Portraits, headshots & events
People photographed the way I like them best: not posing, just being themselves for a second while I stay out of the way.
The good frame is usually the one nobody was ready for
I’m not interested in a chin-down, shoulder-back, hold-that-smile photograph. The ones worth keeping happen in the gap between instructions.
So a session with me is mostly conversation and waiting. I’ll set up the light and the background, point you roughly in the right direction, and then let you get on with it. If you laugh at something, that’s the shot.
Photography is something I do around a day job rather than a full-time studio, which has one genuine advantage: I’ve got no incentive to rush you through a slot to get to the next booking.
Four things I'm glad to be asked about
Portrait sessions
Individuals, couples, friends. Outdoors in decent light, usually somewhere that means something to you.
Headshots
For a profile, a website or a programme. Clean, current, and hopefully one you don't wince at.
Parties & gatherings
Birthdays, anniversaries, get-togethers. I work quietly around the edges rather than lining everyone up.
Business openings
New shop, new space, a launch night. Photographs you can actually use for social and press afterwards.
Not weddings, at least not as the main photographer — that’s a job for someone doing it full time. If you want a second pair of eyes catching candids on the day, that’s a different conversation.
Nothing complicated
Tell me the idea
What it's for, roughly when, and how many people.
Pick a place and a time
Light does most of the work, so we aim for the start or end of the day.
Shoot it unhurried
An hour or two for a portrait session. For an event, however long it runs.
Edited files, all of them
A private gallery at full resolution, cleared for printing and posting.
People, mostly not looking at me
Where I'll be next
I photograph because I’m travelling rather than the other way round, but if I’m going to be near you and our schedules line up, I’d enjoy shooting while I’m there.
Anilao, Philippines
Underwater trip. New reef work heading to the print page.
Charleston, South Carolina
A few pet and portrait slots open over the weekend.
Things people ask
I hate having my photo taken. Is this going to be awful?
Most people say that, and most people say it again while looking at photographs of themselves they actually like. I don’t do a lot of directing.
Do you do this full time?
No, and I’d rather say so. This is something I do around a day job because I love it. It means I’m flexible about evenings and weekends.
Will you photograph my wedding?
Not as your main photographer. A wedding gets exactly one attempt and deserves somebody who does them every weekend.
Where do sessions happen?
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary, Apex and Wake Forest as standard, and further out by arrangement.
What do I get, and when?
Every edited frame at full resolution in a private gallery, cleared for printing and posting.
What does it cost?
It depends on the length of the session, travel and what the photographs are for. Tell me what you have in mind.
Got something coming up?
A session, a headshot, a party, an opening. Tell me roughly what and roughly when.