Photograph by Alex Cena, Mamiya 645AFD-III, 120mm Schneider PC, Lens, Leaf DM33 digital back, ISO 50, 1/125, f/8

Robert came into the studio for a professional headshot he can use as his profile picture for his LinkedIn account and other publicity needs. While I photographed him in color, I seem to prefer his image in black and white.

We spent close to three hours together in order to get a wide range of expressions, different angles and different outfits to be used for different purposes. It was a great time for both of us. I shot with my camera tethered to a computer so we were able to collaborate during the entire shoot. We did not stop and gaze at images after every capture, but we did discuss the images prior to each outfit change. I much prefer to work this way because it gave Robert and I an opportunity to talk about what we liked and did not like about each photo. There were images we both loved, we both hated and some we were neutral about. Of course, we had some disagreements, but he is the client after all so we know who is always right.

For example, there was an image he absolutely loved but it was an image I would normally delete because it was out of focus. I get that sometimes because I still like to shoot my camera in manual mode and focus manually when I do headshots. The image was not even close to being in focus. It was one of the first shots I took but I was only testing my exposure. He loved it so we kept it. By the time Robert left our photo session, we had narrowed the possibilities from about 200 to 30 images. Since I color-correct in the camera and make sure my exposure is spot on before the shoot, the images were uploaded to my site within the hour for his review. The images are ready for use out of the camera but if Robert feels the need to have any of the images retouched he can have that done as well.

Yes you can take your own headshot or even have a friend take it for you, but that might not help with your branding. Do yourself a favor, have a pro do it for you.