On-Location Headshots in Toronto: The Studio Comes to Your Office
Bay Street boardrooms, Liberty Village, the Distillery District, a riding office. Executive and team headshots made where you work, to the same standard as the studio.
Most of the executives I photograph in Toronto never see the studio. I bring it to them. A light, a backdrop and a tethered screen fit in a boardroom or a spare office, and the result is the same portrait they would get in Oakville, made twenty steps from their desk instead of forty minutes from it.
That is the whole product on this page. A headshot photographer who works across Toronto rather than one who asks Toronto to come to him. If your firm is on Bay Street, your team is in Liberty Village, or your candidate needs a portrait in the riding office before the signs go up, the session happens there.
Two kinds of photograph, and which one this is
People ask for "photos at the office" and mean one of two things. It is worth being clear, because they are different products at different prices.
A headshot at your office
A portable studio set up in your space. Controlled light, a clean or cinematic background, the person looking into the lens. Indistinguishable from a studio headshot, because it is one. This is an executive or team session, and it is what this page is about.
You, working, in your space
Environmental imagery. You at the desk, on the floor, in the meeting, photographed through a real stretch of your day. A larger session built around how you want to be seen, and a different price.
If you are not sure which you want, say so at the consultation. I will describe both and you choose. Nobody should arrive on the day expecting a different product from the one that was booked.
Where I photograph in Toronto
Anywhere with a room to spare, in practice. These are the places the work most often happens.
Law firms, advisory practices and funds. A boardroom is the usual setup, and partners come through between meetings.
Agencies, studios and founders. Brick and daylight suit a warmer, less corporate frame when the brand calls for it.
Merchants' Wharf, the harbourfront and the Distillery, for portraits that need a sense of place behind them without leaving the city.
Near Toronto Film School. Actor headshots for performers who need a session close to class or rehearsal.
Candidate portraits made where the campaign lives, built to work on a sign, a site and a phone at once.
Midtown, the waterfront, North York, Etobicoke, Scarborough. Travel anywhere in Toronto and the GTA is included.
How a session at your office runs
A short consultation first
Free, before anything is booked. We settle the look, the background, who is being photographed and what the images have to do, whether that is a firm directory, LinkedIn, a press kit or a campaign. For a team, we also settle one price per person.
I arrive early and set up
The kit goes up in a boardroom or a spare office. Backdrop, lights, power and a camera tethered to a large screen, all of it mine. The room goes back to normal when I leave.
People come through between meetings
Direction during the session, so nobody has to know how to pose. Every frame appears on the screen as it is made, and each person picks their favourite before they go back to their desk. If something is not right, we fix it in the room.
Files within five business days
The gallery lands the next business day, grouped by look with my picks marked. Retouched files arrive within five business days of selections. Rush is quoted when an announcement has a date on it.
Why the studio should travel, not the team
Sending eight people downtown to a studio costs the firm eight half days. Sending one photographer to the firm costs it a boardroom for an afternoon. That is the arithmetic, and it is why most of my corporate work in Toronto happens on site.
The second reason is consistency. When the setup is built in your office once, it can be built there again. The associate who joins in March is photographed in the same room, with the same light, against the same background as the partners photographed in January. That is what the Standing Headshot Program is: the setup on file, one price per headshot agreed once, and new hires photographed as they come.
The third reason is the portrait itself. Someone photographed on their own floor, between two things they were already doing, tends to look like themselves. Nobody has commuted, parked, or sat in a waiting room. The frame inherits that.
"Youssef has an exceptional gift—not just for capturing images, but for capturing essence. He doesn’t just take photos—he showcases people. Every shot he takes has intention, style, and precision. He has an uncanny eye for lighting, color, and mood, and he knows exactly how to bring out the best in his subjects."
J. Paul Nadeau, former hostage negotiator, peacekeeper, author, and actorAmong the people photographed on location in Toronto: Stewart Kiff, President of Solstice Public Affairs, at Merchants' Wharf on the waterfront, and actor Michael Gordin Shore on Queen Street East in the Beaches. Bonnie Crombie, who ran Mississauga for a decade, and Sue McArthur are on the executive page.
“Youssef made me feel completely at ease, and the final headshots were clean, polished, and full of personality. I’ve used them on LinkedIn and my website, and the response has been amazing. Highly recommend working with Youssef and the Ymaphoto team.
Sue McArthur, Business Consultant
What it costs
On-location pricing is the same as studio pricing. Travel anywhere in Toronto and the GTA is included.
One executive, at your office
Mini $300 + HST, one look on a grey, white or solid background, one retouched file. Cinematic $550 + HST, two looks with lighting and styling to match, three retouched files. Full $750 + HST, the full range, five retouched files. Additional retouched files are $100 + HST each. The executive page shows the three side by side.
A team, at your office
| Team size | Per person |
|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | $300 + HST |
| 5 to 9 | $250 + HST |
| 10 to 19 | $225 + HST |
| 20 or more | $200 + HST |
| Full shooting day, no headcount limit | $2,500 + HST |
Per person rates include one retouched file for each person, additional files $100 + HST each. The full shooting day is an eight hour window at your office, as many people as you can bring through, with retouched files at $100 + HST each ordered by the firm or by each person. Firms that keep hiring hold their rate through the Standing Headshot Program.
Actors, near Yonge and Dundas
Theatrical and commercial headshots that get submitted, from a photographer Toronto agencies have sent their actors to for over fifteen years. Most actors book the Full session, five to seven looks, so the agent has a theatrical and a commercial option for every type they submit you for. Retouching is from $50 + HST per image, chosen from your gallery after the session. The actor page has the work, the sessions and the agencies.
Environmental and personal branding
From $2,000 + HST, custom designed and scoped at consultation. The personal branding page shows what that session produces.
Your session covers your own marketing and communications, including digital advertising. Billboard, transit, print and TV placements are licensed separately and quoted per campaign. The full ladder is on the investment page.
Questions about on-location sessions
How much space do you need at our office?
A boardroom or a spare office is plenty. I bring everything, the backdrop, the lights, the power and the table for the screen, so all I need from you is the room. I have worked in smaller rooms than you would expect.
Does travel within Toronto cost extra?
Travel anywhere in Toronto and the GTA is included in every session and every team rate.
Can new hires be photographed later so they match?
Yes. That is exactly what the Standing Headshot Program is for. The setup is kept on file, the price is agreed once, and each new person is photographed in the same way as the team before them.
Is a headshot at our office the same price as at the studio?
Yes. Individual executive sessions start at $300 + HST and team rates run from $300 down to $200 per person by headcount, at your office or at the studio.
What if we want photos of people actually working?
That is personal branding, a separate session from $2,000 + HST. Say so at the consultation and I will describe both so you can choose.
Booking headshots at your Toronto office?
Twenty minutes on a call settles the look, the date and the rate. No charge and no pitch.
Book a ConsultationOr send an inquiry