Headshot Crew

Name

Headshot Crew

Legal name

Hurley Media, Inc.

Website

https://headshotcrew.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Photography Marketplace

NAICS

Photography Studios, Portrait (541921), Commercial Photography (541922), Photographic Services (54192)

SIC

Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Photography & Videography Workshops (THAJAKAD)

Keywords

• Headshot photography network
• Photographer directory marketplace
• Photography coaching community
• Portrait photography training
• Photographer membership platform

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Paid Membership Subscriptions: Headshot Crew generates revenue through paid membership subscriptions. Paid memberships automatically renew at designated periods and are non-refundable. The platform uses Recurly for billing, subscription management, and payment processing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Headshot Crew operates an online platform that combines a searchable photographer directory with a paid membership/coaching program for headshot and portrait photographers. Photographers pay recurring membership fees to gain directory listings, online coaching groups, courses, contests, critiques, and live Crew Cast broadcasts, while customers use the directory to find and book vetted associate photographers by location. The platform also offers free introductory courses, in-person workshops led by founder Peter Hurley, and integrations with proofing galleries.

Product overview

Headshot Crew is the world's largest team of headshot and portrait photographers, operated by Hurley Media, Inc. The platform operates as a network combining a photographer directory, membership program, and educational coaching services. The core offering includes a searchable Photographer Directory where users can find Associate-level vetted photographers, paired with an Online Coaching platform offering Courses & Tutorials, Contests & Critiques, and live Crew Cast broadcasts. In-person Workshops provide hands-on training with founder Peter Hurley. A free Introduction to Headshot Photography course serves as an entry point for beginners. The platform also offers Recommended Gear resources and integrates with Proofing Galleries for client workflow management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Photographer Directory A searchable online directory that allows customers to find and book headshot photographers by location, featuring vetted Associate Photographers who have completed rigorous training.
• Online Coaching Membership A paid membership program providing photographers with coaching groups, courses and tutorials, weekly contests and critiques, and live Crew Cast broadcasts to develop their headshot and portrait skills.
• In-Person Workshops Regional in-person intensive training workshops led by Peter Hurley and the Headshot Crew team for photographers seeking hands-on instruction.
• Introduction to Headshot Photography Course A free introductory online course by Peter Hurley covering lighting setups, expression coaching, and essential headshot photography gear, with 6 episodes totaling under an hour.
• Associate Photographer Program A tiered membership designation for photographers who have completed Headshot Crew's rigorous training program, providing directory prominence and association with the brand.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Recurly, Inc.coreTechnology or IntegrationRecurly provides billing, subscription management, and payment processing services for Headshot Crew. The platform uses Recurly as a PCI-DSS Level 1 compliant service merchant provider to store all payment-related data. Recurly is prohibited from using personally identifiable information for any purpose other than providing contracted services.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• CreativeLive: CreativeLive is a broader online education platform offering thousands of creative and photography courses taught by industry experts. It overlaps with Headshot Crew's online-courses offering at a much larger catalog scale, though it does not specialize in headshots or offer a vetted-photographer directory.
• MasterClass: MasterClass is a premium online education platform featuring celebrity-instructor video courses, including photography and portrait classes from Annie Leibovitz and others. It competes for the aspirational photographer learner that Headshot Crew's free course funnels toward paid membership, though MasterClass lacks a community or live coaching component.
• Skillshare: Skillshare is a large subscription-based online learning platform with extensive photography, lighting, and portrait courses. It competes for the same aspiring-photographer learner audience as Headshot Crew's coaching program but at a fraction of the price and with no community/mentorship layer or directory benefit.

Direct peers

• Bella Pictures: Bella Pictures (now part of the broader corporate headshot market) provides professional corporate headshots and on-site team photography days for businesses. It competes with Headshot Crew on the customer-facing side of the directory, particularly for corporate HR and team headshot use cases cited in the company's customer segments.
• The Portrait System (Sue Bryce Education): The Portrait System is the closest direct competitor to Headshot Crew: a Sue-Bryce-led coaching community, course library, and business program aimed at headshot and portrait photographers. Both monetize via recurring memberships and offer online courses plus live mentorship—the two leading personalities-driven headshot-coaching brands in the market.
• Portrait Masters: Portrait Masters is a portrait photography education brand offering courses, mentoring programs, and an annual conference/workshop event. It targets the same photographer persona as Headshot Crew—portrait specialists seeking business and craft development—and competes for both member attention and workshop dollars.

Others

• Pixieset: Pixieset offers photographers websites, galleries, booking, and studio management software. It serves the same photographer customer base as Headshot Crew's coaching program and, like ShootProof, is an enabling tool that competes for the photographer's software spend rather than the customer's headshot dollar.
• ShootProof: ShootProof provides photographers with galleries, booking, payments, and client workflow tools. It is a horizontal software platform used by many Headshot Crew associate photographers, making it an ecosystem peer that could become a directory competitor if it expanded into marketplace/discovery features.
• Professional Photographers of America (PPA): PPA is the largest US association for professional photographers, offering certification, education, and member benefits. It is adjacent rather than directly competitive: photographers may join PPA in addition to Headshot Crew for credentials and insurance, but PPA does not run a customer-facing directory or live coaching community.

Emerging players

• Aragon AI: Aragon AI is an AI-generated headshot service that produces corporate-style portraits from user-uploaded selfies in minutes at a fraction of the cost of a photography session. It is an emerging substitute for the customer-facing side of Headshot Crew's directory, especially for budget-conscious or first-time headshot buyers, and represents a structural threat to the traditional photographer network model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/headshotcrew
• Facebookfacebook.com/headshotcrew

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Headshot Crew