If you've seen my photos, hopefully you can pick up on two things:
1. The people shots are relaxed and not posed or propped up, and there's some kind of subtle emotion you can pick up on right away.
2. Colors are vivid, contrast is appealing, and there's a dimension of reality that is present.
With portraits and headshots, I want the audience, in a split-second, to have enough information to reach the conclusion you are looking for. Something like:
- This person looks like she could handle a lot of responsibility
- This really looks like a nice woman
- That is a person that is wise beyond his years
- Hehe, that dog looks like so much fun to have around
- Wow, this is one serious lawyer
- Now there's a young man without a single worry in the world
- Man, they must be busy in that medical office
- This is the business partner I've been looking for
- This really looks like a nice woman
- That is a person that is wise beyond his years
- Hehe, that dog looks like so much fun to have around
- Wow, this is one serious lawyer
- Now there's a young man without a single worry in the world
- Man, they must be busy in that medical office
- This is the business partner I've been looking for
Here's the honest truth - I used to spend a lot of time photoshopping the crap out of every human form until it looked like a movie poster. After a while, I realized that every skin pore I removed, and every cheek I narrowed, took away from the reality and the soul of the people that were trusting me to make them look good. Finally I shifted gears and started focusing on light, color, and most importantly, learning how to make my clients look natural.
Most people don't really know how to put their body (especially their heads) in the most flattering and most natural place within the frame of a photo. I didn't either, so I dug in and did a lot of research, and after hours and hours of trial and error until I developed a methodology for getting the right stuff on film. What I use now is simple and easy, and if you are in front of my lens, it will be fun, painless, and most of all we will come up with images you can use for years to come.