Conference Headshots at SULSA IndAc
Last month I had the pleasure of doing a conference headshots session at the SULSA IndAc25 Conference. It’s a brilliant two-day event bringing together the life sciences industry and academia to explore collaboration, commercialisation, and career development. Alongside the talks, exhibitors and networking, delegates were also offered something special: the chance to have a professional headshot taken on the spot.
And judging by the queues, it went down extremely well.
90 new professional headshots in one day
Throughout the day there was a steady flow of students, speakers, academics, exhibitors and university staff. They were all keen to update their LinkedIn profile, university bio, or professional portfolio. I photographed around 90 people and there was a fantastic buzz in the queue, with everyone chatting, comparing LinkedIn poses, and encouraging each other.
Why offer conference headshots in Scotland?
For students and early-career professionals in particular, getting a headshot can be expensive, intimidating, or simply not something they would normally prioritise. Offering it at a conference removes all those barriers in one go. It’s convenient, relaxed, and genuinely useful.
From an event organiser’s point of view, it’s a huge value-add. If your event has a careers element, networking focus, or professional development angle, headshots are a simple but powerful way to make the day more appealing. Delegates leave with something tangible and immediately useful. And they will remember where they got it.
Thinking about doing this at your event?
If you’re organising a conference, careers fair or professional event — especially anything connected to graduate pathways or early careers — offering professional headshots is a fantastic way to elevate the experience and support your attendees. See more of my Headshots work
If you’d like more info about how it works (and how many people I can photograph during the day), just get in touch.
How does it work?
What’s included
- professional headshots taken on-site
- consistent lighting and background
- real-time preview on screen
- guidance on posing and expression
- multiple fully edited images per person
How it works
- pop-up studio brought to your event
- fast sessions (3–5 mins per person)
- ideal for conferences and careers fairs
- private individual download links
- GDPR-friendly distribution
Fast turnaround & individual delivery
Each attendee received a private link to their personal images — thanks to a system I’ve developed to deliver individual folders automatically via email. It keeps everything GDPR-friendly and lets delegates download their edited photos easily and securely. (When you’re photographing nearly 100 people in a day, that matters a lot!)
A word from SULSA
I’ve worked with SULSA several times now and it’s always a pleasure. Jill Inkster kindly sent the most thoughtful testimonial afterwards — and rather than shorten it, I’m including it in full below because it explains the value of this setup beautifully, from an organiser’s point of view…
“I’m delighted to recommend Ashley, who has now supported four of our major SULSA events — and consistently delivered exceptional results every single time.
We first worked with Ashley when we needed new headshots for our Executive Committee. The quality of those photos was so outstanding that we immediately booked him for our first careers fair to provide professional LinkedIn headshots for attendees. Since then, he has joined us for IndAc23 and our most recent event IndAc25, and the standard has remained consistently high.
One of Ashley’s greatest strengths is his ability to put people at ease — even those of us who normally hate being in front of the camera. He’s brilliant at guiding people into natural, flattering expressions, and he brings an approachable, relaxed energy that makes the experience genuinely enjoyable. At our events, he often photographs around 100 people in a single day, working only during short coffee and lunch breaks, and still manages to give each person individual attention.
A huge added benefit is his real-time screen display, allowing attendees to see their photos instantly and choose their favourites on the spot. And despite the volume of images he handles, his post-production turnaround is incredibly fast. Attendees always receive multiple high-quality, professionally edited photos shortly after the event — something they continuously tell us they appreciate.
Ashley is reliable, friendly, efficient, and consistently excellent. I’m genuinely happy to recommend him for any future work, and we’ll absolutely be continuing to work with him for our upcoming events.”
