Headshots & Hatshots: Hat-Themed Fundraising Fun in Leamington Spa!
Friday 27th March was Brain Tumour Research’s “Wear A Hat Day”. It’s a nationwide charity event aiming to raise funds and awareness of the important work that Brain Tumour Research does. Having lost two of my relatives to brain tumours, I had been wanting to do something to support the cause for a long time. This year, I was determined to avoid the usual trap of leaving it too late, and started planning in early February.
The result was Headshots & Hatshots - my first-ever charity photography event, held at Leamington Spa Town Hall. As a headshot photographer, I’ve always felt that portraits would fit particularly well with the Wear A Hat Day theme. I also thought that basing my fundraising activities around professional headshots would give the event an unusual twist, hopefully helping it stand out, as well as giving me an opportunity to provide something useful to supporters. So that was the idea: I’d provide a professional headshot in return for a donation to the charity, and add an optional, hat-themed portrait to tie in with Wear A Hat Day, hopefully adding a bit of fun to the end of each session.
Below is a look behind the scenes: how the event came together, what the day was like, and some of my favourite images from the sessions.
The Run-Up: Self‑Portraits for Social Posts
Early in the planning, I had two main concerns: firstly, I needed a suitable venue; secondly, I had to find a way to get people interested in the event. The first issue was settled surprisingly quickly, when a room at Leamington Spa Town Hall became available. But I still needed a way to promote the day. I wanted to demonstrate what people would be getting but, without having done a similar event previously, I had no suitable photos of people wearing hats. I needed images quickly, and I didn’t want to hire models or spend time trying to organise a photoshoot with friends. So, I turned the camera on myself.
This turned out to be a strange way to spend an afternoon, but it was a surprisingly useful exercise. It gave me the chance to test the secondary lighting set-up I’d be using on the day (a pair of flashguns rather than the portable studio lights I’d be using for the proper headshots). I chose a textured backdrop and lit it with a magenta gel to echo the pink used in the Wear A Hat Day logo. I added the Headshots & Hatshots text using the same colours as Brain Tumour Research’s own graphics. The combination of text, graphical elements, and photos made for a series of bright, eye-catching posts for LinkedIn and Instagram.
I posted one or two of these photos per week in the run-up to the event, along with a few shots from previous professional shoots to try to ensure potential participants realised the main purpose of the shoot was to create a sensible headshot they would actually be able to use. I thought the sillier posts would gain the most attention, but I didn’t want to give the impression that the “hatshot” was the focus of the mini-sessions I was trying to fill.
Momentum built slowly. My network is relatively small, but is mostly concentrated in the Leamington Spa / Warwickshire area, perfect for an event like this. The timeslots on my TicketSource page looked worryingly empty for a while, but after a couple of weeks the bookings started to come in. I’m not sure I’ll ever really understand the social media algorithms, but the one thing that seems to hold true is that persistence pays off eventually. Friends and past clients shared my posts, which helped enormously. Before long I had over half the slots filled, more than enough to make the event worth holding.
The Day Itself — Hats Off to the Participants!
Leamington Spa Town Hall proved a fantastic venue, with the room I had access to perfectly suited for the twin shoot I had planned. In one half of the room, I set up a clean, professional lighting arrangement similar to ones I’ve used in the past for corporate headshots and business portraits. Beside that, I recreated the brick wall backdrop I’d used for my selfies, ready for the more playful hat portraits. This side-by-side arrangement kept things as efficient as possible: I could use one camera and one set of lights for the headshots, and a different camera and lights for the hatshots, so there was no need to keep adjusting settings as I moved between the two setups.
I finished setting everything up in time to have a quick swig of tea and take a couple of behind-the-scenes photos before the first person arrived. And then we were off!
When I was setting the event up, I hadn’t been quite sure how long to allow for each mini-session. In a typical day shooting corporate headshots, it averages out somewhere around 5 minutes per person. For a branding photography session for an individual, I wouldn’t want to work with less than an hour. I ended up settling on 20 minutes for each timeslot, as this gave me a realistic number of slots to fill during the day, and provided plenty of time for both the headshot and hatshot parts of the session. More importantly, it meant the sessions weren’t hurried and gave me a chance to talk to each person - many of whom I’d photographed before - so it was great to have the opportunity to catch up with them again.
I always strive to create a relaxed, friendly atmosphere when I’m photographing people. Everybody is different, of course, but I find if you give people time to settle in and get comfortable, it becomes far easier to create a polished, confident portrait.
For anyone considering booking business headshots in Leamington Spa, this kind of environment is exactly what I aim to provide: calm, supportive, and focused on bringing out natural expression.
The Headshots: Professional Portraits with Personality
Each participant was to receive a professional headshot in return for their donation to Brain Tumour Research. I wanted to ensure that everyone felt the photos were useful and valuable, so I made sure we worked together on the images to create a selection that would yield a headshot each person would be excited to use as their new profile picture. By taking the headshot first, and giving everyone as much time as they needed to feel comfortable in front of the camera, I feel the results reflect that mindset - a mix of confident, approachable portraits perfectly suited to use as LinkedIn profiles, About pages, speaker bios, or on marketing materials.
These sessions also gave people an insight what a full headshot session with me is like: a relaxed, collaborative approach to help people feel at ease in front of the camera, with flattering lighting that brings out their best side.
The Hatshots: Finishing Off With A Fun Twist
Once we were both happy that we’d captured a few viable options for the professional headshot, it was time for the fun part… the Hatshot!
I wasn’t sure how many people would be up for this, but I’m pleased to say that everybody picked a hat and struck a pose. To be honest, this was my favourite part of each session. I don’t know whether it was partly due to a sense of relief of having got the “serious” photo out of the way, or just the novelty of trying on a hat from the fairly random collection I’d brought with me, or just that people revelled in doing something a little silly on a Friday. Whatever it was, I absolutely love the final hatshot images. They’re playful, expressive, and full of character. The Thank You collage I made from them made a perfect post with which to sum up the day on Instagram.
The Hatshots rounded off each session with a real burst of colour and personality, and they gave me a chance to help spread awareness of the charity in a light‑hearted, visual way.
Supporting A Cause Close to My Heart
Brain Tumour Research is a charity I care deeply about, and I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who booked a session, donated, or shared the event online. Together, we raised £300, all of which goes directly to support vital research.
A huge, heartfelt thank you to all the participants. Your support means the world to me, and it was a privilege to photograph you.
Professional Headshots for Local Businesses
Although Headshots & Hatshots was a one‑off event, I’m always available for:
Corporate photography for small businesses across Warwickshire and beyond
If you’re thinking about updating your headshot or arranging portraits for your team, please get in touch. I’d love to help.
Final Thoughts
This event was a reminder of how powerful photography can be - not just in helping people present themselves professionally, but in bringing people together in support of a good cause. Thank you again to everyone who took part, donated, or helped spread the word.
I look forward to more creativity, more connection, and more great portraits in the coming months.
