Northlight

Illinois

Professional headshots · Chicago

In short

Professional headshots in Chicago starts at $295: 60 min on location with a photographer who works in Chicago, and 10 edited photos delivered to a private gallery within 48 hours.

Why choose Professional headshots in Chicago?

Chicago has a deep professional-services market — law, finance, consulting, healthcare — and the headshot brief that comes with it is conservative for good reason: the image has to sit in a directory next to two hundred colleagues and not stand out for the wrong reason. That is a craft of consistency rather than of flattery, and it is why the studio session here is the default and the outdoor one is the exception.

Worth knowing about Chicago

Chicago is the one market on this site where the studio is the right answer for five months of the year rather than a preference. Between late November and March, wind chills off the lake make an outdoor headshot session a study in how someone looks when they are cold, and it is visible in every frame — the shoulders come up and the eyes narrow. Sessions in those months are booked indoors as a matter of course.

What does the session in Chicago look like?

Studio, the Loop or River North
Two backgrounds, controlled light, and no January. Walkable from most downtown offices.
Your office
For anything that has to match an existing directory, where the background is already set.

What does professional headshots in Chicago include?

  • 10 retouched photographs
  • Two backgrounds and two wardrobe changes
  • Selection made together on a monitor before you leave
  • Cropped for LinkedIn, for a company directory and for print
  • Private online gallery within 48 hours
  • Commercial licence for your own professional use

FAQ — Professional headshots in Chicago

What should I wear for a headshot in Chicago?

One step more formal than your workplace, in a solid mid-tone. Navy, charcoal and burgundy all hold their colour on screen; black closes up into a shape with a head on it and white glows. Bring two options and decide in the studio against the actual background rather than guessing at home.

Can you photograph our whole team?

Yes — that is a team headshot day rather than an individual session. A lighting set-up is brought to your office for a day, up to forty people are photographed at about seven minutes each against an identical background, and the files are named to your directory’s convention. It needs a room about twelve by fifteen feet and somebody internally owning the schedule.

Photography inspiration

What professional headshots can look like

Licensed photographs by independent photographers, credited on the photo credits page — shown for inspiration, not as Northlight client sessions.

Professional headshots in other cities

Next step

Check availability in Chicago

Tell us your date. A coordinator replies within two hours with a Chicago photographer for professional headshots and your exact price.

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