Judicial Portraits

This summer I was commissioned by the Montgomery County Bar Association to create a series of judges portraits for the Montgomery County Courthouse. I was honored to be approached and chosen by them for this important project.

Each judge was first photographed by me and then chose their favorite proof for me to create their portrait from. Then using Photoshop, I created a 24" x 30" archival digital painting on canvas of each judge. This project was something totally different for me. These are my first digital paintings. They took several days to create.

They were just recently unveiled, so I'm able to share them now. Here's a link to one of the newspaper accounts of the last unveiling ceremony: Portraits inspire Montgomery County judges to raise the bar

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Environmental Headshots

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These are from a series of location headshots of employees that I created for a company's website. They were shot on location at the company's headquarter's in NJ. The goal was to make everyone look likable and approachable. The man with his head centered is the company president.

Click on the link to see more examples of my headshot photography.

Executive photo for a magazine cover

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Had a great day shooting editorial images in Princeton and Philadelphia for a magazine. This is the CEO of a major foundation and was shot for the cover. I wanted a natural light feel, so lighting was kept to a minimum. I was granted 15 minutes for the shoot. She was photographed in two different settings to provide them with more choices.

A Great Place to Work

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These images were commissioned by a multi-national chemical company. They'll be used as job recruitment posters a colleges. The space on the right side of the images will be used for a headline, copy and their logo. The client requested that the images be done in B/W. Real employees were used as the subjects. The goal was to show young employees who enjoy working there.

Recent assignment for a magazine cover

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This image of a fund-raiser was produced last week for the cover of a Philanthropy magazine. More space was left around her than is shown above to allow room for the masthead and type on the sides. The magazine requested pastel colors for the background so the background was made lighter and also softer to allow for better readability of the type. She brought a couple of different colored jackets and when I saw that one closely matched the colors of some nearby flowers, I decided to use this jacket and position her to one side of the flowers so the colors would repeat. I wanted something both soft and upbeat.

Images communicate best when they are tailored to fit the use, the desired mood, and the audience. The style and approach taken must vary based on the situation. There should always be a combination of planning and an awareness of new possibilities when producing an image. A photographer who produces images that always look similar is more like an omelette maker (who just knows how to make one thing) than a chef. A really good chef has the imagination to take a bunch of ingredients at hand and whip up something wonderful. Same with the best photographers. 

What makes a great headshot?

A compelling headshot (click on the image to see it larger)

Headshots are very useful in humanizing a business and building trust. Who do you trust more, a corporation or a person? They often form the first impression a person gets of your company's key people. Because you only get one shot at a first impression, you'd better make it as good as you can.

They don't have to be formal - it depends on the audience that you're trying to appeal to.

For business use, a headshot should give the impression of an intelligent, warm individual that looks trustworthy and approachable. They should look important while remaining likable. They should express vitality. Good eye contact with the viewer is extremely important - you want viewers to be able to connect with them and picture themselves doing business with them. 

I shot and retouched this image recently. It's a very typical shot for use on a corporate website. Like most of my images, it's been digitally enhanced in many subtle ways. 

His eyes and teeth have been brightened, skin color enhanced, pores reduced, blemishes removed, bulge in coat removed, eyes enhanced, shadows lightened under the eyes, enhanced the background and more. He's a handsome guy, but the image was made much stronger by post-production. The retouching and enhancing took me about 40 minutes. 

Everybody needs some retouching. If supermodels and movie stars need it, your staff does too. You don't need your key people to look like movie stars but you need to present them at their best.

Retouching has to be subtle though. Done properly it's invisible. It should be difficult for even the subject to detect. Cameras are cruel and record every pore. People don't even see most of the flaws that photos bring to our attention. 

Great headshots give you an edge. They leave your prospects with a first impression that creates strong positive feelings and associations.

Photos that build trust

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Images are key to building trust. This is one of a series of images of company executives done for their website. When I shoot portraits of employees my goal is usually to portray them as intelligent and warm individuals that you'd like to do business with.

When you're selling a service you are selling trust; good feelings. You're selling a relationship. There is no way to show the customer in advance what his tax return will look like.

I feel it's usually a mistake to hire models to pose as employees. (They're fine posing as customers.) Almost everybody can look good with the proper lighting, framing, angle and cropping. I also believe it's a big mistake to use stock photos. They just don't ring true. Rather than build trust, they erode it.

You can see more sample images in my people photography portfolio.