Digital & Transformation Strategy Officer 🌟

She wanted some personal branding images that had more of a lifestyle feel to them than a corporate one so we used an Airbnb to do the shoot. Airbnbs can be a great option for personal branding photoshoots that perfectly suit the client, have plenty of natural light and a great mix of backdrops. It’s always nice to use any outdoor space too if they’ve got it.

Personal branding photoshoots are designed to show a greater insight into the client’s personality and life beyond just work. Sometimes they might involve a few props to give some animation and help the viewer imagine what it would be like to work with the person, other times they may incorporate tools of their trade, products they make, hobbies and pets. The sessions are always very much tailored to what my client does, their brand message, and how much of their life they wish to share. All of my photoshoots, however, are as relaxed as possible and generally full of chat and laugher 😆

Emma had brought a great capsule wardrobe with her which worked brilliantly for a mixture of casual and more formal looks. Here are just a few examples.

Chatting with a doctor in the sunshine ☀️

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11 March 2025

What’s not to like about headshots in the park 🌳

I love doing headshots in the park for clients who need more natural, neutral backgrounds or a connection with nature. Each photoshoot varies depending on the time of year, time of day, whether the sun is in or out and which corners I know suit the person’s brand best. It can be really exciting to discover a new spot with different vegetation or one that is usually too sun drenched but perfect when the sun goes in. It makes each session unique 🌟

Jane Jones used to be a GP and is now a health coach and psychotherapist, using her medical expertise to help people make changes in life for better health and wellbeing. Imagine seeing your doctor for advice on tweaks to your life but instead of having ten minutes to chat, you have a whole hour or more 😁 Her strapline should be Help your health and Thrive with Jane!

Headshots in the park, or any of my outdoor headshots, are like a little tour of the area with lots of chat, stopping to use the different backdrops on offer, sometimes one change of outfit, sometimes many. Jane had a great line of knitwear for hers 💫

Have a look at Jane’s website to see how you can thrive 😁

Mini Headshot Photoshoot days – Graphic Designer Susie Richards

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4 March 2025

A photoshoot brimming with creativity 💡💡💡

One of the lovely things about a mini headshot photoshoot is that you can try out new spaces and lots of backdrops in a short amount of time. With a little bit of preparation, a half hour session, lots of chat and laughter, you’ve got a great set of images to get your website started or boost your socials 🌟

Susie Richards is Director of Colour Pop, a creative design studio. She came to one of my mini headshot photoshoot mornings at Mill House and we had a really fun session. Mill House is a boutique coworking space in Wooburn, near Marlow, beautifully refurbished by its owner Helen Bolton and was just perfect for Susie’s branding images as she is a super bubbly person and absolutely full of creative energy. Although my photoshoot plans are always filled with ideas for my client, it’s always a real gift to work with another professional creator 😆. Together we crafted lots of set ups and capture tonnes of animated images, along with plenty of chat 💫

Mini headshot photoshoots last half an hour and can include a prop or two, maybe a quick change of jacket or top, and as many backdrops as we have time for. They are brilliant for creating a new set of images for refreshing profile photos, speaker shots, social posts… and a very affordable way of seeing how branding images can help your business. All the locations I choose have multiple background options and corners so that they fit a wide range of professions and brands: there is something for everyone 🌟

If you’re in need of a graphic designer don’t hesitate to look at Susie’s website, she’s done some brilliant work for me and I can thoroughly recommend her. And if you need somewhere in the Marlow area to work, do visit Mill House for an environment full of calmness and style 😆