Updated October 2026 · By Alex Kemp, founder & lead photographer, Kemp Photography
You've been handed the headshot project. Congratulations, and also: sorry. This is the playbook I'd want if I were you. It covers the timeline, the room, the schedule, the announcement email and the run sheet. Kemp Photography brings the studio and the crew. You bring a room, an outlet and a person who can herd colleagues politely.
Key takeaways
- Kemp books about 14 days out, depending on the schedule. Four weeks out is comfortable.
- You need a room of about 10×20 feet with roughly 10-foot ceilings, and one outlet.
- Camera time is about 2–3 minutes per person. Kemp Photography manages employee scheduling in staggered slots.
- Send one announcement with a what-to-wear note and the exact time and place.
- Appoint a line-wrangler for the day. Best $0 you'll spend.
- Final retouched images typically arrive within 1–2 weeks.
How do I plan a team headshot day?
Plan it in seven steps: book the crew, lock the room, announce the day, send reminders, run the day, and review selections. Kemp Photography provides and manages employee scheduling. Booking takes about 14 days, depending on the schedule, and four weeks gives you a comfortable runway. Most of the work is communication, not logistics. Kemp Photography handles the photography; you handle the people.
What is the timeline, from four weeks out to the day after?
Work backward from the shoot date. Four weeks out you confirm the date and the room. Two weeks out you announce the day and Kemp Photography opens scheduling. The day before, you remind everyone. The day after, you collect selections. Final retouched images typically arrive within 1–2 weeks.
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| 4 weeks out | Get a quote and confirm the date with Kemp Photography. Get budget approval. Tell building management the crew is coming and ask about load-in rules (parking, elevators, certificate of insurance). |
| 3 weeks out | Reserve the room. Count likely participants. For multi-office programs, name a coordinator per site. |
| 2 weeks out | Send the announcement email (template below). Kemp Photography manages employee scheduling. |
| 1 week out | Reminder email with the what-to-wear note. Kemp fills empty slots from a waitlist. |
| Day before | Final reminder. Confirm the room is free and clear. Confirm the line-wrangler. |
| Day of | Follow the run sheet below. |
| Day after | Remind people to finish their selections in the private gallery. |
| 1–2 weeks after | Final retouched images typically delivered. Update the website, directory and LinkedIn. |
What room do we need for onsite headshots?
Kemp Photography prefers a space about 10 feet wide by 20 feet deep with roughly 10-foot ceilings, plus one electrical outlet. A conference room, training room or a quiet corner of an open floor can work. Pick somewhere close to desks, away from noisy foot traffic, with a spot for people to wait that is not the middle of a hallway.
Room checklist:
- About 10×20 feet clear (furniture pushed to the walls)
- Roughly 10-foot ceilings and one outlet within reach
- A waiting area for 3–5 people
- A mirror nearby (employees will thank you)
- Door that closes, if possible, so nervous people feel less watched
- A clear plan for check-in, so people know where to wait
How should we schedule employees?
Kemp Photography provides and manages employee scheduling, using staggered slots. Camera time is about 2–3 minutes per person, so slot lengths include a little walk-in and walk-out time. Staggering keeps people at their desks until their turn and keeps the line short. Spare slots cover late arrivals.
Practical tips:
- Slots run across the whole day, not just the morning.
- Tell Kemp which managers want their team spread out so a department is not all away at once.
- Keep a waitlist. People cancel. Others will want in.
- Need an employee to retake a look? A second look is its own slot, so nobody else gets held up.
- Executives can be given longer time. It only costs more if it means running out of time for the rest of the team.
What should the employee announcement email say?
Say the date, the time window, the location, how scheduling works, what to wear and what happens next. Keep it short. Add one line telling people it's quick and painless, because half your team dreads being photographed. Here is a template you can copy.
Subject: Team headshots on [DATE] — your time slot is coming
Hi team,
Professional headshots are coming to [OFFICE/ROOM] on [DATE]. A photographer from Kemp Photography will set up a portable studio, and each of us gets about 2–3 minutes in front of the camera. That's it.
Your slot: Kemp Photography will send you a time slot for [DATE]. Watch for the invite. Where: [ROOM, FLOOR] What to wear: Solid colors you'd wear to a client meeting. No busy patterns. Bring a backup layer. [LINK to what-to-wear guide] After: You'll see your images right away and pick your favorite from a private online gallery. Retouched finals arrive about 1–2 weeks later.
Questions? Reply to me. We'll make it painless.
[NAME]
Share our what-to-wear guide in the email so you don't have to answer 80 versions of "is a blue shirt okay?"
What does the day-of run sheet look like?
The crew arrives, builds the studio, tests lighting, then photographs people back to back. Your job is to check people in, keep the next two or three in the waiting area, and make sure nobody is stuck at their desk for a call. Times below are illustrative.
| Time | Who | What |
|---|---|---|
| Before the crew | Organizer | Clear the room, unlock it, confirm outlet and parking. |
| Arrival | Kemp Photography crew | Load-in and portable studio setup. About 1 hour before the first session. |
| First slot | Organizer + crew | First employee as a test. Leadership going first sets the tone. |
| Throughout | Line-wrangler | Check people off the list, keep two to three in the waiting area, nudge the next person. |
| Throughout | Employees | About 2–3 minutes each in front of the camera, then review and pick a favorite. |
| Midday | Organizer | Fill gaps from the waitlist. Remind managers of afternoon slots. |
| End | Crew | Breakdown and load-out. Teardown starts right after the last session. |
At about 2–3 minutes per person, a Full Day typically covers about 150–250 people on one set, and a Half Day about 50–60. Bigger groups use additional sets.
What about remote staff and new hires?
Give remote staff the options early. Kemp Photography travels to offices nationwide so the look stays consistent, and remote staff typically join at the main office or at a company event. For new hires, ask about a follow-up plan before the main day, not after.
- Remote employees: invite them to the main office on shoot day, or time the day around a company event so the crew photographs them there.
- New hires: Kemp Photography uses a repeatable lighting and background recipe so later additions can match. Each visit has a half-day minimum, so batch new hires into one follow-up day, and we recommend hosting one or two headshot days per year.
- Multi-office companies: same lighting and background recipe at each site, and the same lead photographer where possible. Sentry Insurance's project covered offices in 12 states.
- Absences: keep a waitlist and a couple of spare slots.
What happens after the shoot?
Employees see their images right away and pick a favorite from a private online gallery. Kemp Photography retouches the selected image. Your company gets its own gallery directory of all employees and their images for download. Final retouched images typically arrive within 1–2 weeks. Plan your website and LinkedIn updates for after that.
After-shoot to-do:
- Nudge stragglers to finish their selections.
- Check the files for your HRIS and website. They arrive as high-resolution JPEG or PNG, each named first-last, with 8x10 as the standard crop (other ratios on request). Your gallery stays available for one year, renewed when you return for an annual headshot day.
- Schedule the website update and the "new look" announcement.
- Put the next date for new hires on the calendar. We recommend one or two headshot days per year.
What does it cost, and how do I book?
Kemp Photography charges a flat day rate. Full Day from $4,850 (typically about 150–250 people), Half Day $3,600 (typically about 50–60). Travel is included. See the cost guide for worked examples, then call (714) 912-0766 or request a quote.