Most people have experienced a bad headshot session. You leave feeling like "I must not be photogenic."

The truth is: it is the photographer's job to coach you.

Posing in front of a camera is a skill. You've probably spent years honing your professional skills -- not standing in front of a camera. Your photographer should be able to bridge that gap for you with coaching.

If you aren't getting sufficient coaching from the photographer then you will look awkward and uncomfortable. As a photographer, it takes experience and skill to coach and guide professionals like you into looking natural in photos.

I can do that for you.

Remember: No-one feels photogenic when they arrive in the studio; but my face coaching will help relieve the pressure you feel in front of the camera. You will not be left standing there feeling awkward!

A.K.A. "I want my wife/husband to help me choose my images."

Occasionally someone comes into the studio and feels like they can't choose the right image and wants help from their spouse. I don't recommend this. You don't want your professional images to look the same as your intimate life. Your professional image is not supposed to appeal to your spouse. Your headshots/personal branding images are supposed to grow your business and bring you more clients/business.

If you want images that look like "the real you" then I recommend getting family-oriented portraits or personal portraits that you can hang in your home.

A professional headshot is an image that makes you appear 1. confident, 2. competent, 3. approachable. There is definite room for subtleties like being kind, good-humored, strong, and other undercurrents but you don't want to look the way your spouse sees you.

Years of experience studying faces gives me an edge. I understand the subtleties of expression. By the end of your session I also understand your range, your strengths and weaknesses. I can spot the great images and the not-so-good. I won't pressure you, but I also won't let you choose bad images.

In addition, sometimes you can't see past the fixable flaws in an image, or know what can be done with retouching. Choosing together allows me to hear your concerns about an image and give active feedback on what can and cannot be retouched. I will be there to remind you that expression is the most important quality in an image -- not the way your hair looks, or a visible blemish, or hair on your shirt, etc. (See retouching examples in next section.)

(see next FAQ to see this image retouched.)

We don't start taking photos immediately when you walk in. We take a look at the clothes you brought, I show you the components of a good headshot, and as the session progresses I take time to show you your growth on the studio monitor. This ensures that the session is constantly moving toward producing the best images. The three hours also includes the time we spend narrowing down the images to your final choices.

This actually hasn't happened here yet! We are very careful about your time and believe that it would be a great inconvenience for you to be in this situation. If you are the first person to experience this, you do not need to purchase any images and we will schedule you to come back for another session with no additional fees. We do everything we can to avoid dissatisfaction on your part.