One Conversation with Michael Bobbitt - Is Headshot Photography an Art?
There's a question I used to brush off every time it came up: Is what you do actually art?
I always answered the same way. Photography and headshots are a business service. I help people look confident and professional on camera. That's valuable, sure, but art? Hard nope. Right?
Then I had a session that made me reconsider everything.
When the Business Becomes More Than a Business
Last year I photographed Michael J. Bobbitt, the then Executive Director of the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the highest-ranking cultural official in state government (and current President/CEO of OPERA America).
About a half hour into our session, he turned to me and asked, "Have you ever applied for one of our grants?"
I laughed it off. "I'm not really an artist, I don't think. Headshots ain't art, right? I own a headshot photography studio."
He paused. Then he looked at me dead in the eyes and said:
"Listen, Kevin. What you do is art. One hundred percent. The way you understand facial expressions, body language, lighting, posing. Even the way you listen. And after all that, how you capture someone authentically. That's not just photography. That's artistry. And that's why I'm in your studio right now."
I had been so focused on proving I'm not a starving artist that I forgot what I do might also be beautiful.
Most People Never See What Really Goes Into a Headshot
When you step in front of my camera at Three Circles Studio, there's a lot happening that isn't obvious from where you're sitting.
From the first hello, I'm watching how you hang your head. How do you smile with or without teeth? What does relaxed look like for you and what does anxiousness look like? I'm figuring out how to put you at ease and how best to capture it.
I’ll try out different jokes - some funny and some funnier. When we laugh, you’ll throw your head back so I'll have you put your chin down. When we get nervous we shrink the distance between our shoulders and ears so I'll have you stretch your giraffe neck.
Through conversation I'm learning what you need. Should your photo show wrinkles to demonstrate you're confident and capable? Maybe I'll wrap light all around to help you communicate a more personable and genuine message to your audience.
I'm figuring out how you laugh, and where your eyes go. Because for a headshot, I want your eyes to focus through the camera lens and through the computer screen onto the other side where you connect with your most authentic expression.
When I give direction, I'm not trying to make you look like someone else. I'm trying to help you look like the most confident and present version of yourself.
"Kevin is a master headshot photographer who really knows how to put people at ease and bring out their authentic personalities." -- Janika Dillon, Google Review
The Art of Human Expressions
The goal is always the same: make you forget you're being photographed long enough to be yourself.
The art is in revealing a human expression from every person who walks into the studio - nervous people, introverts, party animals, and kids pretending to be snails. That's where the teaching background comes in handy. For 13 years I welcomed international students into a classroom of a half dozen languages and on the spot figured out how to reach people who were guarded or uncomfortable. This is called “lowering the affective filter” in teacher talk. Teachers create an environment where students want to learn.
I do the same thing in the studio now, just with a camera in my hand instead of chalk. I create an environment where people want to be photographed.
"He somehow magically captures the bearing, personality, and intention of the individuals he works with, all in one amazing photograph." -- Milan Minsky, Google Review
"You can feel his passion and commitment oozing out of him when working with him. He takes the time to get to know you and to understand the intention for which the photos will be used for so that the true essence is captured in each photo." -- Sarah Coughlin, Google Review
What This Means for You as a Client
You don't need to care about any of this to get a great headshot. You don't need to think about the technical mambo jumbo. That's my job.
But if you've ever walked away from a photo session feeling like the result looked technically fine but didn't feel like you, this is probably why. A technically correct headshot and an authentic one are very different things.
What you deserve is a photograph where someone who knows you looks at it and says, "Yeah. That's you."
That's what I'm trying to make every time.
"I walked away from the experience feeling heard, but more importantly with a set of images that depicted me, authentically." -- Dionne Mills Stewart, Google Review
"Kevin is someone who wears his heart on his sleeve and will do everything he can to create beautiful images for his clients. His love of his craft and his community leads the way in all his work." -- Nina Hickey, Google Review
Ready to See What Your Headshot Can Really Look Like?
If you've been putting off updated headshots, or if you've had sessions before that felt flat, I'd love to work with you.
Book a session at Three Circles Studio in Malden, MA. We serve Boston and the surrounding area, and we bring the same care to every single session.
Three Circles Studio is Boston's headshot and event photography studio, located at 75 Pleasant Street in Malden, MA. With 600+ five-star reviews, we are one of the top-rated headshot photographers in Greater Boston.
