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Chicago High-End Headshots

Name: Chicago High-End Headshots
Address: 4507 Pride Court, Rolling Meadows, IL, 60008, US
Telephone: +18478122833

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Chicago High-End Headshots

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Headshot Photographer & Facial Expression Coach

Creating Confidence & Approachability 😄

10/30/2026

A few days ago, I shared some behind-the-scenes photographs from Stephen Murphy's visit to the studio. Here's how the finished portraits turned out.

One of my favorite parts of photographing someone is watching their expressions develop throughout the session. We work through different looks, make small adjustments, and discover how even the slightest change can create an entirely different impression.

Stephen brought a great attitude to the experience, and we created a wonderful range of portraits together.

Thank you, Stephen, for trusting me with your professional headshots!

10/22/2026

One of my favorite parts of a headshot session is watching someone become more comfortable in front of the camera.

These behind-the-scenes photographs are from a recent session with Stephen Murphy. There's plenty of conversation, a little humor, and a lot of attention to the small details that influence expression.

What you don't see in a finished headshot is everything that happened along the way.

And for me, that's often the most rewarding part of the experience.

10/21/2026

After all these years photographing people, there's one thing I hear in almost every session.

And it still makes me smile. 😄

10/20/2026

We all have people in our lives who make it easier to be ourselves.

Sometimes they’re longtime friends. Sometimes they’re people we’ve only recently met. What makes them memorable isn’t necessarily what they say or do, but how naturally we find ourselves participating when we’re around them.

I’ve been reflecting on those interactions and what makes certain people so comfortable to be around.

My latest issue of The Presence Letter, The People Who Make Us Forget Ourselves, explores how another person’s genuine attention can help us become less self-conscious and more connected.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Is there someone in your life who has this effect on you?

Read Issue 04:
https://www.chicagohighendheadshots.com/the-presence-letter-the-people-who-make-us-forget-ourselves

09/24/2026

People sometimes arrive for a headshot worried that they won’t know what to do in front of the camera.

I don’t expect them to.

Before we really begin photographing, I spend time teaching. We talk about facial control, posture, tension, neutral expression and the small adjustments that change how someone is perceived.

At first, clients have to think about it. Then they begin to feel what those changes are doing. Eventually, they can control them.

But there’s a point where I actually want them to give up some of that control.

I can teach you how to change your posture or relax tension in your face. I don’t want to teach you how to fake amusement. If I want a genuine smile, my job is to give you something worth reacting to—not tell you to “smile naturally.”

That’s an important distinction in how I photograph people.

Control the things you can control. Create the conditions for everything else to happen.

09/16/2026

This is one of the things I find fascinating about photographing people.

These are three headshots of the same person, but I don’t experience him exactly the same way in each one.

The first feels more open and approachable to me. The second feels more serious and composed. In the third, that slight change in expression brings some warmth back while still maintaining a strong sense of presence.

What’s interesting is how little has actually changed.

This is why I’m constantly watching the small things during a session; the eyes, mouth, posture, tension and the transitions between expressions. Sometimes the photograph I’m looking for happens in the fraction of a second between what someone thought they were going to do and their actual reaction.

That’s also why I don’t believe there’s one expression everyone needs to make in order to look “professional.”

We’re trying to find what confidence, approachability and presence look like on you.

09/09/2026

Photography has given me an interesting perspective on how differently we sometimes see ourselves.

I’ve watched people look at a photograph and initially focus on something nobody else in the room would ever notice. Meanwhile, I’m seeing confidence, warmth or presence in the very same image.

It raises a bigger question: how much of the version of ourselves we carry around actually matches the person everyone else experiences?

That’s what I explore in Issue 03 of The Presence Letter, The Version of You Everyone Else Sees.

It’s not really an essay about photography. It’s about perception—and the strange reality that everyone else gets to see a version of us we never completely can.

https://www.chicagohighendheadshots.com/the-presence-letter-the-version-of-you-everyone-else-sees

08/28/2026

One reason I review photographs with clients during their session is that I want them to see what I’m seeing.

A very small change in the eyes, mouth, head position or posture can change how someone is perceived. One photograph might feel warmer and more approachable. Another might feel more composed or authoritative. Neither is necessarily better.

As clients become more comfortable with facial control, posture and the micro-adjustments we work on, we can start creating those differences intentionally. We still want genuine reactions rather than performed emotion, but now we have much more control over the overall message.

Then we look at the photographs together.

I can tell you what I see, but ultimately the question is: How do you want someone to experience you when they see your headshot?

That answer is different for everyone.

08/19/2026

You don’t need to arrive at a headshot session knowing how to be photogenic. But before you step in front of my camera, I do want you to understand what your face and body are capable of doing.

Part of my C.A.P. Expression Method™ is teaching clients about facial control, body and face posture, and the small micro-adjustments that can completely change how an expression is perceived. We work through those things before we start photographing so you understand not only what I’m asking you to do, but what it feels like when you do it.

But control doesn’t mean performing for the camera. I don’t want someone thinking, “Now I need to smile.” A genuine smile is a reaction. My job is to create the situation, conversation, or thought that produces that reaction, then recognize it when it appears.

Something interesting begins to happen as the session progresses. You move from thinking about every adjustment, to feeling the difference, to eventually controlling it naturally. And that’s where confidence starts to build.

You’re no longer standing in front of a camera hoping I get a good photograph. You begin to understand how to create it with me.

08/12/2026

One thing I try not to do during a headshot session is tell someone to “look confident.”

What does that even mean?

For some people, confidence is a bigger smile. For someone else, it’s direct eye contact. For another person, it’s simply becoming comfortable enough to stop performing for the camera.

And presence doesn’t mean looking powerful or commanding.

Sometimes it’s much quieter than that.

It’s simply being comfortable holding your space.

That’s why I spend so much of a session coaching rather than posing. I’m not trying to give everyone the same expression.

I’m trying to find theirs.

Address

4507 Pride Court
Rolling Meadows, IL
60008

Opening Hours

Monday	10am - 6pm
Tuesday	10am - 6pm
Wednesday	10am - 6pm
Thursday	10am - 6pm
Friday	10am - 6pm
Saturday	10am - 6pm

Telephone

+18478122833

Website

http://www.chicagohighendheadshots.com/

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