Working with the wonderful Cate Malachowski for her headshots was an absolute pleasure. Cate is an actress and performing artist, and her experience in the performing arts was immediately clear. She dropped right into great poses without any prompting, brought excellent facial expressions, and came prepared with multiple outfits so we could capture a variety of looks. That kind of preparation and professionalism always shines through in the final images.
One helpful tip for anyone preparing for headshots is to practice your expressions in the mirror. Spend about two minutes before or after brushing your teeth running through your neutral look, your slight smile, and your wide smile. This simple routine costs nothing, takes almost no time, and can make a significant difference not only for headshots but also for those key life moments when you want to look natural and confident in front of a camera or an audience.
For Cate’s session, I used a five-light setup, which allowed me to adjust the look as needed and even the option to add gels to completely change the feel of the image. Lighting is a tool I can shape to match the personality of the person I’m photographing. And of course, sometimes having a dog on set helps lighten the mood too.