sharpfocus photography

sharpfocus photography

headshots of young promising actor

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headshot of a young actor in blue shirt smiling fun picture of a young actor in dc actor headshot of a young man in dc with a yellow shirt

woman calls me asking if I do headshots for casting. she told me that she was looking for a photographer for an upcoming audition. one of the questions she asked me was how long I had been doing headshots. clients check a few photographers and at the time they contact you, they still they have lingering doubts. to dispel any fears, I talk to them with confidence about how I take great shots that people happy. I cite positive reviews of my business, take some examples of my blog posts or specific photographs to illustrate my point.

I needed to check availability for the studio in the following week and get back to her. we then agreed to do the shoot on tuesday at 3pm. she thought that I was still in takoma park’. I realized that she might have looked up ‘photography studio near me‘ or something like that and sharpfocus photography showed up in the results. she added that if I was gonna take great photographs then it would be worth it. I assured her that I was gonna deliver the very best headshots that money could buy.

when I have a photo appointment, I try to be there at least 15 minutes prior to call time. when I arrived, I saw a lady and a young man in late teens standing outside waiting. the studio was not open. I checked the clock and picked up the phone. by now the studio owner should’ve been there and had opened the door. after a short, tense discussion he said that he was on his way. he promised to be there within 15 minutes but actually it took him nearly 35 minutes. I apologized to the client and she was understanding enough.

when the guy finally arrived and opened the damn spot, I got them seated while I was setting up the lights. main light, fill and back lighting. I vary sometimes but this is my basic setup and is used by most portrait photographers. now it was time to do a test shot. he picked a stool, got seated, and light camera, click. wait for a few seconds… the minute I saw the image form on the monitor, I knew this boy got what it takes to be an actor. I showed him first the shot then to his mom and they instantly liked it.

this boy wasted no time to get in the flow. after some minor lighting adjustments, we were ready to roll. he would change from a playful to serious expression almost naturally. it was just like that. click. head swing, a little smile here. serious mood. a hilarious laughter… after a while, a few dozen snapshots later, we then paused. change of clothes and another set. he wore a dark blue jacket, a white shirt and a tie. the knot was not well tied so I played the occasional stylist and made him a knot italian style. adjusted it and we continued.

his mom requested we do a few full body shots as well as half body shots. I moved the main light to provide a more dramatic contrast. I grabbed a stool which we used as a prop. he leant on it with ease and comfort. we rounded up the session with him wearing a bright yellow shirt. I switched to a more high-key lighting and resumed shooting until we were almost running overtime. I asked them if they thought we had enough good shots. they chimed in yes! a few more snapshots and time to take care of business. they made a payment and I promised to send them the link to the image files later that evening. they were satisfied beyond their imagination and I was very happy for a fun shoot.

the next day, I couldn’t wait to post a pic on facebook to gauge people’s reactions. I instantly got a comment from a lady who said she wanted the boy’s contact for a possible role in a drama.

headshots of a blonde model with curly hair

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headshot of a model with curly hair wearing a dark sweater headshot of a curly hair model with lighting effects headshot of a blonde model with curly hair in 3/4 profile

I did this photo shoot with dannielle as I was trying to add a few model headshots to my portfolio. when I first saw her picture on model mayhem I was stunned. she had the look of a fashion model with very angular face and curly blonde hair. I had envisioned to take awesome shots of her but I needed to find a makeup artist for the shoot.

I just moved sharpfocus studio to 14th street nw washington dc. at the time, I was still trying to work more creatively with fashion-themed photo shoots. I contacted karen and she agreed to do the makeup for us. she arrived first and on time. we had to wait a little for the model to arrive. I didn’t want to interfere too much with the looks. I tend to leave it to the creativity of the makeup artist. she had an idea of starting with something vintage then work with a second look. I think that the makeup was good. I did a lot of experiments with the lights especially back lighting. I found out that back lighting greatly reduced the contrast of the photos. if I had to do it again, I’d insist that the makeup goes bolder to compensate. we came up some very beautiful pictures one of which is still getting raves.

to see more sample model headshots click here

headshots for a freelance writer and author

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author headshot of a female freelance writer in black dress with her head tilted smiling picture of a freelance writer casually dressed in black tank top and blue jeans author headshot of a female freelance writer for bio

patti is a freelance writer who found sharpfocus photography through google. she was looking for some professional headshots for her author bio as a freelance writer. she also needed some dressier style portraits for personal use. so we went from business casual style to dressy evening look.

she had requested makeup, so I contacted a makeup artist whose work I like but she wasn’t available and instead recommended a friend. the client arrived on time. it was a late evening shoot. we were waiting for the artist to arrive but soon learned that she was experiencing mechanical problems. as a photographer, the last thing that you want to experience is having a client present and live in fear of an associate not showing up or vice versa.

as the clock was ticking, I was trying to keep my cool. evening shoots are no fun, especially if the client is female and didn’t have a companion. all the while I was trying to keep the conversation going. not only that gives you enough information about the client, her background, profession, expectations from the shoot, and things like that… at long last, the makeup artist showed up and I eased them to a corner where I had a desk set. then wait. that’s what you do when you’re a photographer. wait. then wait…

click to view more examples of business headshots

headshots of a teen actor in dc

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headshot of a teen actor with a beautiful smile headshot of a teen actor in dc in leather jacket looking radiant headshot of a teen actor in dc in a long sleeve blue t-shirt and a youthful smile

I booked actor headshots for this teen girl but she wasn’t sure if acting may be the shorter path to becoming a star. her mom came with her grand dad who is a seasoned actor who had played a few tv roles. he was relocating to washington dc. so he needed updated headshots to send out to agencies and tv outlets. they bought two packages. since she was the younger of the two they let her start first. she had two sets of clothes, so we shot different looks with different backgrounds.

it was nice outside, so we also took some pictures outdoors. she’s very beautiful and likable, so I guess she’ll do great in the movies. they also needed a compcard, which I don’t usually do but I found a headshot and comp card printer in la who could also do their resumes. they had great prices too. the issue was that delivery was time sensitive. so I had to meet them at a train station of a friday evening just in time before their scheduled casting in new york on the weekend. they were very pleased to have great pictures and on time!

click to see more examples of headshots for actors