Select Fotostudio - Fotostudio für Bewerbungsfotos und Firmenporträts

What Select Fotostudio - Fotostudio für Bewerbungsfotos und Firmenporträts does

Select Fotostudio, legally Select Photography GmbH, is a Swiss professional photography studio chain founded in 2012 and headquartered in Zürich with 16 employees operating six studios across Zürich, Basel, Bern, Geneva, Luzern, and St. Gallen. The company specializes in two core service lines: Bewerbungsfotos (professional job application portraits) for individual job seekers and Firmenporträts (corporate employee portraits) for business clients. Individual offerings are structured as tiered shooting packages — Student (CHF 49.90), Starter (CHF 69.90), Business (CHF 89.90), and Premium (CHF 139.90) — with professional manual retouching performed by in-house graphic artists rather than AI. Corporate services include executive and business shooting packages, group pricing from CHF 59.90 per person, on-location and mobile studio options, plus adjacent product lines spanning team photos, event photography and videography, CEO headshots, real estate photography, biometric passport photos, and trade fair photography. The company also operates Family Fotostudio Lovebug as a separate sub-brand for family photography.

The underlying technology stack is conventional SaaS tooling rather than proprietary IP: Elinchrom Swiss-brand studio lighting provides hardware consistency across locations, while Terminland powers self-serve online booking, Shopify handles ancillary orders, and Dropbox/WeTransfer deliver final images. The website is multilingual (DE/EN/FR), GDPR-compliant, and self-attested to WCAG 2.1 Level AA accessibility. Analytics infrastructure uses Google Analytics, Mouseflow session replay, and Meta Pixel for conversion tracking, while WhatsApp serves as the primary direct communication channel and PayPal plus Twint handle payments. No proprietary AI/ML capabilities exist; manual retouching is explicitly positioned as a differentiator versus AI-based photo tools.

The go-to-market is a hybrid motion combining direct-to-consumer self-serve online booking for individuals and dedicated sales-led B2B account management for corporate clients. Distribution is purely physical-studio-based with no remote capture beyond the Mobile Studio offering. Customer acquisition leverages partnerships with major Swiss educational institutions (ETH Zurich, University of Zurich, ZHAW, BFH, PH Bern) and institutional clients (Parliamentary Services Switzerland, Zurich Commercial Association), supplemented by strong organic digital presence evidenced by 510+ Google reviews with an 'AUSGEZEICHNET' (Excellent) rating. The company is privately held, bootstrapped with no disclosed funding, founder-operated, and operates across both German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland.

Name

Select Fotostudio - Fotostudio für Bewerbungsfotos und Firmenporträts

Legal name

Select Photography GmbH

Website

https://select-fotostudio.ch

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Select Fotostudio is a Swiss professional photography studio chain operating six locations across Switzerland, specializing in job application portraits and corporate employee headshots through tiered shooting packages and dedicated B2B accounts for universities and enterprises.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Photography Services

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330), Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYMPAAAMAI

Photography & Still Production (Stills, Product, Lifestyle)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Advertising, Marketing & PR Services/Production Services for Advertising (Commercial Production, Post)

SECONDARYBPAFAIAF

Photography & Photo Production

Business & Public Services/Marketing, Advertising & PR Services/Content Marketing & Production (Copy, Video, Design)

SECONDARYBPAFAGAM

Experiential Content Capture & Event Media Production (Photo/Video/Social)

Business & Public Services/Marketing, Advertising & PR Services/Experiential & Event Marketing

Keywords

• Professional portrait photography
• Application headshots
• Corporate business photography
• Biometric passport photos
• Event photography services

Headquarters

HQ city

Zürich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Individual Photo Sessions: One-time photo shooting services for individuals seeking professional portraits for job applications, LinkedIn profiles, and personal use. Customers select from tiered packages with varying studio time, photo selections, retouching included, and delivery options.
2. Corporate Employee Photography: B2B services for companies needing professional portraits of employees. Includes dedicated booking pages, standardized photo style, quarterly invoicing, and bulk pricing (Group special starting from CHF 59.90 per person).
3. Additional Retouching Services: Extra retouching beyond included packages. Premium retouches for larger adjustments (background changes, extensive corrections) at CHF 15 per image.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Select Fotostudio is a professional photography studio chain operating six locations across Switzerland, specializing in Bewerbungsfotos (job application photos) and Businessporträts (corporate portraits). The company sells tiered individual photo sessions (Starter, Business, Premium, Student) and dedicated corporate packages (Executive, Business Corporate, Group Special), alongside biometric passport photos, team photos, event photography/video, CEO headshots, real estate photography, and trade fair photography. Services are delivered through equipped physical studios with Elinchrom lighting, manual retouching by graphic artists, and online self-serve booking.

Product overview

Select Fotostudio operates as a multi-location photography studio chain offering professional portrait photography services across Switzerland. The core product portfolio centers on individual Bewerbungsfotos (application/job photos) and Businessporträts (business portraits) organized into tiered shooting packages (Starter, Business, Premium/Executive, Student), complemented by corporate services including Teamfotos, Eventfotografie, CEO Headshots, Immobilienfotografie, and Messefotos. The company also offers biometric passport photography and a mobile studio service for on-site corporate photography. Key add-on services include professional manual photo retouching by graphic artists, a Concierge-Service for online retouch ordering, and Style-Guides for shoot preparation. Individual packages range from CHF 49.90 (Student) to CHF 139.90 (Premium), while corporate Executive packages are priced at CHF 159.90. The company operates 6 studios in Basel, Bern, Geneva, Luzern, St. Gallen, and Zürich, and maintains a separate family photography sub-brand (Lovebug).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Starter Shooting
• Business Shooting (Individual)
• Premium Shooting
• Student Shooting
• Biometric Passport Photos
• Passphoto Online Ordering
• Business Portraits in Studio (Firmenangebot)
• Business Portraits On Location
• Team Photos
• Event Photography
• Event Videos
• CEO Headshots
• Real Estate Photography
• Trade Fair Photos
• Mobile Studio (Fotostudio Mobile)
• Executive Shooting (Corporate)
• Business Shooting (Corporate)
• Group Special (Corporate)
• Family Fotostudio Lovebug

Quantifiable outcome

• Professional photos are 150% more effective than selfies for job applications

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• PH Bern (Pädagogische Hochschule Bern)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational institution partnership providing student photography services and referrals. PH Bern is a teacher education institution in Bern.
• Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor Swiss university of applied sciences partnership for student and staff photography services.
• ZHAW (Zurcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading Swiss university of applied sciences partnership providing photography services to students and faculty.
• University of Zurich (UZH)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor Swiss university partnership for staff and student photography services.
• ETH Zurich (Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss Federal Institute of Technology partnership for faculty and staff professional photography.
• Zurich Commercial Association (Kaufmännische Gesellschaft Zürich)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation partnership for business networking and corporate referrals in the Zurich region.
• Parliamentary Services Switzerland (Parlamentsdienste)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Swiss parliament services for official photography needs.
• Caritas SwitzerlandminorOthersCharitable organization they support - a Catholic social organization helping people in need.
• Caritas ZurichminorOthersRegional charitable organization they support.
• Society against Racism (Gesellschaft gegen Rassismus)minorOthersOrganization they support to combat racism and discrimination.
• IGSP (Interessengemeinschaft für fairen Sprachenunterricht)minorOthersInterest group for fair language teaching that they support.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Snappr: On-demand photography platform operating in the US, Australia, and other markets, offering professional photo shoots (including headshots) booked online. Comparable in digital-first booking and headshot focus but marketplace-based rather than studio-based.
• Cherrydeck: European on-demand photography marketplace connecting businesses with photographers for commercial shoots, headshots, and corporate content. Comparable in serving the corporate photography demand but uses a marketplace model rather than owned studios.
• HeadshotPro: AI-powered headshot generation service producing professional-quality portraits from uploaded selfies at a fraction of the cost of a studio session. Direct competitive threat to Select's lower-tier portrait packages from the AI side of the market.
• BetterPic: AI-generated headshot and portrait service targeted at LinkedIn, resumes, and corporate use cases. Competes with Select on the same end-customer use case (job applications, LinkedIn profiles) at materially lower price points using AI rather than photographers.

Broad incumbents

• Lumas Portrait Studios (CEWE): CEWE-owned European photo services group with portrait studio operations; broader incumbent offering photofinishing, prints, and portrait services across multiple European countries. Comparable in core portrait photography service but operates at much larger scale across broader consumer photo categories.
• dm drogerie (passport photo service): Large German/Swiss drugstore chain offering low-cost biometric passport and ID photos at retail locations. Represents the price-sensitive mass-market alternative to Select Fotostudio's premium positioning on similar use cases.

Direct peers

• Iris Fotostudio: Swiss photography studio chain offering similar professional portrait, business, and event photography services across multiple Swiss locations. Directly comparable in product offering (job application photos, corporate headshots, retouching) and target market (Swiss job seekers and corporate clients).
• Foto Koch: Multi-location German/Swiss photography studio offering application photos, passport photos, and corporate portraits with tiered packages. Direct comparable on geography-adjacent basis (DACH region) and similar product model.

Regional players

• PhotoShoot (Migros): Migros Photo Service / PhotoShoot offering passport photos and basic portrait services within Migros retail locations in Switzerland. Comparable Swiss-market competitor at the budget end of portrait services.
• Photoinfobox (Migros): Migros-affiliated photofinishing and photo service brand in Switzerland providing passport photos and digital photo printing through retail kiosks. Comparable in Swiss market presence and biometric passport photo offering, though focused more on photofinishing than full portrait sessions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/select-fotostudio

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

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 Select Fotostudio - Fotostudio für Bewerbungsfotos und Firmenporträts