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Imagine a prospective client seeking out a therapy practice. If they’re in the market for a therapist, they’re likely already facing a challenging or overwhelming situation and hope to settle on a match as soon as possible. They narrow their online search to your team and just one other practice.
The decision is difficult, but they eventually decide on your practice over the other based on your professional headshots. It may seem like a small detail, but having a solid group of polished yet approachable headshots goes a long way toward creating an excellent first impression for your clients.
However, securing a set of therapist headshots for your entire practice can be more labor-intensive than anticipated. In addition to taking the photos, you must allot time for coordinating busy office schedules, securing studio and equipment rentals, and editing and retouching.
At Headshots.com, we understand exactly what goes into obtaining a great headshot and outline two potential paths to take below. In this guide, we’ll teach you how to get headshots for your team of mental health professionals detailing costs, wardrobe, and more.
Why Your Therapists’ Headshots Are So Important
Whether your practice focuses on cognitive behavioral therapy, psychodynamics, or humanistic psychology, professional headshots are essential. Each photo is among a potential client’s first impressions of your therapists, which they see showcased on your website, social media profiles, and print materials.
To illustrate the importance of good headshots, let’s compare two sets of therapist headshots:
These headshots exude an aura of professionalism and warmth. Because they highlight a caring presence and well-lit staging, these headshots make it easy for potential clients to choose a counseling relationship with this practice.
Let’s take a look at another set of therapist headshots that have some room for improvement:
Although these headshots show off the great smiles of both practitioners, they’re missing a sense of cohesion. Plus, the low photo resolution causes the images to appear blurry.
When comparing the first set of headshots to the second set, it’s clear that investing in high-quality headshots lays a strong foundation for the relationship built between your staff and prospective clients.
Planning a Headshot Session for Your Therapists
There are multiple ways to secure professional headshots for your team of therapists. Here are two standard methods.
The Traditional Way [The Standard Yet Challenging Route]
The traditional route for securing headshots involves an in-person photo shoot, which can sometimes be surprisingly complex. You’ll likely experience the following steps when setting up your in-person headshot photo session.
1. Find Available Dates
Setting up a photo shoot can be challenging, especially with a team of busy therapists. Try to meet with your staff and secure a few potential dates for the shoot. Having multiple dates makes it easier to book a photographer as quickly as possible. Work together as a team to determine your ideal headshot background.
2. Source the Photographer
Next, seek out local photographers who specialize in headshots. Have your shoot information ready, such as your preferred dates and the number of subjects for the session. Also, share your ideas for how you’d like the resulting headshots to look. Reference images can be helpful.
Lock in your date and stay connected with your photographer to iron out any details regarding equipment rentals, shoot location, and scope of work.
3. Prepare for the Photo Shoot
Before shoot day, gently remind your team to show up on time (preferably a few minutes early) and clear their schedule for the day of the shoot. Be sure everyone has a clear idea of what they should wear and a general gist of how they should pose in their shots.
4. Host the Photo Shoot
Shoot day has finally arrived! Time is of the essence, especially if you’re conducting an outdoor shoot where lighting conditions can be fickle. Have everyone on set follow the photographer’s directions closely, and keep an eye on the shooting process to ensure you’re getting the photos you want.
5. Work through Edits
You will likely complete the final steps of the process 100% virtually. Your photographer may take some time, generally a few days to weeks, to touch up and edit the photos before sending you the first round of proofs. In some cases, your photographer may need to set up a meeting with you or ask for notes to direct these edits.
Once your photographer has completed the edits, you should be able to download the headshots and update your practice’s marketing materials. Requesting additional photo sizes and resolutions for these materials may cost extra.
Headshots.com [The Modern, Efficient Path]
If you’re on a more restricted budget or your team of practitioners works in several locations, you may not have the option to do a traditional in-person photo shoot. Fortunately, Headshots.com has the solution to help you save time and money without sacrificing the quality of your headshots.
Our headshots are secured 100% virtually, making it easy for your team to turn them in on their own schedules, no matter their location. We guide your team of therapists in capturing their headshots utilizing tools they already have on hand.
We handle every stage of the process, so you don’t have to spend valuable hours managing or keeping tabs on the shoot. Simply set up a project, and we take care of the rest, from suggesting wardrobe and poses to final edits and retouching.
Our team of experts works with you to build a custom backdrop for your headshots based on your practice’s branding. After your team submits their photos through the online portal, we deliver hand-edited, consistent, polished headshots within three business days—you never have to lift a finger.
From there, it’s easy to download your entire team’s headshots in a few clicks. Update your practice’s website and social media profiles, then share them so your team can refresh their personal profiles on sites like LinkedIn.
Plus, each photo is backed by our Happiness Guarantee because we’re committed to providing you with studio-quality results from start to finish.
What Your Therapists Should Wear
A professional headshot lets your therapists put their best foot forward online. To make a great impression, start with a curated wardrobe. Here are some general guidelines to ensure a successful shoot day.
Women’s Headshots
A great headshot starts with a dazzling smile! For women’s headshots, pair your confidence with dark, solid-colored shirts. Aim for a simple neckline and optional layer pieces like a cardigan or solid jacket that won’t distract from the photo’s focus.
Light makeup, jewelry, and accessories are acceptable but should be minimal and look more or less representative of your daily appearance.
Men’s Headshots
Headshots for men follow a similar theme, revolving around tops of dark, solid colors that don’t wash out a subject’s skin tone. Solid sweaters, blazers, or light jackets work too, and you can pair them with a tie or bowtie with or without a pattern.
Keep hair well-combed, and be sure to let your smile do the talking!
With any headshot, good posture and relaxed shoulders give off a sense of approachability.
Examples of How to Pose
Outfits are just half the battle; your therapists should have an appropriate pose or two in mind when capturing headshots. Here are some examples of poses to help spark inspiration on shoot day.
Front and Center
You can’t go wrong with this professional pose. Stage your subject with feet shoulder-width apart and eyes level with the camera. Capture the photo with their confident and credible grin at the center.
At an Angle
Present a confident, collected look with this classic headshot pose. Have your therapists stand shoulder-width apart with one shoulder slightly angled toward the camera. The subject’s eyes should be level with the camera and paired with a warm smile.
Out in the Field
Offer potential clients a more personalized feel with an outdoor or customized backdrop that shares an element of your practice’s persona or specialization. Center the photo’s subject and use even lighting so your background doesn’t detract from the therapist.
Typical Cost of Headshots for Therapists
The projected costs of a headshot session can impact your options as a therapy practice. Costs add up quickly, and in the case of a traditional photo shoot, you can reasonably expect to pay several hundred dollars for each headshot.
Though this sounds like a lot, it tends to be standard when you factor in equipment and studio rentals, the photographer’s time, and post-production expenses.
Approximate Price Paid per Finished Headshot
| Traditional Photo Shoot* | Headshots.com |
| $100 to $1,000 per headshot | $25 to $50 per headshot |
*Not including pre-planning or opportunity costs due to the logistics involved with a traditional photo shoot
Fortunately, Headshots.com is a much more cost-effective option, with photos priced as low as $25 per headshot.
We eliminate the need for organizing a professional photographer and empower your therapists to capture studio-quality photos using equipment they already have. Our headshot services are 100% remote, making it an ideal option for teams in multiple locations.
Plus, you won’t have to budget for the extra opportunity costs of planning and coordinating an in-person shoot. Our trained team manages the entire process from start to finish, so your staff can focus on their clients.
Next Steps: Get Studio-Quality Therapist Headshots with a Fraction of the Effort
Are you ready to connect your team of therapists with more clients? Take your team’s online presence to a new level with just a few clicks. Learn more about our 100% virtual headshot services.
