Personal branding headshots in black and white

Another post this week about personal branding headshots.

But this batch of personal branding photography couldn’t be more different than the set of portraits featured last week.

One of my favourite things about personal branding portraiture as a genre is that it is so unique to each client. And the possibilities as to what a client’s photo shoot can look like really are endless. If the client has a vision for it, we can make it a reality.

Take for example this client. He’s an architect and had a very clear vision of what he wanted when he booked his photo shoot with me. The words ‘desaturated’ and ‘black and white’ came up as he described the aesthetic of the type of portraits he was after during his consultation. Initially, I had planned on doing about 50% colour portraits and 50% black and white during his session. However, when we reviewed the mood board that he had assembled in the lead up to his shoot (a little bit of homework I ask everyone to do that books a shoot with me), we found that 95% of the photos he had selected as inspiration were in black and white. We realized his heart was leaning more in the direction of the latter and, as a result, we stuck mainly to black and white photos throughout his shoot, with just a few in colour. And as expected in the end, it was the black and white portraits that he decided to go with.

I’ve had a few clients come to me over the last year with a specific black and white photography concept in mind and my goodness it’s been a beautiful experience bringing their visions to life. To me, the removal of colour in black and white portraiture forces the viewer to focus on the subject’s soul. I love colour and I’ll always have room for it in my portfolio for portraits and headshots, but there really is something so special about the genre of black and white photography.

As per the mood board the client had come up with, I decided to keep the lighting set ups on the moodier side. I feel that photographers are often taught to stay away from, and even fear, shadows on the face- as though it’s somehow technically wrong, but I couldn’t disagree more. It’s in the shadows that the soul resides (as in art, as in life). Another quality I find myself embracing as I move forward in my career is the concept of simplicity. I have always been passionate about photographing the human face, but at the start of my career I felt the need to dress my shoots up with distractions in the form of lots wardrobe and props. But these days, I find myself craving simplicity in my portraits. It’s always a wonderful moment when I get to I tell my clients that all they need to bring in is themselves to create meaningful, authentically beautiful portraits.

Ready to book your photo shoot? Get in touch today to start the ball rolling.