What We Start With Is Not What We End Up With
If you’ve ever seen behind-the-scenes images from a headshot session, you might think,
“Those don’t look very polished.”
And that’s exactly the point.
One of the first things I tell every client who steps into my studio is this:
don’t judge yourself by the first images we create.
The beginning of a session isn’t about perfection — it’s about calibration, comfort, and confidence-building. What we start with is not what we end up with.
The First Images Are Part of the Process
At the start of a headshot session, I’m doing two important things at once:
Fine-tuning light, angle, and exposure
Helping you settle into being in front of the camera
Those early frames are not meant to be “the ones.”
They’re warm-ups — a necessary part of getting all the technical stuff in line and helping you feel comfortable, relaxed, and present.
Most people don’t spend their days being photographed. So why would you expect yourself to walk in and immediately feel natural?
Why Facial Expression Coaching Matters
In today’s digital-first world, your headshot is your first impression — long before a the handshake or a meeting, a phone call, or a conversation ever happens.
And yet, so many professionals walk into a session believing they’re “not photogenic.”
The truth is this:
Being photogenic isn’t a personality trait. It’s a skill — and skills can be coached.
That’s where facial expression coaching comes in. This is what makes my sessions so different than others in my area. You wont here me say “cheese” or even “smile”. You will hear me say something like, “relax the tension in your right earlobe and flare your left nostril more”. Guaranteed to make you smile.
Coaching, Not Posing
POSE is a 4 letter word in my studio, the other kind of 4 letter word.
My role isn’t just to take photos — it’s to guide you through the process.
During your session:
I coach you through subtle changes in expression
I help you understand what reads as confident, approachable, or authoritative
We review images together on a large monitor so you can see what’s working in real time
This feedback loop is critical. As you begin to see strong images coming together, something shifts. Tension fades. Confidence builds. Your expression becomes more natural — because it is.
Authentic Expressions Can’t Be Forced
One thing I never say during a session is, “Smile.” People always look terrified, “like this? Am I getting it?”
We can sniff out a forced expressions a mile away — and they undermine the entire purpose of a professional headshot.
Instead, I focus on conversation, timing, and subtle direction. Sometimes that means a quiet pause. Sometimes it means a bit of humor. The goal is always the same: an expression that feels like you on your best day.
Go back and look at the first image, you can see the difference in her expression as she took the coaching.
You Leave With More Than Photos
One of my favorite parts of this process has nothing to do with the final images.
It’s watching clients leave the studio standing a little taller than when they walked in.
A well-guided headshot session doesn’t just give you better photos — it gives you confidence in how you show up professionally. And that confidence carries forward into meetings, content, and conversations long after the session is over.