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What to Expect From a Personal Branding Photography Session in London
If you’ve never done a personal branding shoot before, it’s completely normal to feel a bit unsure about what you’re actually signing up for.
Most of my clients come to me having never worked with a photographer professionally. They’re founders, coaches, consultants, therapists. Brilliant at what they do. Not necessarily comfortable in front of a camera.
So here’s exactly what happens, from the moment you get in touch to the day your images land in your inbox.
It starts with a conversation, not a camera
Before we book anything, we have a call. I want to understand your business, who you’re talking to, what you want people to feel when they land on your website or LinkedIn profile, and what’s missing from the images you have right now.
This conversation shapes everything. The locations we choose, the way I direct you on the day, the moments I look for. If you skip this part, you’re just getting photos. We’re not here to give you just photos.
You can book that initial call directly through our personal branding photography page, where you’ll also find full details of our packages and what each one includes.
Location is a decision, not an afterthought
We always shoot on location. Never a studio, never a white wall. The environment you’re in tells part of your story, and the right location communicates something about you before anyone reads a single word.
Based on our initial conversation, I’ll suggest locations that fit your brand. That might be a quiet street in Chiswick, a riverside spot in Richmond, a workspace in Brentford, or somewhere that has a specific connection to your work. We cover all of West London and beyond.
The shoot itself
On the day, my job is to make you forget you’re being photographed.
I don’t want stiff, posed images. I want you mid-thought, mid-conversation, caught in a moment that actually looks like you. That takes a bit of time to get to, and that’s fine. Every single client relaxes once we get going.
Ian and I shoot together on our Full Brand Shoot sessions. Ian looks for composition and form. I look for emotion. Between us we’re looking for images that don’t just show what you look like, they communicate something true about who you are.
For Headshot Sessions and Brand Refresh shoots I work solo, and the pace is more focused and efficient.
Turnaround and delivery
Your images are delivered within 21 days via an online gallery. You choose your selects and download directly. No chasing, no confusion, no sitting on a hard drive somewhere waiting to be sent.
What you’ll actually walk away with
Not just photographs. A set of images that work across your website, LinkedIn, press features, speaking profiles, email signatures, and anywhere else your personal brand shows up.
Clients regularly tell me the shoot changed how they felt about showing up online. That’s not an accident. That’s what happens when the images finally match the person.
If you’ve got questions before you’re ready to book, our FAQ page covers everything from what to wear to how to prepare.
And if you’re ready to talk, book a free 30-minute Image Audit and we’ll take it from there.
2 Comments
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That point about location selection feels underrated as a topic. A lot of advice around personal branding shoots focuses on outfits, poses, expressions – and all of that matters – but where the shoot happens shapes the whole visual language of what comes out. A hired studio and a client’s own office tell completely different stories, even with identical styling and lighting. Through LemonLens in London, I’ve been doing more personal branding work over the past year, and the conversations about location have become as involved as the conversations about what someone actually wants to communicate. The background isn’t just background.
Thank you for taking the time to respond to my blog. You’re right that location gets treated as a backdrop decision when it’s actually a communication decision. A studio says something entirely different to a photoshoot in a workplace for example. Neither is better, but they tell completely different stories, and a good chunk of our particular pre-shoot conversation is working out which one works best.
I’d add one thing: sometimes the most revealing location has nothing to do with the job on paper. A kitchen. A gym. A corner of the park someone walks through every day. It says less about their industry and more about who they are outside it, and for personal branding, that’s often the exact gap worth closing.