How I create professional team portraits

Team portraits don't start in front of the camera. They start long before.

Before I even pack gear or set up a light, there's always a conversation with the client. What will the photos be used for. Website, LinkedIn, press, internal comms or all of it. Portrait, landscape or square. Should it feel neutral and classic or more modern and a bit looser. A bright, minimalist look or a darker background with more depth.

These questions are crucial because they define the whole look. Only once it's clear where we're going can I decide whether we'll work with pure headshots or also include full-body shots in a business setting. Whether a neutral backdrop makes sense or an existing background on site that subtly picks up colours, textures or even the company logo and creates recognition.

From there I plan the lighting. Depending on style and environment, I go with classic butterfly lighting, a key light with bounce, an additional hair light or a deliberately stripped-back setup. That also determines which gear I bring. The goal is always a consistent look that fits the company and the people and doesn't look random.

An important part of the process is the guide the client gets from me in advance. It's not aimed at the marketing department, it's aimed at the employees themselves. Many people don't stand in front of a camera regularly and feel unsure. The guide therefore explains briefly and casually what's being photographed, how the session runs, and that nobody needs to pose or be able to do anything special. That preparation takes a huge amount of pressure off before the first shutter even fires.

On the shoot day itself, my main focus is bringing calm into the room. On site I always have a mirror with me so everyone can take a quick look. Is everything sitting right, is the hair okay, is the collar straight. Small things, but they give people confidence.

Before we photograph, I exchange a few sentences with the person. Not small talk for its own sake — a short moment of arriving. In those moments I quickly notice how someone feels about being photographed. Some are open and relaxed, others sceptical or tense. I adjust to that. Some need a bit more time, others are happy after the first frame.

So nobody has to figure out how to stand, I work with markers on the floor. Small tape marks indicate the angle, usually about forty degrees to the left or right, depending on which side feels better. The good side is up to each person to choose. The head stays straight to camera, the body is turned slightly. That looks more natural and gives the image more depth.

I plan ten to fifteen minutes per person as a rule. That's a realistic frame for me to make good, relaxed pictures. With very large teams it can drop to five to ten minutes, but that's the absolute minimum. The important thing is that nobody feels processed.

The camera is tethered to the computer during the shoot. Photos appear on screen immediately. We go through them together and pick the best one. Some decide instantly, others want to compare. Both are perfectly fine. I jot down the file name right away so it's clear which image will be retouched later. In parallel I work with a schedule listing names and slots. That keeps things structured and the day running smoothly.

After the shoot, retouching starts. Every selected image gets a subtle beauty retouch. Lint removed, reflections in glasses corrected, blemishes or stray hairs retouched. This isn't about transformation. Faces aren't slimmed, nobody gets smoothed out. The goal is a polished, professional appearance that shows the person as they are.

Next, all images are colour-matched, balanced against each other and cropped so the heads are the same size across every photo. Depending on the client's needs, versions are produced in square, portrait or landscape format. Finally I deliver the photos in high resolution via an online gallery, complemented by a smaller web version for digital use.

That's how team portraits come together with me. With preparation, with structure and with the awareness that good pictures emerge above all when people feel safe. My job is to create that frame. The rest follows from there.

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