Student Headshots in Toronto: A Session at Albion Library

A recent corporate session took me out to Albion Public Library. No studio and no lights, just the building and the sidewalk out front.

We started against the glass. The entrance side of Albion is close to floor to ceiling glazing, and a wall of glass that size bounces daylight back at you like a softbox turned sideways. Then we moved a few steps to the wood benches on the plaza for the seated frames, and a few more to the sidewalk for full length. The timber beams that run out over the covered entrance gave us a ceiling, which is the thing most outdoor headshots are missing.

I keep going back to buildings like this instead of renting a studio. A studio gives you one look. A building like Albion gives you three or four in the space of ten steps, in daylight that already looks like the world your photo will live in.

Why Albion Public Library works for headshots

The branch sits at 1515 Albion Road in north Etobicoke, near Albion Road and Kipling Avenue, in the part of the city most people still call Rexdale. The current building opened in 2017, designed by Perkins and Will with Andrew Frontini as lead architect, and it replaced the 1973 branch that stood on the same site. It won a Toronto Urban Design Award of Excellence in 2019, and standing in front of it you can see why.

What that means for a headshot is light and variety. Roughly forty percent of the envelope is glass, and the glazing opens right up at the corners and at the recessed entrance, so you get a soft even wash on the face without a single light stand. The facade runs in vertical stripes of glazed terracotta tile in grey, chartreuse, orange and fuchsia, which gives you a background with real colour in it when you want one and a quiet neutral one when you step around the corner. The exposed timber beams start over the covered entrance and carry on inside, so there is warmth overhead instead of open sky.

Standing against the glass is the safe frame, the one that ends up on LinkedIn. Arms crossed, weight on the back foot, chin forward a touch. This is the photo people came for.

Then the benches on the plaza, a few steps away. Sitting changes people. Shoulders drop, and the smile stops being something they are holding.

And full length on the sidewalk out front. Hardly anyone asks for this frame until a conference wants a speaker photo or a company page wants something taller than a square.

Student headshots in Toronto at a glance

• Where this session happened: Albion Public Library, 1515 Albion Road, north Etobicoke, about 10 minutes from Humber College North Campus.
• Who it suits: students, new grads, job hunters, and anyone whose LinkedIn photo is a cropped photo from a wedding.
• The Student, $151.25: 30 minute session, 1 location, 1 outfit, 2 fully retouched headshots, a gallery of 15 or more good frames, LinkedIn ready crops. Valid student ID required.
• The Professional, $301.25: up to 1 hour, 2 to 3 outfit changes, 5 fully retouched headshots, a full gallery of 30 or more lightly edited frames, LinkedIn, website and print crops.
• Delivery: 1 week for the retouched files.
• Add ons: extra retouched image $26.25. Express 48 hour delivery $51.25 on The Professional.
• Where I shoot: on location across the GTA. Your campus, your office, or a spot we pick together.
• Packages and booking: headshot photography in Toronto.

If you are a student near a Toronto campus

Sessions are on location anyway, so distance is a convenience question rather than a barrier. I drive to you. But if you are near Albion, meeting me there is the easy option, and here is roughly how far it is from a few campuses.

Humber College North Campus is the closest at about 10 minutes. The University of Guelph-Humber sits on the same North Campus grounds, so it is the same short drive. From either one, the whole session takes less time than a lecture.

York University Keele Campus is about 20 minutes. Seneca at York sits right on the Keele grounds, so if you study there it is the same trip.

Seneca Polytechnic Newnham Campus is about 30 minutes.

Toronto Metropolitan University, formerly Ryerson University, is about 30 minutes from Albion, straight downtown.

University of Toronto runs about 30 minutes to the St. George campus downtown, and about 25 minutes to U of T Mississauga.

If you are at OCAD University, George Brown College, Centennial College, U of T Scarborough, Humber Lakeshore, or Sheridan College Davis Campus in Brampton, the same thing applies. I photograph on location across the GTA, so we find a good building near you instead of making you cross the city for a thirty minute session. Almost every campus in this region has one decent wall and one patch of even light, and that is really all a headshot needs.

If you are a working professional

Not every headshot is for a student. Usually it is a bio page going live next week or a job hunt that just started, and the photo becomes urgent after being ignored for a year.

For that I come to your office and we work in the lobby or against whatever wall your building gave you, or we pick a spot in the city and meet there. The Professional session runs up to an hour with two or three outfit changes, so you leave with a formal frame and a warmer one for the about page. Everything is listed on the headshot packages page. And if you are still deciding whether any of this is worth booking, I wrote an honest answer to that question too.

What it costs

Two packages. Both are on location, and both are fully directed, so you never have to work out what to do with your hands.

The Student, $151.25. Thirty minutes at one location, one outfit with a backup if you want to bring one. You get two fully retouched headshots, a private gallery of every good frame from the session, and LinkedIn ready crops. The student rate covers current students and grads within a year of graduating, and I do need to see a valid student ID when you book.

The Professional, $301.25. Up to an hour, two to three outfit changes, five fully retouched headshots, and a full gallery of 30 or more lightly edited frames with LinkedIn, website and print crops included.

Add ons. An extra retouched image is $26.25. Express 48 hour delivery is $51.25 on The Professional session.

Standard delivery is one week. The gallery goes up first, within a few days, you pick your favourites, and I retouch those.

Frequently asked questions

How much do student headshots cost in Toronto?

The Student session is $151.25 for thirty minutes on location, and that includes two fully retouched images plus a gallery of every good frame. Around the city you will find cheaper bare bones options where you get a few minutes in front of a backdrop and one file back, and you will find studio sessions priced well above this one. The student rate sits at the low end on purpose while still being a real directed session.

What is included in the student headshot package?

Thirty minutes at one location, one outfit with a backup, two fully retouched headshots, a private gallery of every good frame from the session, and LinkedIn ready crops. Delivery is one week. An extra retouched image is $26.25.

Do I need a student ID?

Yes. The student rate covers current students and grads within a year of graduating, and I do need to see a valid student ID when you book. If you graduated longer ago than that, The Professional session at $301.25 is the one to book, and it gives you more time and more retouched images anyway.

Can you shoot on campus at Humber or York?

Yes. Every headshot session is on location and travel across the GTA is included, so I can meet you at Humber College North Campus, York University Keele, Seneca, Toronto Metropolitan University, University of Toronto, or wherever you study.

What should I wear for a LinkedIn headshot?

Solid colours in mid to deep tones photograph best. Avoid busy patterns, thin stripes and large logos, because they pull attention off your face. Bring a second layer like a blazer or a cardigan so we can get a slightly more formal frame. I wrote a longer guide on what to wear for a photo session if you want the full version.

How fast do I get the photos?

The full gallery goes up within a few days of the session so you can pick your favourites. The retouched images are delivered within a week. If you need them sooner, express 48 hour delivery is a $51.25 add on to The Professional session.

Book a headshot session

If your photo is out of date and you have been meaning to fix it, at the student rate this is thirty minutes and one shirt. Bring something you feel good in and let me handle the rest of it.

See the headshot packages →

Or send me a note about a headshot session and tell me your campus or your neighbourhood and what the photo is for. I will tell you where I would shoot it.