I am a headshot specialist and expression coach in Houston, Texas, although I think of what I do as taking a portrait of your personality. I specialize in headshots because I have found that I have an aptitude, what some call an eye, for the human face and facial expressions. It is amazing how subtle movements of your facial muscles can be so evocative.
About a decade ago I was an attorney, and I had my own professional headshot taken. It was garbage. I looked insane. I looked like a chump, not like the guy you hire for bet the company litigation. Neither I nor the photographer recognized it. I don’t blame him because headshots are hard and he was just cranking out the typical bullshit corporate headshots, but it was this experience that started me on the path to figuring out how to make you look cool, strong, and confident.
I’m a complex man. I like whisky. I used to fly prop planes. I’m a reformed trial lawyer and was an adjunct faculty member of the University of Houston Law Center. My dad was an underwater photographer on the side, and I was his assistant. “This is Spinal Tap” is one of my favorite movies. I used to quote it a lot. Now I don’t. You’ll get used to all of this. Currently I am a USAPL Masters National Ranked Powerlifter and hold a couple of Texas records.
I tell you this because after all of the quirky passions I’ve had, photographing people’s faces is what makes this life come to life for me. It is my passion, and I strive to do it better than anyone else.
See the headshot of me to the left? I shot that of myself in about three minutes. If I can’t do it for myself, how can I claim to be able to do it for you?
The truth is you just want a good picture of yourself. You’re used to having mostly bad ones because that’s just the way things work out sometimes. This is not one of those times.
You suspect that you are pretty awesome, but the idea of having your headshot taken makes you uncomfortable. You want to look good, maybe even cool. You want to look confident, like you are a somebody. You know that you have some physical strengths, but you also have physical weaknesses that you hate. Don’t we all? One time, someone took a camera phone picture of you at a party that you think makes you look pretty good, but capturing lighting in a bottle like that again has proven elusive.
You understand the importance of the image you project. You know that getting that next client, that next job, that next huge account hangs on whether you look capable on your website. You realize that often you can tell a story, sell your capabilities and your confidence, through your facial expressions alone, and you are more concerned about that than what clothes or jewelry you are wearing in the photograph. You are very likely not a real estate agent.
You are also clever enough to know when you need the help of an expert. Someone who can act as a consultant, an unbiased third party who can tell you what really looks good and what looks constipated. Someone who can lead you to your goal of looking confident and approachable. You have suspected that there must be someone out there who can be that expert for you. I mean, come on. Nearly every acknowledged master of Western art was a master of facial expression. Should headshot photography be any different?
You don’t want someone who will point a camera that looks like something you recently gave away as a bar mitzvah gift at you and say “smile!”
You have looked at my recent work, noticed the difference and said, “I want him to do that for me.”
We are in agreement.
Professional headshot photographer in Houston, TX.
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