Personal Portraits: Celebrating the Human Side of Photography
After nearly twenty years behind the camera and thousands of faces later, I’ve learned that every portrait asks something different of the photographer.
As the business grew, it naturally evolved. These days, much of my work is focused on executive headshots. Each session is about finding a genuine expression – one that quietly shapes how a leader is seen on a company website, in an annual report, or on LinkedIn.
It’s careful, exacting work. I need to stay focused, understand branding, work efficiently, and occasionally do whatever it takes to draw out the right expression. Thankfully, I enjoy the challenge.
But when I get the chance to photograph a senior or a family – often people I’ve known and photographed for years – it brings a different kind of energy to the work.
Headshots are about control. The lighting is dialed in, direction (and misdirection) follows a deliberate cadence, schedules are tight, and the stakes are often high. Before a client leaves, I need to know we’ve created an image that communicates confidence, credibility, and approachability.
Seniors on the other hand, are trying on different hats, experimenting, and growing into themselves. They’re in the middle of becoming who they’re meant to be, and there’s freedom in not having it all figured out yet. Those sessions are often outside—walking, talking, and seeing where the process takes us. It allows me to stretch creative muscles that don’t get much exercise during a packed day of headshots.
Photographing families in Westwood and the surrounding towns is one of the great privileges of my job. I’ve watched children grow up, graduate, and come back for their first “job search” headshot. That kind of continuity is rare and deeply rewarding.
The executive headshot featured in my ad this month belongs to a business owner I met back in 2008. After many years of working together, he asked if I would photograph his daughter’s senior portrait. These are some of those images – of a young woman who was just an infant when we first met.
Variety keeps me sharp. Headshots keep my business humming. Seniors and families keep it human. And I wouldn’t trade that balance for anything.
