How much do professional headshots cost in the UK in 2026?

By James Jones, founder of Granary Digital · 28 September 2026

The figures below come from the price lists UK photographers publish, read in September 2026. They are examples rather than a survey, some include VAT and some don't, and we have left everyone's name off. Treat them as the market's shape, not a quote.

The market in five lines

• One person, business headshot: about £100 to £300 outside London's premium studios.
• London studio sessions: one London studio's reading of the market puts the budget range at £150–£299, the middle range at £300–£499 and the premium range at £500–£800 or more.
• Team shoots: roughly £55 to £250 per head depending on numbers, or roughly £500 to £1,500 for a half or full day.
• Actor headshots in London: commonly £200 to £450 a session with 2 to 5 retouched images, and top-end photographers well above that range.
• The local low end: one studio near Chichester lists a session with a single high-resolution image at £35, which is the low end of the local market.

That is a spread of more than twenty to one for what gets called the same thing. The rest of this guide is about why.

What moves the price

Retouched images. Retouching is done by hand, one picture at a time, so a session with one retouched image and a session with ten are different jobs. Check whether "images" on a price list means retouched pictures or a gallery of untouched frames to choose from.

Session length. Fifteen minutes gets you a picture. Forty-five gets you a choice. Ninety gets an actor through three looks with time to warm up first.

Looks. Each change of top, background or lighting set-up adds time, and time is what most of these prices are made of.

Location and numbers. Team shoots at your office are often priced for the whole group, and the price per head falls as numbers rise. One published list runs from £150–£250 per person for two to five people down to £75–£130 per person for 16 to 30. A photographer in the north of England notes on his price list that London typically costs 20% to 40% more.

Usage. A picture for your own LinkedIn profile and a picture for a national advertising campaign are different uses. Not every price list says what the licence covers, so ask, and get the answer in writing.

VAT. Some lists include it and some don't, which can make a cheaper quote look dearer. Our business prices are +VAT. Our actor and Christmas prices include VAT, because individuals book them.

Where our prices sit

• Business and LinkedIn: £149 +VAT, which is £178.80 with VAT, for 45 minutes on a lit set, two looks and three retouched images on a white, grey or dark background.
• Team day: £950 +VAT for up to 15 people, at the barn or at your office, with one retouched image each and the same light and background for everyone. With all fifteen places used, that is about £63 per head +VAT.
• Actors: £195 inc VAT for 90 minutes, three looks and four retouched images, with extra images at £30 each inc VAT. Students pay £150 inc VAT.
• Self-tape with a reader: £60 an hour inc VAT.

For more than three pictures from a business session, ask on the day and we will price the extra retouched images. Teams of more than fifteen, or a second look each, are quoted on the numbers.

Against the market figures, the business session sits at the bottom of the London bands and in the lower half of the regional range. The team day, full, is towards the low end of per-head prices. The actor session is just under the common London range and includes four retouched images, where that range runs from two to five.

What the price buys at the barn is mostly time and room. We light the set before you arrive, so the forty-five minutes go on the pictures rather than on moving stands. The White Space has a lighting grid and enough floor to step back with a longer lens, which is what flatters a face. And the building has no windows, so a session at five in the afternoon is lit exactly like one at ten in the morning.

If you need more than pictures, Content in a Day at £1,395 +VAT includes ten retouched headshots alongside an edited video podcast episode and six captioned social cuts.

What to ask before you book anyone

1. How many retouched images are included, and what does an extra one cost?
2. What does the retouching cover, and what does it leave alone?
3. How long is the session, and how many changes of top or background fit into it?
4. Is the price with or without VAT?
5. What can I use the pictures for, and is that written down?
6. When do the files arrive, and at what size?
7. For a team, is it priced per head or for the day, and what happens if three people are off sick?

A good photographer answers all seven without fuss. If the first two get vague answers, find out more before the day rather than after it.

For what to bring on the day, see what to wear for a headshot. Business sessions are on the headshots page and actor sessions on the actor headshots page.

If you are comparing quotes and want our answers to those seven questions, call 01243 884993 and ask.

More from the Journal

• What to wear for a professional headshot
• New at the barn: business, team and actor headshots
• How to record a self-tape that follows the UK rules
• All Journal articles

The picture at the top of this article is an illustration generated to show the set-up. It is not a photograph of a client or of a real job.