Headshots are not just for actors

Today more and more people are using the internet as their primary place of business and social interaction. So now more than ever a headshot or photo of you is the first impression someone gets to put the words, concept, business with a face. So it's great to have a photo or series of photos of you that reflect who you are.

Recently hired to do a shoot for an associate who wanted to create a series of photographs of himself that would reflect a more accurate image of his personality. He didn’t want, as my mother used to say “instant respectability portraits”. He was looking for something with a more relaxed photojournalistic feel. In addition he had a vision for his website of some photographs of him against a white background that could be placed anywhere.

We decided to do the shoot both outdoors and do some shots indoors against a white background.

Since we were in Laguna I decided that a trip into town would provide many options for locations to shoot. When I shoot people I like to get a feeling for them and to form a connection between the two of us and the locations we are shooting in. I like to use the setting and natural lighting to inspire each shot.

So we wandered around Laguna looking at the light and settings to have a fun time shooting. We came across this wall in a parking lot and I loved the way the light was hitting it. I knew that we would get some great shadows as well. So that was our first stop. Dennis looked at me a bit like a crazy person but he was a good sport and went with the flow. Next we walked down the main street in Laguna and came across a British telephone booth. I was thinking about what it would be like to be in the booth staring out at everyone and being insulated from the passers by. I got Dennis to let go a bit and have some fun with the photos pressing his face up against the glass to get a different perspective. After that the sky was the limit.

He found this doorway to a dry cleaner and we worked with that then a church with these wonderful arches and strong shadows casting across them. A few more shots and Dennis was hungry and it was time to eat dinner. Did I mention that his girlfriend Shirley was with us. She thought I was a bit crazed but enjoyed watching me put Dennis through his paces and having a good time. She was also a good assistant holding the reflector at times when I needed it.

Ok so dinner is over and it's time to get back to the house to do the indoor shoot. Shooting Dennis indoors had a given set of circumstances, we were going to drop out the background so he was against white. I ended up using 5 lights to create the lighting for the shot. That was fairly straight forward. We did a series of shots both full length, medium and close up. I even got a shot of he and Shirley at the end of the shoot. We had a great time.

I spent some time going through the shots back in my digital darkroom. First making cuts and then doing some global adjustments to them and finally creating a web-proof portfolio for Dennis to look at and choose which images he wanted me to finalize for him. I sent him the link and awaited his reply -


"OMG! I can't lose.... those all look fantastic! Wow... I like almost every shot within each wardrobe/site segment... hard to choose just a couple. You are my hero!"

Dennis Chamberland - Chamberland Consulting

I think that says it all.

If you are interested in having a photographic session with me feel free to email or call me to discuss how I can best be of service to you.