This is where most people get themselves tied in knots, because they think they have to choose between being honest or being aspirational, when in reality neither extreme works on its own.
If you photograph someone exactly as they feel on an average day, especially if they are nervous or unsure, the image will reflect that. It might be “accurate” in a technical sense, but it will not help them. It will hold them in place. On the other hand, if you push someone too far into who they think they should be, the result feels forced. People can sense it straight away, even if they cannot explain why, and that creates distance instead of trust.
So the job is to guide them somewhere in between, and that is where the work actually happens.
The first thing I’m listening for is not how they want to look, but what they are holding back. Most people are not trying to show too much, they are trying to hide something. That might be uncertainty, it might be a lack of confidence, or it might just be years of not liking photos of themselves. If you ignore that, you never get past the surface.
Once that’s understood, the approach becomes simple. I am not trying to turn them into someone else. I am trying to bring them closer to how they are on a good day. The version of them that has just won a contract, or handled something well, or simply feels like they are on top of things. Everyone knows what that feels like, even if they don’t arrive at the session in that state.
From there, it becomes practical. Small adjustments make the difference. The way they stand, the slight tilt of the head, where their attention sits. I keep them thinking in the right direction, not about the camera, but about something that puts them in that better frame of mind. When that shifts, the face follows. It always does.
This is where the image starts to feel real, not because it is showing them exactly as they walked in, but because it is showing them as they are when they are at their best and most present.
And that is the point.
A headshot should not drag you backwards, and it should not pretend you are something you are not. It should move you forward slightly, in a way that still feels believable. When someone sees it, they should not question it. They should recognise it.
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