WHY SPECIALIZE IN PORTRAITURE?

I'll never take the most impressive photo of a famous landscape or building. I know some of the most impressive shots of venues are available with a quick google search. I also don’t think I’ll impact a mountain or building or sunset by capturing the scene in an interesting manner.

This is not to say I don’t occasionally enjoy capturing these things, but my current passion and focus is portraiture.

With portraiture, I have two unique opportunities -- to create a compelling image of a person that will stand out from others taken in the past AND the chance that my work will personally impact the person I photograph in a positive manner.

CREATING COMPELLING IMAGES IN COLLABORATION WITH MY SUBJECT

I enjoy collaborating with my subjects and being creative in the ways we can capture their personality. This often includes studio photography and over time, more frequently I’m actively embracing the wider options for creating intriguing images by selecting interesting venues and finding ways to have the model become one with the location.

Whether in studio or on location, it’s becoming more common that I can produce compelling portraits that get people to stop and take a second look at the images. Many of the people I photograph have not sat for a professional portrait recently and may have only done so for a school photo session. The chance to work with others in a creative manner while leveraging my growing technical skills is highly rewarding for myself and the person I am working with. Together, we create images that are interesting to look at and stand out from others that they have done in the past.

PERSONALLY HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON OTHERS

In addition to creating a compelling image that will last a lifetime, the other primary benefit of portraiture is the chance to make someone’s life better in the present time. I can help them see themselves in a new light and build their confidence. We create an experience that is beneficial to their self esteem and we have fun doing it. Most all of my subjects are not professional models, yet, after a couple of hours together with my coaching and shooting over 100 frames, we almost always produce images that make them feel like a model.

The comments below are from a recent guy I photographed...

"Growing up I always thought I was ugly. Sometimes I still think that. Of course, now I know it's depression thinking the worst of me, and anxiety assuming people think the worst of me. But sometimes, you still need a reminder of who you are right here, right now.

I told myself that when I reached my goal weight I was going to see David, as a couple other of my friends have. I saw the amazing work he did, and thought, once I'm where I want to be weight-wise, I'd get photos done to document where I am now.

I wanted a professional photographer specializing in male imagery because he could help me take the best pictures, and looking at his results (some of which I'm sharing in this album), it's clear I made the right choice in photographer. I know I always won't look like this, and I'm looking forward to where I'll be years from now. But right now, I'm happy where I am."

DOUBLE GIFT -- WIN-WIN

I enjoying giving the double gift to my subject - a compelling portrait they can share with their friends and a renewed sense of confidence in themselves. We both win when we work together since they receive these two “gifts” and I feel accomplished in creating great portraiture and this builds my confidence in my technical skills and creativity.

You may wonder how do portraits of dogs (and other pets) fit into this?

For me, when I create a compelling portrait of a dog, I accomplish the same two things. I get excited to produce an interesting image that can be shared AND the dog's parent feels better having a wonderful portrait of their loved one.