The room gets quiet
Guests step into a private studio built around professional lighting, a magic mirror, and no audience.
Media kit
Professional portraits. Without another person in the room.
A professional camera hidden behind a magic mirror lets guests create studio-quality portraits in complete privacy, without a photographer in the room.
At a glance
Charlotte's private self-portrait studio, in five facts.
- Location
- Charlotte, NC (LoSo)
- Studio concept
- Hidden camera behind a magic mirror
- Group size
- Best experienced with 2 to 4 people
- Session length
- 25 to 60 minute sessions
- Included
- Professional portraits included
The story
Not one thing.
HQ Portraits isn't one thing. Different people come for completely different reasons.
Some need a professional headshot. Some come for a date night. Some celebrate birthdays with friends. Some actors build their portfolio. Some simply want an hour where nobody is watching.
Everyone leaves with professional portraits. Almost nobody comes only for the photographs.
The experience
The photographer disappears. The moment stays.
The camera disappears
A professional camera is hidden behind the mirror, so people stop performing for a photographer.
You are a creator, not an object
HQ Portraits gives you a rare place to create professional photographs as you see them. You are not the object of someone else's art. You shape the image yourself.
Why it is different
Privacy is not a feature here. It is the whole mechanism.
Built into the studio
- Hidden professional camera behind a magic mirror
- No photographer in the room
- Guests control every photo themselves
- Professional studio lighting and camera quality
- Complete privacy from start to finish
- Designed for 2 to 4 people, creating a shared experience while keeping the session intimate
Built into the city
- Charlotte's first private self-portrait studio
- A new experience combining entertainment and professional photography
- Popular for date nights, birthdays, friends, families, actors, professionals, and personal branding
- Built on a simple idea: people often become more natural when nobody is behind the camera
Story angles
Three editorial ways into the same studio.
Charlotte's newest experience
A different kind of night out where the experience comes first and the photographs become the souvenir.
The photographer disappears
What happens when the person behind the camera is removed completely?
From enterprise leadership to local entrepreneurship
After more than 15 years leading large-scale enterprise businesses, founder Leo Gladilin immigrated to the U.S. based on the Extraordinary Talent Visa and chose to build a completely new local experience business in Charlotte.
Media visits
Media visits
Members of the media are invited to experience the studio firsthand.
The experience works best with 2 to 4 people, allowing everyone to interact naturally while experiencing the concept the way most guests do.
There is no expectation of coverage. We simply believe the studio is best understood by experiencing it.
Founder
Leo Gladilin
Founder, HQ Portraits
People do not hate being in photos. They hate feeling watched while they are being photographed.
Leo spent more than 15 years leading large-scale retail and e-commerce businesses before immigrating to the United States under the Extraordinary Talent Visa.
Media contact
See the studio the way guests do.
Leo Gladilin, Founder, HQ Portraits