Executive Headshots in Mandeville, LA
Your portrait sits beside your name in press releases, board materials, conference programs and your company’s leadership page, and people read it before they read your title. If it is from two roles ago, it is telling the wrong story.
I’m Paige Henderson, the owner of Bellus Photography. I photograph executive headshots and portraits for CEOs, founders and senior leaders from my studio in Mandeville, just off the Causeway. On this page I’ll explain what makes an executive portrait different, the two ways to work with me, and exactly what to expect, so the only thing left to decide is when.
Executive Headshot Examples
Here are recent executive headshots and portraits from the studio.
When Leaders Outgrow Their Headshot
Most executives are using a photo from two roles ago. It was fine when it was taken. Since then the title changed, the company grew, and the photo started appearing in places it was never meant for.
These are the moments when it is worth replacing:
- A promotion or a move to a new company
- A funding round, an acquisition or a rebrand
- A speaking engagement or a media request
- A book, a board seat or an award
- A leadership page where the photos no longer match
If you have ever sent a headshot to a conference organizer and hoped nobody looked closely, it is time.
Where an Executive Portrait Gets Used
- Company leadership and About pages
- Press releases and media kits
- Speaker bios and conference programs
- Board and investor materials
- LinkedIn and other professional profiles
- Annual reports and publications
One image rarely fits all of these. A tight, formal headshot suits a board bio. A wider portrait in your office suits a feature article. That is why I plan an executive session around where the images will appear before I pick up the camera.
What Makes an Executive Portrait Different
Three things separate an executive portrait from an ordinary headshot.
It is planned. We decide where the images will be used and what they need to say before the session, not after.
It has range. You leave with images that do different jobs: formal and approachable, tight and wide, and, where it fits, on location.
It fits your company. Wardrobe, background and expression are chosen to match your role, your industry and the way your company presents itself.
Two Ways to Work With Me
The real difference between these two is the experience. The Signature Headshot is a focused, guided hour in my studio. The Executive Image Advisory is a planned experience built around your role, with more settings and a more complete library of images.
| Signature Headshot | Executive Image Advisory | |
|---|---|---|
| The experience | A focused, guided hour in the studio | A custom session designed around your role and your brand |
| Planning | A personal planning consultation | We start with the bigger picture: where your images will be used, what they need to say, wardrobe, locations and visual direction |
| Where | My Mandeville studio | The studio, your office, or multiple locations and settings |
| What you leave with | Two professionally retouched images | A library: executive and environmental portraits, website, speaking and PR images |
| Best for | An executive who needs one or two strong, current portraits | A leader whose visibility, role or business has grown |
Signature Headshot
- 60-minute session with professional hair and makeup
- A personal planning consultation before your session
- Up to three wardrobe looks
- Two professionally retouched images
- Guided image selection
- Additional images available for purchase
Executive Image Advisory
The Executive Image Advisory is for professionals whose visibility, role or business has grown, and who need a more complete library of imagery to support it.
We begin with the bigger picture: where your images will be used, what they need to communicate, wardrobe, locations, settings and the overall visual direction of your brand. From there, I design a custom session.
It may include:
- Executive portraits
- Environmental portraits
- Website imagery
- Speaking and PR images
- Personal brand imagery
- Multiple locations or settings
Image Advisory: Planning Before the Camera Comes Out
Most executives don’t have time to think about wardrobe, and most have never been told what photographs well. Image advisory is the planning I do with you before the session: what to wear, how it should be styled, and what the images need to say about you and your company.
We talk about your role, your industry and your audience. A managing partner at a law firm and the founder of a design studio should not be photographed the same way. By the time you arrive, the decisions are made, and you only have to show up.
CEO and Founder Headshots
When you lead the company, your portrait represents more than you. It appears on the website, in announcements and in every article written about the business.
For CEOs and founders I plan for range: a formal portrait, a more approachable one and, where it fits, an environmental portrait in your own workplace. One session then covers the press release, the conference bio and the About page, and they all look like the same person on the same day.
Matching Your Company's Leadership Page
New executives often join a leadership page where everyone else was photographed years ago, somewhere else. I can match your company’s headshot background if it is a certain color. If it has a texture or a special look, you can send it to me and I can add it to your finished image, or I can deliver your portrait on a transparent background so your team can place it themselves.
In the studio I have white, brown and black paper backgrounds, and pink, blue and brown textured backgrounds. Other colors are available by request, and I have a large digital library of backgrounds I can add in post-processing.
If your whole leadership team needs new portraits in one consistent style, that is a corporate session.
Executive Portraits at Your Office
Not every executive portrait belongs on a studio backdrop. An environmental portrait, photographed in your office or another setting that says something about your work, gives publications and your marketing team a more editorial image to use.
Custom sessions are available on location, and we choose the setting together during planning.
Executive Headshots on the Northshore
Executives here keep full calendars, and plenty of them cross the lake for work. My studio is at 111 N. Causeway Blvd., Suite 208, in Mandeville, in an office park near the Causeway with free parking on site. Here is roughly how far it is from nearby towns:
| Coming from | Drive to the studio |
|---|---|
| Mandeville | In town |
| Covington | About 15 minutes |
| Madisonville | About 15 minutes |
| Abita Springs | About 20 minutes |
A Signature Headshot is one hour, including hair and makeup, so it fits between meetings.
Direction, Not Guesswork
Leaders are used to being the one who knows what to do in a room. A portrait session is the exception, and that is fine. You do not need to arrive with a plan for your face.
I coach expression in small steps. A slight change in the eyes or the jaw is the difference between approachable and stern, and between confident and tense. I photograph a range, from warm to authoritative, because the same executive needs both: one for the team page and one for the press. If you wear glasses, wear them. I adjust your position and my lights to eliminate glare.
Your Executive Session Prep Checklist
Ten minutes of preparation saves a lot of guesswork on the day.
- List where the portrait will be used: leadership page, press, board materials, LinkedIn, a speaking bio
- Send a screenshot of your company's leadership page, so we can match the background and style
- Pick two or three outfits that fit well; we narrow them down together
- Bring your glasses if you wear them
- Block the full session on your calendar; rushed sessions show
- Note any deadline: a press release date, an event, a board meeting
Hair and makeup are part of the Signature Headshot, so that is one thing you do not have to arrange.
How an Executive Session Works
1. A free discovery call
We start with a free 15-minute call about your goals and how your images will be used. This is where I learn enough to recommend the right session.
2. Planning
Before the session we settle wardrobe, background and the overall visual direction. Professional hair and makeup are part of the Signature Headshot, and I recommend them for men as well as women.
3. The session
I direct posture, positioning and expression from start to finish, so you are never left guessing. The session is organized and respectful of your time.
4. Choosing your images
I send your images at a later date, and I guide you through choosing the portraits that best reflect how you want to be seen.
5. Retouching
Each selected portrait is individually retouched and hand-finished, including natural skin refinement, color and tonal adjustments, removal of temporary distractions like blemishes, and final artistic polishing while preserving the details that make you look like you.
6. Delivery
Signature Headshot images are delivered within 72 hours of your image selection.
What Clients Say
Yashmin Sainju
Google review
★★★★★
Paige at Bellus Photography is absolutely the best executive photographer in the area. She has a unique creative eye, is extremely well prepared, and is easy to work with.
Iggy Rosales
Google review
★★★★★
Paige is an exceptional photographer. Her attention to detail is evident in every shot she takes. Couldn’t be happier with the outcome.
Executive Headshot Questions
What is the difference between an executive headshot and a business headshot?
Planning and range. A business headshot is one strong image, made quickly. An executive session starts with how and where your portraits will be used, and produces images suited to press, speaking and leadership pages as well as LinkedIn.
Is hair and makeup included?
Yes, in the Signature Headshot, along with up to three looks and two retouched images. I recommend professional styling for men as well as women.
What is the Executive Image Advisory?
It is a custom session designed around your role and your brand. We plan wardrobe, locations and visual direction first, and then I create a library of imagery: executive portraits, environmental portraits, and images for your website, speaking and PR.
What happens on the discovery call?
It is a free 15-minute call, and there is no obligation to book. This short call is simply an opportunity for us to connect and discuss what you’re hoping to create. We’ll talk through your goals for the session, how the images will be used, and any ideas you may already have in mind. I’ll also explain how my studio sessions are structured so you know exactly what to expect moving forward.
How much of my time will this take?
The Signature Headshot is 60 minutes, including hair and makeup. Custom sessions vary with the plan and can run longer. We settle the schedule on the discovery call so nothing is a surprise.
What should I wear?
Bring options. We cover wardrobe in your planning consultation, so you are not deciding alone. As a rule, well-fitted, timeless pieces in solid colors photograph best and keep the attention on you.
How do I choose my images?
I send your images at a later date and guide you through the selection, so you are choosing with a second opinion and not on your own.
Can you match our company's existing headshots?
Yes. I can match a solid background color. If your company’s background has a texture or a special look, send it to me and I can add it to your finished image, or I can deliver your portrait on a transparent background.
Will my portraits work for press and publications?
Yes. Your images include normal professional self-promotional use: your website, social media, LinkedIn, business cards, speaker bios and PR. I don’t charge a separate licensing fee for those uses. Separate commercial licensing applies when an image is used in advertising or a commercial product, such as a book cover, a billboard, a paid ad campaign or product packaging.
Do I have to be based in Mandeville?
No. The studio is about 15 minutes from Covington and Madisonville and about 20 from Abita Springs, right off the Causeway, with free parking on site.
Start With a Free Discovery Call
If your role has grown and your photo has not kept up, let’s talk. A discovery call is the first step. It is free, and there is no obligation to book.
Bellus Photography
111 N. Causeway Blvd., Suite 208, Mandeville, LA 70448
985.503.8229