When Zian needed her first professional portraits for her work as an author, we created a varied collection of studio images that could work across everything from online profiles to printed publications.

Rather than photographing one standard headshot and calling it a day, we created several different looks throughout the session, changing her wardrobe, backdrop, lighting and posing to give her plenty of options.

Years later, some of these photographs are still being used professionally, including online and alongside her published books, which is a pretty good test of whether a professional portrait has done its job.

Creating more than one professional look

We photographed several outfits throughout Zian’s session, ranging from softer neutral styling through to a blue suit and more traditional professional portraits.

Changing the wardrobe gave us quite different images without needing to leave the studio.

The lighter neutral photographs feel softer and more relaxed, while the blue suit against the grey backdrop creates a stronger, more corporate look. Together, they gave Zian options for different places her portraits might need to appear.

Different backdrops and lighting

We also changed the background and lighting throughout the shoot rather than creating an entire gallery with one setup.

Neutral beige tones worked beautifully with the warmer outfits, while the grey backdrop created a completely different look with the blue suit. We also incorporated a clean white setting for another variation.

Small changes like these can make a surprisingly big difference when you’re creating a professional portrait library.

Professional without being overly formal

One of the things I want from a professional headshot session is variety in expression and posing too.

Some photographs are more direct and polished, while others are seated, smiling or a little more relaxed. There are closer headshots alongside wider portraits that leave more space around the subject.

That gives you options depending on where the photograph needs to go, rather than trying to make one image work absolutely everywhere.

Portraits designed to last

These were Zian’s first professional author portraits, and several of the images have continued to be used years after we photographed them.

That’s something I really like about a well-planned headshot session. Trends will always change, but clean lighting, simple backgrounds, good wardrobe choices and natural expressions can give professional portraits a surprisingly long life.

For authors, business owners and other professionals, it also means having a collection of images available when opportunities pop up, whether that’s a website update, profile, publication, media feature or something in print.