Portrait Photographer - Luxury Women\'s Empowerment Team in London

At Body & Soul, we create luxury intimate portrait experiences for everyday women in East London – most of whom have never done a shoot before. Your job is to turn those women into artwork they are proud to see themselves in, inside a high-standards, tightly run studio. We have already guided over 1,900 women through this experience. For many, it has been the most important, confidence‐shifting thing they did that year. This is the power of Intimate Portraiture. You will be a direct source of that change, every single day – not just "taking nice photos," but changing how women see themselves for life. If you want to be part of a tight in‐studio team and develop your craft to a world‐class standard, keep reading.

Role at a glance

• Type: Full-time, employed, in-studio only
• Schedule: 5 days per week including most weekends
• Typical day: 3 x 2‐hour intimate portrait sessions + changeovers + one main break
• Compensation: £30,000–£36,000 base in year one (depending on experience and performance) + monthly performance bonus once fully ramped
• Reports to: Studio Manager

Your Mission

Turn every woman who walks into the studio into art she is proud to see herself in – on time, at standard, every time.

What You Will Do

• Run multiple 2‐hour intimate portrait sessions per day that follow our emotional and creative arc, starting and ending on time
• Direct and pose everyday women with calm, grounded leadership so they feel seen, safe and supported throughout
• Consistently produce gallery‐ready work that hits our brief and gives curators enough strong, saleable images from every session
• Protect the studio schedule using our Timing & Changeover and EOD Reset checklists (including one main break plus quick resets between sessions)
• Keep sets, wardrobe, gear and the studio floor immaculate every shift
• Log clear emotional, preference and artwork notes after every guest so downstream teams can do their best work
• Participate in daily floor huddles and communicate actively with HMUA, Guest Experience and your Studio Manager
• Engage in ongoing craft improvement: weekly gallery reviews, test shoots and calibration sessions to deepen "The Body & Soul Way"

First 90 Days

Within your first 90 days, you will ramp from 1–2 supervised sessions a day to 3+ independent sessions, hitting our timing, gallery and guest‐experience standards.

How We Will Know You Are Winning

• You personally shoot ~660 guests per year while protecting team wellbeing
• 660+ women per year leave feeling seen, safe and supported (4.8/5+ shoot‐day score, rolling 30 days)
• Once fully ramped, 95%+ of your sessions pass our internal gallery QA (enough strong, on‐brief images to sell from every time)

This Role Is For You If...

• You are confident with studio lighting, exposure, focus and composition
• You enjoy directing and posing non‐models, and can hold a safe emotional container while you do it
• You have strong time management: you can run back‐to‐back sessions to schedule without rushing the guest
• You are low‐ego: you care more about the guest and the team result than being "the star"
• You like mastering one proven way of working and running it at a high level before suggesting changes
• You value clear standards, direct feedback and being held to numbers on timing, quality and guest scores

This Role Is Not For You If...

• Weekends are non‐negotiable time off for you
• You want loose, ad‐hoc, "shoot when inspiration hits" days instead of consistent volume
• You prefer low‐volume, sporadic shooting over running 3+ emotionally intense sessions a day as your norm
• You resist SOPs, dislike being measured, or take coaching as a personal attack
• You are looking for remote, hybrid or primarily freelance work

Skills And Experience

• Strong studio photography skills (exposure, focus, composition, lighting)
• Confident directing and posing everyday women with empathy
• Tight time management under pressure while staying emotionally present
• Competent digital workflow (tether or cards, backup and file hygiene)
• Emotional intelligence and boundaries suitable for luxury intimate portraiture

Nice to have

• Prior boudoir / intimate portrait or luxury service experience
• Retouching knowledge to collaborate effectively with production
• Experience in luxury, high‐touch environments

Training, Growth And Perks

• 1‐day paid trial: In‐studio intensive on The Body & Soul Way plus supervised trial sessions so both sides can see if it is a fit (paid at a flat day rate).
• Structured 90‐day ramp: Join as a full employee on £30,000–£32,000 base (depending on experience) and ramp to full timing, gallery and guest‐experience standards with close coaching and clear KPI milestones.
• Clear progression: With strong performance, many photographers progress into the £33,000–£36,000 band within their first 12–18 months. Senior / Lead roles above this are available over time as the studio grows.
• Performance bonus: Once you are fully ramped, you are eligible for a monthly performance bonus based on your on‐time sessions, gallery quality and guest scores.
• Ongoing development: Weekly 1:1s, gallery reviews and craft coaching with your Studio Manager.
• Perks: Team holidays and getaways, staff artwork perks, plus a high‐standard in‐studio team that genuinely wants you to win. Our guests are women, often shooting nude or semi‐nude, and you will be part of an all‐female studio floor team to protect their comfort and safety.

How To Apply

Please do not call or walk into the studio to apply. We run all hiring through our application process so we can review everyone fairly. To apply: Click "Apply" on this page and complete the short application form (about 5 minutes). We only review applications that include a portfolio link. If it looks like a potential fit, we will invite you to record a brief 5‐minute video answering a few questions about your experience and why this role is right for you. From there, shortlisted candidates will be invited to our 1‐day paid trial in the studio. If you want to push your craft and artistry to world‐class, and help us build the best portrait studio experience in London, we would love to hear from you.

Due to the intimate nature of our work with nude female clients, this role has a genuine occupational requirement for female staff under Schedule 9 of the Equality Act 2010, to ensure privacy and decency.