How Often Should Companies Update Employee Headshots?
It's one of the most common questions we get asked, and it doesn't have a single neat answer. In 26+ years photographing for businesses across London, we've found the honest answer depends less on the calendar and more on what's actually changing inside a company.
That said, there are some useful starting points, and a few situations where waiting for a fixed anniversary isn't the right approach at all.
The general starting point: every two to three years
For most businesses, a full refresh every two to three years is a sensible default. It's roughly the point where enough has usually changed (new hires, people moving into different roles, a few changes in appearance) that the team page starts to feel behind rather than current.
That's a starting point though, not a rule. Some businesses genuinely don't need to touch their headshots for four or five years, because the team's stable and the photos still hold up. Others need something closer to a rolling, ongoing process rather than a single big refresh every few years.
What actually drives the timing
Rather than working to a fixed number, it's worth thinking about what's changing in your business:
Team growth. A company hiring steadily throughout the year will always have someone new without a professional photo. For fast-growing teams, a single event every two or three years quickly falls behind. Smaller, more frequent top-up sessions tend to work better than waiting for the next scheduled refresh.
Rebrands and visual changes. If your branding, colour palette or website has changed, headshots shot against an old backdrop or in an old style can look out of place almost immediately, regardless of how recent they are.
Leadership and role changes. Someone stepping into a more senior position, moving to a client-facing role, or joining the leadership team is often a natural trigger to update their photo specifically, even if the rest of the team's photos are still fine.
Industry and client expectations. Businesses where clients are assessing trust and credibility before any direct contact, whether that's a law firm, a consultancy, a fast-growing tech startup or a creative agency, tend to refresh more proactively than most. A slightly dated set of photos reads differently in that context than it would for, say, an internal-facing operations team.
Company size. Smaller teams can usually manage with a single full session every few years. Larger or fast-changing teams often find it easier to treat headshots as an ongoing, small-and-regular process rather than one big project that keeps getting pushed back.
Full refresh vs. rolling updates
There are really two approaches, and which one suits you depends on how your team changes over time.
A full refresh, photographing everyone at once, makes sense when your existing photos are a genuine mismatch of styles, years and photographers, or when it's been long enough that most of the team needs updating anyway. It gives you a completely consistent set in one go.
A rolling approach, smaller sessions for new starters or people who've changed roles, suits businesses that are hiring regularly and don't want their team page permanently a year or two behind. It's usually quicker to arrange and less disruptive, provided the new photos are matched to the lighting and style of the existing set.
Most of the businesses we work with end up using a mix of both: a full refresh every few years as a baseline, topped up with smaller sessions in between as new people join.
Individual headshots age differently to team sets
It's worth separating two different questions: how often should the team be refreshed, and how often should any one person's photo be updated?
A team can look perfectly consistent while one or two individual photos have quietly become outdated. Someone's changed their hairstyle, grown a beard, or simply looks noticeably different from their photo. That's less about a scheduled refresh and more about keeping an eye on whether each photo still looks like the person in it. We've written more on how to spot this in our piece on 5 Signs Your Team's Headshots Need an Update.
A simple way to decide
If you're not sure whether it's time, a few quick questions usually settle it:
Has anyone joined the team without a professional photo?
Would a new visitor to your website notice the photos don't match each other?
Does everyone's photo still genuinely look like them?
Has there been a rebrand, leadership change, or significant shift in how the business presents itself?
If the answer to any of those is yes, it's worth updating, regardless of how long it's actually been since the last session.
What this looks like in practice
We work with businesses across the whole of London, inside the M25, and the pattern we see most often isn't a company doing a full refresh every exact two years like clockwork. It's more usually a mix: an initial full session, followed by smaller top-ups as the team grows or changes, with an occasional full refresh further down the line if things have drifted enough to warrant it.
If you're weighing up whether your team needs a full session or just a few individual photos, we're happy to have a quick look and advise on what would actually make sense, rather than defaulting to the biggest possible booking. For more on what a session involves and how to prepare, our guide to Professional Corporate Headshots in London covers that in full.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a hard rule for how often to update headshots?
No. Two to three years is a reasonable general guide, but company growth, rebrands, and role changes are usually better indicators than a fixed timeframe.
Should we update everyone's photo at the same time, or just the people who need it?
Either can work. If most of the team's photos are still consistent and current, updating just the new starters or the people whose photos are noticeably out of date is usually the more practical option. A full refresh makes more sense when the existing set has become a genuine mismatch.
We're growing quickly and keep adding new starters. What's the best approach?
Smaller, more frequent top-up sessions tend to work better than waiting for a scheduled full refresh, since it keeps the team page current without one person's missing photo becoming a recurring problem.
Does a rebrand mean we need new headshots even if they're recent?
Often, yes. If the backdrop, styling or overall look no longer matches your updated branding, the photos can look out of place quickly, even if they were taken relatively recently.
Ready to talk timing?
Whether you need a full team refresh, a smaller top-up session, or just aren't sure which makes more sense, get in touch and we can advise based on your team and how it's changing.