Camera Shy? How to Look Confident in Your Executive Headshots

You do not need to know how to pose. I guide you through every position and expression during the session, so you are never standing there wondering what to do with your hands — and you see the photos on a screen as we go, so you know it is working before we finish.

Almost everyone says it. Senior people say it most. Something in the last thirty years of being photographed badly has convinced most of us that we are not photogenic, and then we arrive stiff and apologetic and prove ourselves right.

It is not a personality problem. Knowing what to do in front of a camera is a skill, and there is no reason you would have it. It is the photographer’s job, not yours.

What actually happens

We talk first. Not about photography — about what the photos are for and what you want them to say. By the time we start, you are already mid-conversation rather than standing to attention.

Then I tell you what to do, specifically. Where to put your weight, what to do with your chin, where to look, when to breathe out. Not “relax” or “be natural”, which is useless advice and the reason people tense up.

You see the photos as we go. This is the part that changes things most. Once you have seen one frame you like, your shoulders drop and the rest of the session gets easier.

And we keep what works. If a particular angle suits you, we do more of it. If you hate something, we stop.

You will not look like a different person. You will look like yourself on a good day, which is all a portrait needs to do.