TL;DR
If you need one good photo of your face for LinkedIn, your email signature or a company website, a headshot is all you need. If you need a set of photos that show who you are and how you work, for your website, social media and marketing, a personal branding shoot is the better choice. Teams that want matching staff photos should look at team headshots.
Key Takeaways
- A headshot is one clean, professional photo of your face. A personal branding shoot is a collection of images that tells your business story.
- Choose a headshot for LinkedIn, CVs, staff directories and speaker bios.
- Choose a personal branding shoot for a new website, a rebrand or ongoing social media content.
- For a whole team, team headshots keep everyone’s photos consistent.
- At Milk Photography Studio, headshots start from $350+gst and personal branding sessions are $1500+gst.
You have been meaning to sort out a decent photo of yourself for months. Maybe your LinkedIn picture is from five jobs ago, your website still shows a cropped holiday snap, or someone has asked for a photo to go with your speaker bio and all you have are selfies. You know you need professional photos, but when you start looking, you see headshots, branding shoots, corporate photography and more, and it is not clear which one you actually need.
In this post, you’ll learn the difference between a headshot and a personal branding shoot, which one suits your situation, and what each one costs at our Auckland studio.
What is a headshot?
A headshot is a professional photo of your head and shoulders, usually looking at the camera, with a clean background or a softly blurred one. Its job is simple: show people what you look like and make a good first impression. It is the photo people see next to your name, so it needs to look like you on a good day.
Headshots work best for:
- your LinkedIn profile picture
- your email signature and CV
- a staff page or team directory
- a speaker bio, conference programme or media feature
- professional registration and industry profiles
- real estate signboards and listing profiles
At Milk Photography Studio, there are two ways to get a headshot. The Express Headshot is a 5-minute session in our bright Kohimarama studio against a white background, with one edited image, from $350+gst. It suits anyone who needs a fresh, professional photo quickly. The Headshot Shoot is a 20-minute session with 2 outfit changes and 2 images, from $550+gst in the studio or $650+gst on location. It is ideal if you want an environmental headshot, which means a photo of you in a natural setting, such as your office, rather than against a plain backdrop. You can see more on our professional headshots in Auckland page.
What is a personal branding shoot?
A personal branding shoot is a longer session that creates a collection of images about you and your business. As well as a headshot, you get photos of you working, talking with clients, using your tools, standing in your space, and showing a bit of your personality. These images give your website, social media and marketing a consistent look that feels like you.
A personal branding shoot is the better choice when:
- you are launching a new website or giving your current one a refresh
- you are rebranding and need fresh images to match
- you post on social media and are tired of using stock photos
- you are the face of your business and want people to feel they know you before they get in touch
- you need images for an about page that tells your story, not just shows your face
Our Personal Branding session runs for 45 to 60 minutes, with 2 to 3 outfit changes and a collection of 5 edited images, for $1500+gst. You can purchase additional images if you would like more. We make the most of natural light so the photos have a relaxed, candid feel. Our guide to personal branding photography in Auckland covers this in more detail.
What about photos for a whole team?
If your website team page is a mix of selfies, cropped party photos and different backgrounds, team headshots fix that. Everyone is photographed in the same style, with the same lighting and background, so the whole team looks consistent and professional. We take individual headshots first and then a series of group photos, and we can photograph any size of team, from a small start-up to a large corporate team, either at our studio or on site at your office. Team headshots are priced on enquiry, because every team is different.
Team headshots also make life easier when new people join. Because the style is already set, new starters can be photographed later to match the rest of the team.
Which one should you choose?
Ask yourself one question: how many places do I need photos for? If the answer is “just my profile picture”, book a headshot. If the answer is “my website, my social media and my marketing”, a personal branding shoot will give you far more value, because one session gives you a whole bank of images instead of one.
Your budget and timing matter too. A headshot is quick and affordable, and you can often fit it into a lunch break. A personal branding shoot takes more planning and a longer session, but it gives you enough images to refresh your whole online presence at once. You can always start with a headshot now and book a branding shoot later, when you launch a new website or business.
Still not sure? Look at the places you listed and match them to the lists above. If most of them sit under headshots, start there. If you are stuck, give us a call and we will talk it through with you.
Book your session in Auckland
Whether you need one great photo or a full set of branding images, Milk Photography Studio can help. Compare all our options on the headshots and personal branding page, then call us on 0210 837 2306 or get in touch online to book your session at our Kohimarama studio or on location.
