Headshot Sessions
During a headshot session, we keep things close—literally. Headshots are captured from the chest up, with our full focus on guiding you toward your most authentic and flattering expression. Coaching is 100% on us. Throughout the entire session, we’ll direct and support you, helping you understand which angles and expressions suit you best.
Common uses for headshots include:
Corporate or business profiles
Actor/model casting submissions
Author bios
Social media and online branding
Personal websites or portfolios
Headshots are usually taken with clean lighting and minimal distractions to keep attention on the subject’s face. They differ from traditional portraits by being more straightforward and less stylized, though modern headshot sessions often incorporate creative variations based on the client’s goals.
Portrait Sessions
Portrait sessions are where we push creative boundaries. Alongside your headshots, we include a series of portraits with varied backgrounds, lighting setups, and camera distances to create a more dynamic range of images. This approach gives you a versatile portfolio—perfect for personal branding, social media, websites, and beyond.
Key characteristics of portraits include:
A focus on the subject’s identity or emotion
A broader range of poses, framing, and settings
Artistic or lifestyle elements that convey context or narrative
Can be candid or posed, indoors or outdoors
Portraits are often used for family photos, senior sessions, editorial spreads, personal branding, fine art, or creative projects. The goal is to go beyond documentation and reveal something deeper or more expressive about the subject.
About the Session
We’ll be capturing and reviewing images together throughout the session. This real-time feedback allows us to assess each shot’s effectiveness for your specific needs. By reviewing as we go, we can fine-tune the direction of the shoot—making adjustments and adding in anything we believe would further elevate your final results.
Purchasing Images
Once the shooting portion of your session is complete, we’ll sit down together and review the images we've captured. We’ll start by eliminating any obvious outtakes, then focus in on the strongest shots—the ones truly worth keeping. Throughout this process, we’ll guide you in selecting the best of the best, offering input on expression, variety, and what can (and can’t) be refined in retouching. Our goal is to ensure you walk away with a well-rounded set of images that align with your goals. By the end of the session, you'll choose which images to purchase, and those selections will be sent off for professional retouching. Please ask us about “proofing” galleries.
Clothing
We encourage all our clients to bring a variety of clothing options to their session. Our number one rule? You have to love what you’re wearing. If you’re not comfortable in it, it’s unlikely you’ll feel confident on camera.
Bring a range of cuts, colors, and necklines—things that reflect your personality and suit the image you're aiming to create. For corporate sessions, we suggest men bring a few jacket/shirt/tie combinations, and women bring blouse, dress, and jacket options for mix-and-match variety.
When it comes to accessories, less is more. Simple earrings or studs and delicate necklaces work best, as large or flashy pieces tend to distract. That said, if bold jewelry is your style—go for it! End of the day - we are creating for you!
If you wear glasses and own multiple pairs, bring them all along so we can check for glare and reflections. When in doubt about an item, just bring it—we’re happy to help you decide.
For actors, layers are especially versatile. Don’t worry about dressing seasonally—everything from t-shirts and tank tops to sweaters and light jackets can work beautifully.
Above all, have fun with your wardrobe.
Women’s makeup:
Makeup is not required for your session, but we highly recommend it. Professional makeup helps ensure you look your best. A Hair and Makeup Artist (HMUA) can elevate your session but its important to work with a makeup artists that fits your style. Ive worked with a pile of HMUA and make recommendations but we do not have HMUA on staff.
Women’s hair:
We ask that everyone come in with their hair ready the way you would like to present yourself. We want your hair in your pictures to be as close as possible to the way you look on a fantastic hair day and can’t have you showing up to the studio as if you just rolled out of bed. Of course, if that’s the look you’re going for.. We’re happy to shoot it as we see it. Post-production is not magic. Some things are easy to FIX IT IN POST. Some are not. We do our best to get it right in camera.
Men:
We don’t recommend makeup on men and we don’t have HMUA on staff. If you’d like to hire a HMUA artist, you may. Please arrange accordingly with your stylists or hair and make-up artist and plan accordingly.
Facial Hair:
If you’d like to shoot with facial hair we’d be happy for you to come in with whatever level of growth you’d like and can shave or trim it down once we’ve gotten the scruff covered. Bring whatever grooming products you’ll need with you to get it done.
Retouching
Retouching is a subjective process, and we approach it with care. We’ll work closely with you to ensure you're happy with the final result.
In a world where heavily edited, AI-generated images are everywhere, we stay grounded in what Ben captures through the lens—real moments, real people. Our goal is simple: we want you to look like you—your best, most confident self. We urge our clients to be apart of the post-production process.
Scheduling & Payments
We offer sessions Monday through Friday, with typical start times at 11:00 AM, 2:00 PM, and 6:00 PM. Weekend bookings are limited and generally reserved for returning clients who schedule in advance.
To reserve your session, full payment of the session fee is required at the time of booking.
Once that’s taken care of, the only remaining costs will be for any images you choose to purchase on the day of the shoot, as well as hair and makeup services if you’ve hired our stylist. Our aim is to create images you truly love—without overwhelming you with unnecessary volume.
In a digital world where it’s easy to overshoot, we believe in being intentional. Charging “by the image” helps us both stay accountable and focused on quality over quantity.
We do accept walk-ins for headshots when possible, but availability is not guaranteed. As the saying goes: Prior proper planning prevents piss poor performance.