As often happens when the aperture is open, surface gives way to deep, abiding interests.
Mac loves all things payments and even has a cat named The Federal Reserve, which just rolls off the tongue. She read Titan, a biography of John D. Rockefeller, with great enjoyment. Mac is an open-water swimmer at the Dolphin Club and sings a moving rendition of Riptide on the uke.
Last summer, on the first day of school break, we let our son do exactly what we wanted. He played video games for 23 hours straight and grazed on Apple Jacks. On the second day, we changed our tune. “You have to come up with a plan, or we’ll do it for you.” He didn’t like that suggestion, not one bit. Twelve hours later, he unveiled his plan. “I’m playing water polo.” Incoming high school freshmen were invited to train with the team. And that’s precisely what they did. They trained five days a week, several hours a day, to various states of exhaustion. Our son fell in love with the camaraderie and physical discipline of it all. Toward the end of the season, I offered free portrait photography for the girl’s and boy’s teams. Many of them took me up on my offer, including my son, with some prodding. The photos were conceived as a black and white collection, but I’ve left two in color because they just look better that way. Click thumbs to view larger images. Enjoy.
When it comes to headshot and portrait photography, more is better than less. More images, more styles, more choices.
By design, corporate photo shoots are often transactional. They yield one or maybe two headshots per subject. After all, time is limited, schedules are tight, and leaders are on the move.
Transactional photography has a place in good portrait work, but there’s an alternative. Lately, I’ve been developing a more a relational approach to headshot photography.
A relational approach is more thoughtful and intentional about what’s captured on the day of the shoot, why it’s captured, and how the assets are likely be used, both in terms of formats and channels. Together, clients and I work on assessment, mood boarding, choreography, wardrobe, and even editing techniques.
Instead of delivering one or two headshots, a relational approach yields a portfolio of images with a range of different styles and types of photos. Below, Heather Borlase is photographed in a law library, her office, a studio, and an outdoor setting.
The approach yields a range of photos from casual and formal, to color and black and white.
Portfolio of a thought leader
When image libraries are stuffed with photography assets, brand, marketing, and executive communications teams have more choices. With more options, they have a greater opportunity to achieve success across earned and owned media channels.
That’s the rationale, at least, and so far, I’ve received positive feedback on method and results.
In 2024, I’ll continue to refine my approach. If you’re interested in learning more or simply brainstorming a potential engagement, please reach out to me.
I’ll ask strangers for a street portrait when I get nervous and not before. The sequence goes like this, every time. My camera is either in my backpack or around my neck. I’m minding my own business, noticing things. Then it happens. I see light first. Not a subject, always light. Next, a feature emerges, often a minor one. Like smoke or holiday lights or an attitude of joy or confidence. When a person snaps into focus, my nerves go a-jangle. The more nervous I get about approaching Someone the more certain it is I’ll say hello. It’s a major motivation of my street photography. Get nervous, be awkward, and then go for it.
I’m delinquent. I’ve been intending to share this subset for two years or more. Although my style has shifted since these images were taken, I love them for a host of personal reasons. Often, I hold family photo sessions in the mountains and woods, or rose gardens and parks. But on this occasion, we stayed in the family’s backyard for the sake of physical convenience. The same backyard where kids, now parents themselves, bring their children to spend time with grandma and grandpa on a late fall day.
