Executive Headshots in Toronto for Founders, C-Suite, and Board Members

An executive headshot isn’t a staff photo, it’s the portrait that runs next to a quote in the press, sits at the top of an annual report, or introduces you to a board. I make individual leadership portraits in Toronto for founders, C-suite, and board members who need an image that matches the room they walk into.

Recent executive headshots

Portraits for founders, C-suite, and board bios, shot in studio or at your office.

Portraits that match your seniority

This is the premium, single-subject version of what I do. We take the time to get posture, expression, and lighting right, and you have options most headshots don’t: a clean studio look, or an environmental portrait, at your desk, in the boardroom, or against your office architecture, that signals authority and context, not just a face on a white wall.

Discreet, and on your schedule

Executives don’t have spare hours. Sessions are by appointment and built around you: at my Leslieville studio, or on-location at your office anywhere in the GTA. Everything is handled discreetly, and I’m glad to sign an NDA if your role requires it.

What’s included

Executive sessions start from the standard $100 session + $100 per final retouched image, with environmental and on-location work quoted individually based on scope. Files are delivered retouched to a press- and print-ready standard, with rush turnaround available when you need the portrait yesterday.

Photographing your whole leadership team?

If you need consistent portraits of an entire team or department rather than one premium portrait, that’s a different job, see corporate & team headshots in Toronto.

Studio or environmental, and how to choose

Two looks do most executive work, and they say different things.

A clean studio portrait on grey, white or black puts everything on you. It crops well, it drops into an annual report or a press kit without fighting the layout, and it still looks right in three years. That is the safer choice when one image has to work everywhere.

An environmental portrait puts you in your own space: at the desk, in the boardroom, against the architecture of the building. It carries context and scale a plain background cannot, and it reads as someone who runs something rather than someone who sat for a photo. Better for a feature interview, a founder profile, or an About page that needs to feel like a real company.

You do not have to choose before the session. On location we usually shoot both, because the setup time is already spent.

What happens in the session

There is no set time limit. Executive sittings run longer than a standard headshot because we are building one portrait rather than working through a list of people.

I shoot tethered, so every frame appears on a screen as we go. You see the posture, the shoulder angle, the jaw line, and whether the expression is landing, while there is still time to change it. Most people who dislike being photographed dislike not knowing what the camera is getting, and the screen removes that.

If you wear glasses, bring them. Glare is solved in the lighting, not by taking them off, and a portrait where you are not wearing your own glasses does not look like you.

What to wear

• A jacket. It defines the shoulder line and reads as more senior in the same frame. Bring one even if you never wear one at the office.
• Solid, mid to deep colours. Charcoal, navy, deep green. Fine stripes and small checks strobe once the image is scaled down to a thumbnail.
• Two or three options, one notch more formal than your daily wear and one notch less. The decision is easier on screen than in the mirror.
• Collars that sit flat. A curling collar is the most common retouching fix and the easiest one to avoid.
• Skip the fresh haircut. A week of growth photographs better than a day.
• Empty the breast pocket and take off the lanyard. Pens, badges and phone corners all show.

What an executive session costs

Most executives take two or three finals: a straight portrait for the bio and the press, an environmental frame, and a more relaxed option for speaking engagements and social profiles. That lands between $300 and $400 for a studio sitting. On-location and boardroom work is quoted separately, because the variable there is travel and setup rather than shutter clicks.

How fast you get the images

Proofs the same day. Retouched finals within 5 business days once you have chosen. If an appointment announcement or a press release is waiting, 24 hour rush is +$100, and I have turned a portrait around on a Sunday for a Monday morning release.

Every final arrives at high resolution for print and correctly sized for web, so nothing has to be re-cut before it goes into the annual report.

Where we shoot

Studio sittings run in Leslieville, Toronto, with the address in your booking confirmation. On-location and boardroom work covers Toronto and the GTA, including Mississauga, Markham, Vaughan, Richmond Hill, North York and Etobicoke. I bring lighting and a background, so a meeting room or a quiet corner of an office floor is enough.

Book an executive session

Request an executive session and we’ll find a time that works around your calendar.

For standard session pricing and how a sitting runs, see professional headshots in Toronto.

Executive headshot FAQ

How is this different from a corporate headshot?

Corporate headshots are about a consistent look across a whole team; an executive portrait is a single, premium image built around one leader, often environmental, always given extra time.

Can you shoot at our office?

Yes, on-location executive and boardroom portraits across Toronto and the GTA.

Is it discreet?

Yes, and I’ll sign an NDA if needed.

Do you offer environmental backgrounds?

Yes, desk, boardroom, and architectural settings, in addition to a clean studio look.

How many images do I actually need?

Usually two or three. One straight portrait covers the bio, the press kit and the board page. An environmental frame gives you something with more context for interviews and features. A third, more relaxed option covers speaking bios and social profiles. You decide after seeing the proofs, not before the session.

Can we use the portrait for press and the annual report?

Yes. Finished images come with the rights to use them for your own and your company’s purposes: website, press, annual report, board materials, conference programmes and social profiles. There is no separate licensing fee and no expiry.

I photograph badly. Is that a problem?

It is what most people say walking in, including people who present to boards for a living. Being comfortable on a stage and being comfortable in front of a lens are different skills. I direct continuously and we review frames together on screen, so nobody is left standing there guessing.

Do you photograph outside Toronto?

Yes, anywhere in the GTA as standard, and further afield by arrangement. Travel outside the GTA is quoted with the session.

What if none of the images work for me?

Then you do not pay for images. The per-image charge applies only to frames you choose, and the deposit terms are set out during booking.