03/04/2026
The first portion of any headshot session is really about letting you warm up to the camera, more than it is about shooting headshots.
The normal stress of choosing outfits, navigating traffic on the way to your session, plus the unfamiliar environment of a portrait studio and a professional you've not worked with before: all these normal factors of preparing for a shoot create low-level tension in your face and body that you likely won't even notice– but that normal tension can show up in your headshots!
The solution to this is not complicated: you just need a little time to settle into the portraiture process at the start, so that all the little muscles around your eyes, and in your face and shoulders, can relax. That break-in time makes all the difference in creating images that communicate confidence, warmth, professionalism, and trustworthiness.
(If it's the first time we've worked together, those first few minutes will *also* give you the chance to register the fact that I'm a huge dork whose designer blazer is giving its all in a vain attempt to balance out my goofiness... and that realization also seems to help my clients relax and be themselves– but I digress...)
A session with ample time also gives me the chance to get a solid read on who you are, so that I can work out the best way to accurately portray your personality and the message you want to communicate through posing, lighting, etc.
These are some of the reasons that I structure my private headshot sessions with plenty of time, at a relaxed pace: so that you can have the space to relax and get comfortable, and your headshots can authentically showcase YOU.
(Image: one of my beautiful clients, illustrating this post beautifully at a recent headshot session.)
