Headshot Photography for Ravenswood Professionals
I photograph consultants, executives, creatives, actors, and people in the middle of a job search at my Chicago studio.
Nobody walks in knowing how to pose, and nobody needs to. I direct the entire session, down to where your weight sits and what your eyes are doing, and you'll see the images on screen while there's still time to change them.
Headshot Photography for Ravenswood Professionals
I photograph consultants, executives, creatives, actors, and people in the middle of a job search at my Chicago studio.
Nobody walks in knowing how to pose, and nobody needs to. I direct the entire session, down to where your weight sits and what your eyes are doing, and you'll see the images on screen while there's still time to change them.
Your Headshot Starts the Conversation
Your photograph gets looked at before your résumé, your website, your reel, or your rates. It happens in the second or two before someone decides whether to keep reading.
What they're sorting out in that moment is whether you seem capable and whether they'd want to talk to you. A good photograph answers both questions without anyone consciously asking either one.
An Old Headshot Costs You Quietly
The recruiter who kept scrolling, the client who booked someone else, the introduction that never got made: none of it arrives with an explanation attached.
Most people are using a photo that's older than they remember it being. Pull yours up and check the date on the file. If it predates a job change or a rebrand, or if it's more than two or three years old, it's working less hard for you than it used to.
What Registers Before Anyone Reads Your Bio
Confidence
It comes from the shoulders and the jaw more than from the smile. This is something I coach in the moment, so it isn't something you have to walk in already carrying.
Authenticity
The version of you a friend would recognize. Retouching stays light enough that nobody who knows you does a double take.
Professionalism
Consistent lighting and a clean crop are the difference between a photograph and a picture of you. It's the part people never comment on and always notice.
Presence
Some people are easy to remember. A photograph can carry a surprising amount of that when the expression is right.
The Direction Is Everything
Strong headshots rarely come from people who enjoy being photographed. They come from direction. I'm telling you what to do continuously, showing you what's working on the screen, and adjusting from what we both see.
You'll get wardrobe guidance before you arrive, direction throughout the session, honest feedback about which frames are working, and help choosing at the end. What you won't get is a pose you'd never hold or a smile you'd never make.
Headshots Built to Earn Trust
Whether someone finds you through LinkedIn, a Google search, a company bio page, or a casting submission, your photograph is part of how they decide.
I retouch every image myself and keep it restrained. A stray hair and a bad night's sleep get handled. Your face stays your face.
Headshots for Modern Careers
Entrepreneurs
When the company is you, the photograph is the storefront. It's working long before anyone gets on a call with you.
Executives
Portraits with enough weight for a board page, a press release, or a conference program.
Actors
Commercial and theatrical looks that hold up at thumbnail size, cropped and sized for casting submissions.
Consultants
Your credibility lives in your track record, and nobody sees that until after they've already seen your picture.
Creative Professionals
Personality is part of the pitch in creative work. A photograph can carry more of it than standard corporate headshots usually allow.
Job Seekers
A current photo is one of the few things in a search you fully control. Worth handling before the applications go out.
Most People Warn Me They're Not Photogenic
I hear it before almost every session, usually within the first two minutes.
Here's what I've learned since I started photographing clients in 2016. Being comfortable in front of a camera has very little to do with whether you photograph well. What matters is having someone tell you what to do, frame by frame, and showing you the results while there's still time to change them.
I came to photography at 54, and I'm not particularly fond of being photographed myself. That's most of the reason I work this way.
What Working Together Looks Like
Planning
We talk through what the images are for and who's going to be looking at them. Wardrobe guidance comes to you in writing ahead of time, so you're not deciding at the last minute.
Your Session
Directed from the first frame to the last. Small adjustments, constant feedback, and no expectation that you'll arrive knowing what to do.
Choosing Your Images
We go through everything together at the end of your session and you pick your favorites before you leave.
Retouching & Delivery
Retouched files come back in three to five business days as digital files in multiple crops, sized for LinkedIn, your website, and your business card. Prints, canvas, and other products are ordered separately through your online gallery.
What Should You Wear?
Solid Colors
Patterns compete with your face for attention. Solids photograph cleanly and keep the focus where you want it.
Bring More Than You'll Use
Three or four options give us room to build different looks in one session. Bring the jacket even if you're not sure about it.
Dress for Whoever's Looking
A litigator and a yoga studio owner need different things out of the same session. Picture the person who'll be seeing the photo.
Skip the Trend
Classic necklines and simple tailoring will still look right in three years.
You'll Love Your Images
I guarantee you'll love your images. If you don't, we keep shooting until you do.
Working With Ravenswood Professionals
Ravenswood runs along the Metra tracks and the Brown Line, and a good stretch of it is old industrial buildings that now hold design studios, small manufacturers, breweries, and one-person businesses. It's a neighborhood full of people who work for themselves or are building toward it.
Ravenswood clients come to me for LinkedIn headshots, personal branding images, executive portraits, and actor headshots. I photograph people from Ravenswood, Lincoln Square, North Center, Roscoe Village, Lakeview, Andersonville, Uptown, Albany Park, and across Chicago's North Side.
What Clients Are Saying
Frequently Asked Questions
Where will we shoot?
At my Chicago studio. Parking and arrival details come with your booking confirmation.
I hate having my picture taken. Will this work?
Yes, and most of my clients say some version of that before we start. The session is directed the whole way through, so knowing how to pose isn't something you need to bring.
What should I bring?
Several wardrobe options. You'll get guidance in writing before your session, and bringing more than you think you need gives us room to build different looks.
When do I see my images?
Before you leave. We review everything together and you choose your favorites at the end of the session. Retouched files arrive within three to five business days.
Do you photograph actors?
Yes. Commercial and theatrical looks, cropped and sized for casting and agency submissions.
How often should I replace my headshot?
Every two to three years is a reasonable rhythm, or sooner if your role or your appearance has changed.
Can you photograph our whole office?
Yes, on a consistent setup so everyone on the team page matches.
Ready for a Photograph You'll Actually Use?
Whether you're updating LinkedIn, launching something of your own, refreshing your acting materials, or replacing a picture you've quietly stopped liking, the session runs the same way. You'll be directed throughout, you'll see the images before you leave, you'll choose them yourself, and you'll walk out with something you're glad to have your name on.