Outdoor Corporate Headshots for Teams: Making Every Photo Match
By Koby Sirkovich, Head PhotographerAt BusinessPortraits.ca, we make a team's outdoor headshots match by keeping six things the same for every person: the spot, the camera angle, the lens setting, the background blur, the mood, and the editing. What we cannot hold is the weather. Daylight changes through the day, so we set up lighting at nearly every outdoor session and adjust it to the conditions. Rain we plan around: four hours before the session, we check the forecast for the square kilometre around the location and, if rain is coming, move the session to a dry time.
- No rain · go ahead
- A brief shower · about 30 minutes either way
- Rain all day · the next sunny day
In an outdoor session, the background is a park, a downtown street, or a building near your office instead of a backdrop. It is one of the ways we photograph teams: since 2017, we have worked with more than 800 Canadian organizations at their offices, in our studio, and outdoors around Toronto.
When are outdoor corporate headshots the right choice?
Choose outdoor headshots when your company wants its photos to show a place as well as a person. The location sets the tone for every photo, so the first thing we ask is what mood you want.
Outdoor sessions work best when the team can gather in one place, because we photograph everyone at the same spot. If your team works out of several cities, we use a matching backdrop at each office instead; our guide to headshots for remote or hybrid teams covers how that works.
Our What to Expect page explains how an outdoor session runs on the day.
Choosing a spot for the mood you want
Tell us how you want the photos to feel. We find a spot near your office that fits that mood: a park for greenery, a street for an urban look, or somewhere more specific, such as blue glass buildings. You confirm it before the session.
Three kinds of spot
- A parkFor greenery
- A streetFor an urban look
- Somewhere more specificSuch as blue glass buildings
- You tell us the mood
- We find a spot near your office
- You confirm it before the session
Some places need a booking or a permit before a commercial photo session. City of Toronto parks are the clearest example. As of October 2026, the City charges $485.47 per two-hour block to book any outdoor park location for commercial photography, with a one-block minimum. It also requires $2 million in liability insurance that names the City (City of Toronto, commercial photography in parks). A shoot on a city street or sidewalk can need a permit from the City's film office. If the spot needs a booking or permit, we tell you the options: we can arrange it and add the fee to your quote, or your company can pay it directly.
- Booking any outdoor park location
- $485.47 per two-hour block
- Minimum
- One block
- Liability insurance naming the City
- $2 million
Source: City of Toronto, commercial photography in parks.
How a whole team's outdoor photos come out as one set
Daylight changes with the time of day and the sky, so we keep everything else the same for every person and adjust our lighting to the daylight.
What stays the same for every person
We keep six things the same from the first person photographed to the last:
- The spot. Everyone stands in the same place.
- The camera angle. It stays fixed for the whole team.
- The lens setting. Photographers call this the focal length. It sets how much of the scene fits in the photo and how large the background looks behind each person.
- The depth of field. This is how much of the scene in front of and behind the person looks sharp. We set it to give you the background you choose, blurred or in focus. Our background guide helps you decide between the two.
- The mood. We settle on a formal or a casual look for the team before the session and hold it for every photo.
- The editing. We apply the same retouching style to every image. Whether you choose colour or black and white photos, we use that finish for the whole set.
Why we bring lighting to an outdoor session
Daylight brightens the scene but can leave shadows on the face. At nearly every outdoor session, we set up our lighting to fill those shadows, and we adjust where it sits and how bright it is to suit the location, the time of day, and the sky. That is also why the time of day is flexible: we recommend mornings, and at any other hour we light the session for the conditions. Indoors, we do the same for each room at office sessions.
Photographers call this fill-in flash: the camera is set for the daylight, and the added light brings out detail in the shadows on the face.
Two sources of light · at nearly every outdoor session
- 01DaylightBrightens the scene.
- 02Our lightSet for the face, then positioned and adjusted to the location, the time of day, and the sky.
What happens if the forecast shows rain?
If the forecast shows rain, we move the session. How far we move it depends on how long the rain lasts:
- For a brief shower, we move the appointment about 30 minutes earlier or later.
- If it rains all day, we rebook with you for the next sunny day.
We make that call four hours before the session, from the forecast for the one-kilometre square around the spot; if it shows no rain, we go ahead as planned. The World Meteorological Organization calls forecasts this close to the event nowcasting: "detailed forecasting of local weather" for the next six hours.
One check, then the call
We check the forecast for the spot four hours before every outdoor session, even when the week looked clear. Koby Sirkovich, Head Photographer
If rain falls on the only day a team member visiting from out of town can be photographed that year, we photograph them at an indoor location instead.
We photograph outdoors year-round, and before you pick a date, we go over how that season's weather affects the session, so your team can decide. In winter, plan for a short day: Toronto has about six and a half hours less daylight at the December solstice than the 15 hours and 26 minutes it has on June 21, so the window for the session is smaller.
- June 21
- 15 hours and 26 minutes
- December solstice
- Less than nine hours
Source: timeanddate.com, sun times for Toronto.
Matching someone who joins months later
When someone joins after the original session, we use the same lens setting, mood, and editing, and match the lighting. Outdoor locations change with the seasons, though: the trees behind the team in June look different in November. We offer two ways to handle that.
A green screen. We can photograph the new team member against one and digitally place them in the original scene, so their background is identical to everyone else's. The session itself is a standard one on a colour backdrop, at our studio, your office, or their home, and the digital placement adds an editing fee.
The same spot. We photograph the new team member at the original location, and the background shows the spot as it looks in the current season.
Two ways to add someone later
Either way, we work from our records of the original session. Our guide to photographing new hires between team sessions shows how we use them for later bookings.
Photographed at a later session
Questions companies ask about outdoor team headshots
Can outdoor photos of a whole team still match?
Yes. We photograph every person at the same spot, from the same camera angle, with the same lens setting, depth of field, mood, and editing. We also adjust our lighting to the conditions on the day. Outdoor sessions suit teams at one office; for teams in several cities, we recommend a matching backdrop at each location.
Do outdoor corporate headshots use natural light only?
No. At almost every outdoor session, we also set up lighting. Daylight brightens the scene, and our light fills in the shadows on the face. We position and adjust that light for each spot and for the sky on the day.
What happens to an outdoor headshot session if it rains?
We move it. For a short shower, we shift the start time by about 30 minutes; for a full day of rain, we find the next sunny day with you. We make the call when we check the forecast for that spot four hours before the session. If a team member has travelled in and has no other date that year, we arrange an indoor session.
Can a new employee's outdoor headshot match the team's photos months later?
Yes. For an identical background, we photograph the new person against a green screen and add them to the original scene digitally. We can also return to the original location; the setup matches, and the background shows the current season.
How do you choose the location for outdoor team headshots?
We start with the mood you want, then find a nearby location that matches it: somewhere green for a relaxed look, a street for an urban feel, or something more specific you describe, such as blue glass buildings. Once you confirm it, we photograph the whole team at that spot.
Do outdoor team headshots work in winter?
Yes, if that suits your team. Before you book, we explain how winter conditions affect the session, and your team decides whether to go ahead or pick another season. Winter days are also short: Toronto gets less than nine hours of daylight at the December solstice.
What time of day is best for outdoor team headshots?
We recommend booking outdoor team headshots in the morning. If another time of day suits your team better, we schedule the session then and position and adjust our lighting for the conditions at that hour, so the set still matches.
How much do outdoor team headshots cost?
We have no separate outdoor rate. We quote an outdoor session the same way as an office or studio session, and you will find the rates on our pricing page. The light we set up outdoors is part of the session, not an extra. Two costs depend on the location. One is a park booking or permit fee, which we add to your quote unless your company pays it directly. The other is a travel fee when the location is more than 60 km from our base.
Do we need a permit to take team headshots in a park?
Some parks require a booking for commercial photography. In Toronto, booking a City park costs $485.47 per two-hour block (as of October 2026). The City also requires $2 million in third-party liability insurance that names it as an additional insured. If a location needs a booking or permit, we walk you through the options: we can book the park for you and include the fee in your quote, or your company can book and pay for it directly.