From a Magazine Feature to an Ongoing Team Headshot Relationship
Client: Mackay Insurance Brokers Inc.
Industry: Insurance brokerage
Services Provided: Magazine editorial portraits, individual studio headshots
Location: Belleville, Ontario
From One Feature to an Ongoing Relationship
It started with a commission from a magazine. The Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario (IBAO) was featuring its Awards of Excellence winners in The Ontario Broker, and Mackay Insurance Brokers had been named Small Brokerage of the Year. IBAO’s marketing team hired me to photograph the winners. Soon after, Mackay began sending people to my studio for headshots.
This case study looks at how one editorial session grew into an easy, repeatable way to photograph a large evoving team.
The Background
Mackay Insurance Brokers was founded in 1977 and is Belleville’s last remaining independent brokerage. When IBAO named them Small Brokerage of the Year, the goals for the magazine portraits were clear:
Photograph a team that is local, close, and proud of it
Photograph everyone in their own space without disrupting a busy office
The Goal
Create portraits that:
Feel natural and comfortable for each person, starting with the magazine feature
Carry over into studio headshots that look consistent across the whole team, whenever someone is photographed
Make it simple to update or add new team members over time
The Magazine Shoot
I photographed the Mackay team in Belleville on September 24, 2026, for the Small Brokerage of the Year feature. The session included group portraits of the team and a portrait of the leadership team, and the feature ran as a two-page spread in The Ontario Broker, Volume 26, Issue 1.
The Challenge
Mackay has a wall of its people at the entrance, so the portraits are the first thing a visitor sees. Bruce wanted everyone in a red shirt against a beige backdrop, a clean, warm look that ties the whole wall together.
Red is a beautiful brand colour, but it is a tricky one to photograph. It reflects onto the skin, and when the light and the editing are not handled carefully, it can leave a flushed, unflattering complexion. Some of the team had been through that in earlier portrait sessions, so a few people came in a little apprehensive.
The solution was care at both ends: controlling the light and colour in the studio, then balancing skin tones in editing so the red shirt supports each person instead of washing them out. Once they saw their final images, the team was happy with how they turned out.
The Studio Headshots
Mackay liked the experience, and they began sending people to my Belleville studio for individual headshots. Five team members have come in so far.
Each person is photographed with the same lighting, backdrop, and framing, so the portraits belong together on one team page. As the team grows and roles change, Mackay can send new people to the studio, and the new portraits will match the ones already on the page.
The Outcome
A two-page magazine feature photographed for IBAO’s Small Brokerage of the Year winner
Five team members photographed in the studio so far
An ongoing relationship between Mackay and Headshots by Steph
The Takeaway
A good first experience is often how a team headshot relationship begins. One consistent setup and a simple way to add people over time keep a team’s portraits current as it grows.
Planning team headshots for 2027? Schedule a team and corporate consultation.
