Yes.
And, actually, that’s a very normal place to start.
A lot of people who book a headshot session with me tell me some version of the same thing before we begin.
“I hate having my photo taken.”
“I’m really awkward in front of a camera.”
“I never know what to do with my face.”
“I’m not photogenic.”
Sometimes they’ll say it in an email before the session.
Sometimes it’ll be the first thing they say when they walk into the studio.
And sometimes I can see it before they say anything at all.
The shoulders come up.
The smile appears a little too quickly.
They suddenly become very aware of their hands.
They look at the camera as though it’s about to ask them a difficult question.
None of that worries me.
Because knowing how to stand, where to look and what expression to make isn’t your job.
It’s mine.
You don’t need to know how to pose
I don’t expect anyone to arrive knowing what to do in front of the camera.
Professional models might have a mental library of poses and understand exactly how a tiny movement changes the shape of a photograph.
Most people don’t.
Why would they?
If you’re an accountant, lawyer, therapist, consultant, actor, designer or business owner, there is absolutely no reason you should instinctively know whether your chin needs to come forward by half an inch.
That’s what I’m there for.
I’ll direct you.
Usually in very small ways.
Turn your shoulders slightly.
Bring your chin forward.
Drop that shoulder.
Move your weight onto the other foot.
Look just past the camera.
Bring your eyes back to me.
Tiny changes can make a surprisingly big difference.
And you don’t need to remember any of them.
We talk
This is probably a bigger part of my photography than people expect.
I’m not standing silently behind the camera firing off hundreds of frames while you wonder what on earth you’re supposed to be doing.
We’ll talk.
About your work.
Your family.
Why you need the photographs.
What you’ve been doing that morning.
The ridiculous weather.
Anything, really.
Partly because I’m interested.
But also because conversation changes the way somebody looks in a photograph.
When you’re thinking about the camera, you tend to become very aware of your face.
You start trying to manufacture an expression.
That’s usually when things begin to look forced.
When you’re answering a question, laughing at something or thinking about something completely unrelated to the photograph, your face starts behaving normally again.
That’s often where the good pictures happen.
I don’t need a huge smile
One of the most common mistakes people make when they’re uncomfortable in front of a camera is assuming they need to smile constantly.
You don’t.
In fact, we’ll probably try quite a few expressions.
A proper smile.
A smaller smile.
Something more neutral.
A slightly more serious expression.
Perhaps something somewhere between the two.
Very small changes around the eyes and mouth can completely alter the feel of a portrait.
And different people suit different expressions.
Somebody might look fantastic with a big, warm smile.
Someone else might look much more confident with something quieter.
We won’t know until we try.
I’ll show you the photographs
This is something I find incredibly useful during a session.
I’ll stop and show you what’s happening.
Not every single frame, obviously.
But once we’ve got something working, I’ll turn the camera around and let you see it.
This often changes the whole session.
Because somebody who walked in saying, “I hate photographs of myself,” suddenly sees one and says:
“Oh. That’s actually alright.”
Then another.
“That’s really good.”
And you can almost see the tension disappear.
You’ve got proof that this is working.
From that point onwards, the session usually becomes much easier.
It also means we can make decisions together.
Perhaps you prefer one side.
Maybe you like a particular expression.
Perhaps a certain jacket photographs much better than another.
We can see that as we go rather than discovering it after you’ve gone home.
We don’t chase one perfect frame
I also don’t expect us to take three photographs and magically get the answer.
We’ll work around it.
Different angles.
Different expressions.
Different crops.
Perhaps a clothing change.
Maybe a different background or lighting setup.
Some photographs won’t work.
That’s completely normal.
I’m taking lots of frames because I’m looking for the moments between the obvious poses.
The slight change in expression.
The breath after you’ve laughed.
The second when you stop thinking about being photographed.
Those are often the pictures people choose.
I’ve photographed a lot of people who don’t enjoy being photographed
That matters.
My job isn’t only taking pictures of people who are naturally confident in front of a camera.
If it were, this would be much easier.
A big part of what I do is helping ordinary people get through the strange experience of standing in front of a lens and come out the other side with photographs they actually like.
Some people are confident immediately.
Others need ten or fifteen minutes.
Some need a little longer.
I’m completely comfortable with that.
I don’t need you to perform.
I don’t need you to pretend you love being photographed.
And I certainly don’t need you to arrive with a collection of poses rehearsed in the mirror.
I just need you to turn up.
We’ll figure the rest out together.
You might still hate having your photo taken
I should probably be honest about this bit.
A good headshot session might not magically turn you into somebody who loves cameras.
You might still prefer being on the other side of one.
That’s fine.
Success isn’t necessarily leaving the studio desperate to book another photoshoot.
Success is looking through the finished images and thinking:
“That’s me.”
Or, even better:
“I actually really like that.”
So if you’ve been putting off updating your headshot because you hate having your photograph taken, don’t wait until you suddenly become comfortable in front of a camera.
You don’t need to.
Helping you feel comfortable enough to get a good photograph is part of the job.
And yes.
I can still get a good headshot of you.
