What happens to every image after you approve it

Finishing is where the time goes and where the standard is kept. Every image that leaves the company has been through the same seven steps, and the specification is published so a firm can compare it with colour corrected, light retouch and no retouching at all.

What happens after you approve a frame

Seven steps, 15 to 25 minutes an image, every image. Select a step to see what it changes, or compare the approved frame with the finished file.

The approved frame as the sitter saw it on the day, watermarkedThe same frame after finishing
Approved frame, as seen on the tethered screen

The placement set, delivered for every sitter

PlacementFormat deliveredWhy it matters
LinkedIn profileSquare and 4:5 crops at 800 px and 1,600 px, sRGB JPEG under 8 MBThe crop that keeps the face centred in the circle
Company website team pageYour CMS ratio (commonly 3:4 or 1:1) at two sizes, with the eye line locked across the setThe reason the firm bought a standard
Email signature, Teams and OutlookCircular-safe 1:1 at 400 px, and a 96 px version for signaturesThe image colleagues and clients see most often
Intranet, HR system and directoryNamed to your convention (employee ID or firstname-lastname), 1:1 at 600 pxBulk import without renaming
Press, bids and annual reportFull-resolution JPEG and TIFF, 300 dpi, Adobe RGB on requestPartners and spokespeople; printed documents
Screens and social16:9 banner crop; the motion portrait where chosenReception screens, event walls, LinkedIn covers

The time it takes

A Standard Day image takes 15 to 25 minutes to finish; an Executive portrait 30 to 45. A day of forty people is about thirteen hours of finishing before the placement set is made. We state the time because it explains the daily cap, because it is what the fee pays for, and because it is the difference between a finished portrait and an instantly delivered file.

The re-edit round

Every sitter can request one round of changes within seven days of delivery, from their gallery, with a note. Most requests are small: a different approved frame, a lighter touch on one feature, a black and white version. The replacement supersedes the original in the gallery and the firm's download.

Questions people ask

Is the finishing done by hand or by software?

By hand, by a retoucher working to the finishing profile in the firm's Standard, and checked by the Managing Director against the rest of the set. Software is used for what software does well, such as colour matching across a set; the decisions about a face are made by a person.

Will people look like themselves?

Yes. Temporary blemishes, stray hairs and glasses glare go; skin texture, lines and the shape of a face stay. The aim is the person on a good day in good light, not a different person.

Can someone ask for a change?

One round of re-edit per sitter within seven days of delivery, requested from their gallery with a note about what they would like changed.

Why ten working days?

Forty images at 15 to 25 minutes each is about thirteen hours of finishing, plus the check against the set. Ten working days is a promise we keep; rush finishing in five working days is available at the published rate.

See the Standard applied

Ask for the finishing specification and a sample Standard document with your proposal.

Request a proposal

Or speak to us directly +44 (0)7479 880 488 hello@thecorporateheadshotcompany.com 12-14 Wilfred Street, London SW1E 6PL