Lucas
Lucas is a cellist and a friend. When he reached out about needing professional headshots, it felt like a natural opportunity to do something a little more than the standard session. We set aside time for the headshots he needed, but also for portraits that showed him playing — images that could reflect who he is as a musician, not just what he looks like on a bio page. Lucas and I had completed headshots almost 10 years ago. Since then, we have grown in our crafts.
Professional Headshots
We started with the headshots. Clean background, simple light, nothing complicated. That part of the session went quickly, which I think is how it should go. Once you have what you need, you can start to relax into everything else.
Personality Portraits
After the formal work was done, the session took on a different feel. We took a moment, and Lucas started playing. That's when the portraits began to reveal a deeper part of him. A genuine smile is different from a posed one, and you can tell when someone has stopped performing for the camera and started just being in the room. Some of the strongest images from the day came out after that transition.
Creative Exploration
The last stretch of the session was about pushing a little further. A few frames were finished in black and white, which stripped things back and let the light and form do more of the work. We played around with motion blur. It reads differently from the rest of the set — less documentation, more impression of what playing actually feels like from the outside. The close detail shots — hands on the fingerboard, the scroll, the strings — came out of this same impulse.
I'm glad Lucas trusted me with both sides of what this session could be. If you're a musician or performer looking for portraits that serve multiple purposes, reach out via the contact form below.
