Keira and I have worked together twice now, and the two sessions could not have been more different. The first time was out in Aldeburgh, when she modelled for Mel at Mel & Mane, from getting her hair done in the salon chair to walking the beach and the high street afterwards. This time she came to the studio in Rendlesham, and before either of us got to the part of the day that was just for fun, there was a job to do.
A second shoot with Keira
I enjoyed working with Keira on that first shoot enough to say so at the time, and when the chance came to bring her into the studio for something of her own, I took it. There was something about her in front of a camera that told me a proper portrait session would work well. So I invited her out to Rendlesham, and she turned up with a full bag of outfits and no fixed idea of what she wanted beyond wanting to see what the studio could do.
As always with this kind of session, the choice of look and feel belongs to the person in front of the camera, not to me. I will give advice, because I know what works against a particular background or under a particular light and what doesn’t, but which outfit to wear and which mood to go for is Keira’s call every time.
Headshots first, because she needed them
Keira has worked as a beauty therapist and aesthetician at Belle Âme in Aldeburgh since 2020, where she does lashes, brows, skincare and spa treatments, with a particular focus on treating problematic skin. She needed new headshots for the salon’s team page, so that came first on the list. This made the day a bit more than a straightforward portrait session. It had a genuine second purpose, and the working images had to be right before we did anything else.
We shot two backgrounds back to back. Pure white first, the kind of clean, cut out ready image that sits comfortably on a team page or drops onto whatever background a website needs. Then a darker grey, which carries more mood and gives Belle Âme a second option with a different feel, for the same sitting and the same face doing two different jobs. For a profile picture like this the crop matters as much as the pose. I shoot with room around the head, so the image still holds up when a website squares it off, drops it into a circle, or shrinks it down to a thumbnail the size of a fingernail. Keira had brought smart, business appropriate outfits for this part, and we moved through it quickly. She made it straightforward, professional, and done before either of us had really settled in.
Then the portraits, and more looks than usual
Once the working images were safely done, we opened the day up properly. Keira had come with her own outfits, and she also went through the clothes rail I keep in the studio changing room, picking a mix of pieces she hadn’t worn before and a couple that have turned up in other shoots. We got through more changes than I’d usually manage in one sitting, from a strapless black dress to an off the shoulder navy velvet, a leather jacket for something with more edge, and a red dress that ended up carrying most of the day.
For the red dress we brought in a length of red tulle as a prop, letting it catch the air and move through the frame rather than just hang there. It’s a simple trick, but it gives someone something physical to work with, and it turns a static pose into something with a bit of life running through it. Keira did her own hair and make up throughout the day, and it held up well across every look and every change.
What Keira brought to the day
This was Keira’s first full studio session, rather than the looser, on the move style of the Mel & Mane shoot, and she got on with it as if she’d done a dozen of these before. She understood straight away that a portrait works better with movement in it. Standing still and staring down a lens rarely produces anything worth keeping, and Keira moved, turned, played with the fabric and kept her energy up through outfit changes that would tire plenty of people out well before the end. I can’t always put my finger on what it is, but there’s something about certain people that tells you a session is going to work before you’ve taken the first frame. I had that feeling about Keira after the Mel & Mane shoot, and this one backed it up. I’d happily work with her again, and I expect we will.
A word about chaperones
I make a point of telling anyone coming into the studio for a shoot like this that they’re welcome to bring someone with them: a friend, a partner, a family member, whoever they’d feel most comfortable having in the room. That offer goes out before every session, whether or not it gets taken up. There is no physical contact between me and anyone I photograph. If a pose needs adjusting I’ll describe it or show it myself from a distance, never by touching. Any photographer who refuses to allow a chaperone, or who talks someone out of bringing one, is showing you a significant red flag, and there is no legitimate professional reason for it. Nobody should have to negotiate their own safety to get a set of photographs, and the right photographer will explain everything clearly and have no objection at all to someone bringing a person they trust.
Suffolk studio, on your doorstep
I work from a studio at Base Business Park in Rendlesham, on the old RAF Bentwaters site, and I photograph people and businesses right across Suffolk, from Ipswich and Woodbridge out towards the coast. If your business needs headshots that actually get used properly, whether that’s a small team page like Belle Âme’s or a full company site, or if you fancy a portrait session built around what you want to explore rather than a fixed formula, that’s exactly the kind of day I enjoy. Keira’s session is a good example of what that can look like when someone comes prepared, brings their own ideas, and is willing to have a bit of fun with it.
