Headshots & Branding

Six different projects are all considered headshots. A sponsored station moving three hundred attendees through a conference. A team of thirty on a schedule. A founder who needs a library of images. A branding day that documents how someone actually works. They share a common goal and almost nothing else. We ask you all the right questions based on our knowledge and experience. Then we bring the studio to your office, your event or the location of your choice and we make sure you get everything you want and nothing you don't.

Professional headshot of person in navy suit against gray background.

Professional

Executive Portraits

Person in gray shirt and brown hat posing against brick wall background.

Casual

Team Headshots

Performer in lace dress singing on dark stage with dramatic lighting effects.

Creative

Branding Sessions

What We Cover

High-volume headshot stations. Your attendees step up, spend about three minutes with us, and leave with a professional headshot they will actually use. No appointments, no long line, and a sponsor's name attached to something people are genuinely glad to receive.

Team headshots. Your whole team photographed on a schedule, looking like they work at the same company. Everyone gets 8 to 12 proofs and 3 finished images, so nobody is stuck with the one picture they hate.

Individual professional headshots. For a founder or business owner who needs more than one good photograph: 20 to 30 images that cover the website, the speaker bio, the podcast appearance and the press request that lands on a Tuesday afternoon.

Executive and C-suite portraits. Dedicated time, more than one look, hair and makeup when you want it. These are the portraits that have to hold their own in an annual report or a national publication, and they are made with that in mind.

Creative portraits. For musicians, actors, models and artists, where the image needs a point of view rather than a likeness. Built for the industry it is walking into.

Branding sessions. A headshot shows what you look like. A branding session shows what it is like to work with you: your space, your process, your hands doing the thing you are known for. 40 to 60 images that let someone who has never met you decide they want to.

Portfolio

Lifestyle portrait series in rustic restaurant setting with leather seating and exposed brick walls.
Professional black and white headshot of a person in business attire against dark background.
Portrait series against floral wall mural wearing tropical print shirt in bar setting.
Casual portraits showing tattoos while seated at bar with bottles in background.
Professional portrait of person in white top with arms crossed against neutral background.
Dramatic low-light portraits working with laptop in office setting.
Business portrait series with tiger artwork visible in background.
Professional business portraits of person in dark suit and red tie against grey backdrop.
Professional headshot of person in dark suit with pink shirt and bow tie against brown background.
Series of photos showing someone in a bright blue dress seated against a dark wall.
Bright lifestyle portraits in white room featuring person in striped top and casual business attire.
Professional portrait series showing different poses in black attire against a dark interior background.
Dramatic black and white photo series showing silhouette working at laptop in dark room with single light source.
Modern business portraits with person in grey blazer posing with black stool against white backdrop.
Professional headshot against a dark background wearing a navy blue dress.

Where We Work

Our studio travels, which means your people don't have to. We set up in a conference room, a ballroom, a hallway or an empty office, and your team walks down the corridor rather than across town. For a company of thirty, that is the difference between a moment in the morning and a lost day.

At a conference, the station goes wherever your attendees already are. For branding sessions we usually work in your own space, because the room you actually work in is part of what the images are saying about you.

We have photographed headshots in Dallas offices, in conference ballrooms in Las Vegas and Orlando, and at resort properties well outside both. The setup is the similar everywhere we take it, but the results are extraordinary whether it's leadership portraits captured in San Diego or team headshots photographed in Dallas.

How We Run Headshot & Branding Sessions

The thing that makes a team page look intentional is consistency. People are unlikely to pick out the best portrait in a group of thirty. They definitely notice the one that doesn't match. Same light, same distance, same background, same finish, so your people represent the company professionally rather than throwing up any old picture.

The other half of the work happens in the ninety seconds before we start. Almost everyone tells us they hate having their picture taken, usually before we've finished saying hello. Emily does much of this work, and she has spent a great deal of time in front of a camera herself, which is why people relax faster than they expect to. The difference between a portrait someone tolerates and one they are glad to use is almost entirely how they felt while it was being made.

What you receive. Team headshots deliver 8 to 12 proofs per person with 3 finished images, in 3 to 5 business days. Executive, professional and creative sessions deliver 20 to 30 images, with at least 3 fully retouched. Branding sessions deliver 40 to 60 images in 10 to 14 business days. High-volume stations deliver one finished image per attendee in 14 to 21 business days, because each one is individually selected and finished rather than batched.

Client Love

“Excellent job as always! The Mamones never disappoint and it's a pleasure working with them!”

Questions Clients Ask

Which format do we need?

Four questions usually settle it. Are your people on a schedule, or do they arrive when they arrive? How long do we get with each one? Is the subject a face, or a face plus the work around it? And who is the finished image trying to convince: a colleague, their own customer, or a casting director? Drop-in and minutes is a high-volume station. Scheduled and a quarter of an hour is a team day. An hour or more, with the work in frame, is a branding session. Tell us what you are picturing and we will help you create it.

What is the difference between a headshot and a branding session?

A headshot answers what someone looks like. A branding session answers what it is like to work with them. The second one needs discovery, a plan, more looks, more locations and more time, which is why it delivers 40 to 60 images rather than 3. If your images are going on a website that has to sell something, you probably want the branding session.

Do we have to come to a studio?

No, and most clients do not. We bring a mobile two-light studio to your office, your conference or wherever your people already are. We need a 10 by 10 foot space, an 8 foot ceiling, and a power outlet. For branding sessions the workplace is usually the better setting anyway, since the space is part of what the images are saying.

How many people can you photograph in a day?

It depends entirely on the format. A high-volume station is built for speed and handles several hundred attendees across a conference day. A team day at 10 to 15 minutes per person moves considerably slower and delivers far more per person. Tell us your headcount and your window and we will tell you honestly what fits, including when the honest answer is a second station.

Are usage rights included?

For headshot and portrait work, yes. The license sits inside the session fee, because using the images on your website, your intranet, your proposals and your people's professional profiles is the entire reason you commissioned them. Creative portraits are the one exception, where images built for a product or a campaign are licensed separately.

Can you match headshots we already have?

Yes, within reason. Send the existing images during planning and we will match background, lighting and crop as closely as the originals allow. This matters most for new hires joining a team whose photographs are already on your site.

How quickly do we get them?

Team headshots in 3 to 5 business days. Executive, professional and branding sessions in 10 to 14. High-volume stations in 14 to 21, because each attendee's image is individually selected and finished.

What if someone hates having their photo taken?

Almost everyone says that, usually before we have finished saying hello. It is the part of the job we are best at. A directed sitting with someone who knows how it feels on that side of the camera is a very different experience from being told to smile.

MAKE THE FIRST MOVE

WE'LL TAKE IT FROM THERE

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