Scope Media StudiosBook

Scope Media Studios · Block A, Chartwell Business Park, 61-65 Paulet Rd, London SE5 9HW · hello@scopemediastudios.co.uk · scopemediastudios.co.uk

Studio B dressed with a pink sofa on the white cyclorama under a fresnel light

Hire · SE5 9HW, South London · from £120 · open 24/7 · ★ 5.0 on Google · 17 reviews

Nothing changes between sitters.

One portrait is a sitting. Twelve people who need to look like they belong on the same page is a production — and it wants a room where the set never moves. Studio B is £120 for two hours and £220 for a half day, with its colour-washable cyc set once and held for every sitter.

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Sizing a headshot day by headcount

Work the block out from the number of people, not the other way round. At ten to fifteen minutes a sitter, twelve people is two to three hours of sitting before the lights go up and after they come down, and set-up and pack-down sit inside the booked time. That is why a team of that size usually suits a half day in Studio B at £220 rather than the two-hour block at £120; a full day is £420 for a whole department.

Send a timed list to everyone before the day, with a slot each and a buffer every hour for the person who is late or the one who wants to change their shirt. The schedule slips in one direction only, so build the slack in rather than hoping for it.

One look, held for every sitter

Consistency is the whole brief. Pick the background first: Studio B's colour-washable cyclorama takes a wash in the brand's own colour, and its adjustable backdrop system gives a plain alternative. Set the wash, fix the lights, mark the sitter's position on the floor and lock the camera height, then leave them alone until the last sitter has gone. Because the room blacks out, nothing changes the light between the first portrait and the last.

Write the set-up down before you strike: the wash, the light positions, the lens, the distance and the camera height, with a photograph of the set from the camera position. New starters join after the shoot, and a sheet like that is how their portrait sits on the same page as everyone else's months later.

Glasses are the usual problem. Raise the key light or tilt the frames very slightly forward so the reflection leaves the lens, and check each wearer on the screen before you start shooting them rather than after.

Moving people through the building

Keep the queue off the set. The dressing and prep room is where people change and get ready, the client lounge and the kitchen are where the next sitters wait, and Studio B has make-up and styling zones in the room for the last touch before the sitting. Studio B's edit and playback area lets the person who signs the pictures off check them as you go, so nobody has to come back for a reshoot.

If the team wants a white background behind a full-length group shot as well as the individual portraits, Studio A is 1,200 sq ft with a white drive-in infinity cove and full blackout curtains, at £160 for two hours. For a soft natural-light portrait instead, the Workshop is a daylight studio under a circular light well, priced like Studio A; daylight changes with the weather, so it is not the room for matching later sitters exactly. Lights are charged separately in both studios, so please enquire about our lights. If you want hair and make-up or a stylist found for you, the team can source them and quote by email.

The rooms for it

Studio B dressed with a pink sofa on the white cyclorama under a fresnel light
Studio BRoom-within-a-room sound treatment and a colour-washable cyclorama — corporate grey or the brand's own colour, set once and held for every sitter, with make-up and styling zones alongside.From £120Check Studio B availability
Studio A during a live shoot, seen wide across the white infinity cove with softboxes either side
Studio AThe distance room: 1,200 sq ft and full blackout, for when the background needs to go fully white or fully black behind a whole team.From £160Check Studio A availability

Worth reading first

Corporate Headshots: How to Run a Team Headshot DayTeam headshots that look like one company, not twelve photographers: fix the set, brief what people wear, and book a studio block with rigging counted in.Studio Portrait Lighting: Setups and Patterns ExplainedStudio portrait lighting is three lights at most, usually one. Key, fill and rim, one- to three-light setups, and the classic patterns from loop to split.Camera Settings for Studio Photography and VideoCamera settings for studio photography and video: sync speed, base ISO, aperture for the look, a flicker-safe shutter on UK mains, and white balance set early.How to Choose a Photography Studio in LondonChoose a London photography studio that will not let you down: the specs that decide a shoot (ceiling, cove, load-in, blackout, sound), not the photos.Studio Hire Costs in London, ExplainedKnow your studio budget before you book: Studio A £620 a day, Studio B £420, the podcast room £80 for two hours, worked budgets and what sits outside the rate.How Many Hours Should You Book a Studio For?Two hours, a half day or a full day? How to size a studio booking from your shot list, with set-up, de-rig and the real running time counted in.In-house Brand Teams: Closed Sets, Embargoes and Sign-offClosed sets, product embargoes, approval chains and launch capture for in-house brand teams: what a whole-building studio day gives, and what it does not.How to Light a Cyclorama or Infinity CoveLighting a cyclorama or infinity cove is two jobs, not one rig: wash the background, rake from the sides, keep the subject off the wall — in that order.

All the studio guides, by topic: the journal.

How it works

  1. 01Send the headcountAllow ten to fifteen minutes per sitter plus rigging at each end — that arithmetic decides the block.
  2. 02Fix the lookThe cyclorama takes a colour wash, set before the first sitter and untouched until the last.
  3. 03Move people throughDressing and prep room, client lounge and kitchen keep the queue off the set.

In the building with every booking

  • Kitchen
  • Dressing and prep room
  • Client lounge
  • High-speed Wi-Fi
  • Parking

In every room but one, lights are charged separately from the room rate, so please enquire about our lights and we will quote for what your shoot needs. The exception is the DJ room, where the professional film lighting is rigged in the room and included in the rate.

Anything not listed — ceiling heights, cove dimensions, power, capacities — is on request rather than guessed at. Ask us and you will get an exact answer.

Straight answers

What does headshot studio london cost at Scope?
Studio B starts at £120. Studio A starts at £160. Set-up and pack-down are inside your booked time.
Can you hold the exact same background for every sitter?
Yes — a colour-washable cyclorama in a sound-treated, blackout-capable room, set once and left alone until the last sitter leaves. With the daylight shut out, the light on sitter twelve is the light on sitter one.
Where do people wait?
In the dressing and prep room, the client lounge or the kitchen — so the next sitter is not watching the current one being lit.
How long should we book for a team headshot day?
Count the people first. At ten to fifteen minutes a sitter plus rigging at each end, a small team fits the two-hour block in Studio B (£120), a dozen or so suits the half day (£220), and a department suits the full day (£420). Set-up and pack-down are inside the booked time.
Can we match headshots for people who join the company later?
Yes, if the first day is written down. Note the wash, the light positions, the lens, the distance and the camera height, photograph the set, and book Studio B again. It blacks out, so the only light on the new sitter is the light you rig, and the portrait matches the originals.
Can we shoot a team group photo on the same day as the headshots?
Yes. A small group fits Studio B's cyclorama; a full-length group on white suits Studio A, 1,200 sq ft with a white drive-in infinity cove and full blackout curtains. Both are in the same building and can be booked for the same day.
Can someone approve the headshots before people leave?
Yes. Studio B has a dedicated edit and playback area in the room, so the person signing the pictures off can check each sitter as they go. Clients retain all rights to the photographs they take here.
Are lights included on a headshot day?
No — lights are charged separately from the room rate in both studios, so please enquire about our lights and we will quote for a portrait set-up held for the whole day. The DJ room is the only room with lighting included, and it is not a portrait room.

More in the full FAQ.

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