Doug - A Personal Lifestyle Portrait in Greater Boston

When Doug contacted me about doing a portrait for him, I naturally assumed we'd be doing professional headshots for his online business presence. I had originally met Doug over coffee at Brew'd Awakening to discuss website development for the LowellHandmade.com project and I learned that he had developed the website for my local Aveda Salon: Salon City. I was a little surprised when I asked him where he'd like to use the images and the response was not for his business website, but rather for a personal profile. I was so delighted that not only would I be creating something more personality driven, but also something that might lead to an attraction. I'm a total romantic and I can't hide it. Just the thought of love makes me all giddy inside and turns my cheeks into pink squishy balls of joy! I still wanted to make sure I got at least one good portrait for professional use, just because it's good for everyone to have, even if only for a Linked-In profile:



For me, the key to a great personal lifestyle portrait is to capture images that are friendly, inviting, and tell a little story about you. If a picture can say a thousand words, we want to make those words a clear and honest reflection of who you are so that they attract someone who shares your values and interests. When I asked Doug what kind of things he likes to do when he's not behind the computer, he mentioned that he loves riding his bike and he's currently in the middle of some home renovation. So, we hung out at his home for a little bit and then took his bike out for a short walk in a local park. The other key for me with personal portraits is to make the photo look as if a friend with a really nice camera could have taken it - not too posed or overly creative, just natural and relaxed, as if it were happening in the middle of an activity. We want to make sure it doesn't come across as if someone is a model or that they are using a stock photo of someone else, but that it just happens to be a really great picture caught on the fly. Why can't anyone do this? Because not everyone knows how to use all of the technical tricks to make people look more beautiful while doing it. (Thanks to another web guru, Lara Swanson, for the link!)



I actually like that he's talking in this one because it feels more candid...




So, I'd love to hear from you... do you think I was able to create something that matches his story and is flattering to him?