Headshot Session: Bennett Garcia

Sometimes a sitting turns into something different than a straight headshot session. On the day I shot Bennett Garcia, I sensed a more quiet and introspective person than the contractor we have hired to do some construction on our property in Gloucester City, New Jersey.

This photo has very different lighting than most of the studio type images I have taken. Bennett was sitting in a room facing a large window with diffusion material on it. The window acted as my general exposure and fill light. On my right hand side I used a Godox strip box for the main light with and attached grid to narrow the direction of light that was dialed in at one stop higher than the ambient light.

After doing some of headshots and just before we were to attempt some 3/4 length portraits, I asked him to close his eyes and turn his head toward the strip box. The resulting photo was one that captured a peaceful and serene man of great faith.

What Should I Wear For My Headshot?

What should I wear for my headshot? That's probably the most asked question when someone makes an appointment to be photographed. The answer is of course, it depends. If you are a business person you might want to consider a dark jacket with a shirt or blouse that is muted in color. If you're an actor or model you might want to wear a dark long sleeve t-shirt.

From the photographers point of view, anything that takes away from the face weakens your presence in the photograph. This means no wild patterns, no loud colors and little to none when it comes to jewelry. When I think about photographs of the people I know and love my one question for them is; "what are you going to say about this photo 25 years from now?" Modern, cool styles today could look outdated and silly in a year, let alone 25 years from now. Classic will always last. There may be thinner or thicker ties, there may be larger or smaller lapels, but in general you will probably look back and think that John Craig took a pretty good picture of me.

When you come to me for a photography, let me help. The last thing I want you to do in the future is say "WHAT WAS I THINKING?"

If you are in the market for a headshot or portrait, please do not hesitate to contact me and arrange for a sitting at your earliest convenience

Waves of Sand, White Sands National Park

Have you ever heard of Lavallette? It’s a small little beach town about one square mile in size and located on a small barrier island of the central/southern coast of New Jersey. My grandparents had summered there for years before they bought two bungalows on Vance Avenue in 1964. At first my siblings, parents and grandparents went “down the shore” for about two weeks around the Fourth of July holiday and another two weeks before the Labor Day weekend. Then, after a few years my grandmother decided she wanted to be there all summer long and I was lucky, I got to go along. That started just before I became a teenager and ended in my late teens.

My first job was at the Lavallette Theater. The building had no air conditioning, the movies and pay were terrible and I don’t think there was ever a full house. But at 16 or 17 years old, who needs money when you get to stay on the beach all day. I spent most of the days with friends, swimming, body surfing and checking out the girls, it was a pretty good life. More than 30 years later I did a project that focused on the very beach in Lavallette where I spent my summers. When taking a photographic eye to the location I noticed things that I had forgotten, or maybe never noticed before. It wasn’t just the new protective grasses and dunes, the painted street signs, or the upgraded boardwalk, it was the ocean itself. I was more aware of the the sounds of the waves and the way they surged on and retreated from the shore line. I watched the waves as they frequently pounded on the surfs edge and occasionally crept up on the beach like a soft breeze.

Often during rough seas large waves would regularly break a couple of hundred yards out from the beach and the churning white surf would kick up seaweed and sand from the bottom. If I close my eyes I can easily imagine the similarity of those large Atlantic waves to the dunes of White Sands National Park. The white of the swirling waves, the regularity of wave pattern, the textures and colors of the churn as the waves move to its final rumble with the beach make the White Sands dunes feel very familiar.

I miss Lavallette and the Atlantic Ocean, but to be able to regularly wander the spectacular White Sands with my camera is a chance few people get to experience.
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Limited addition prints and a box set can be found HERE

One Small Step

Fifty years ago this week, American astronauts were making history by becoming the first humans to land on the moon. Sitting in a small bungalow in Lavallette, New Jersey, I watched along with my grandmother and an estimated 600 million others across the globe as Neil Armstrong floated off the ladder and became the first person to plant his feet on the moon’s surface. 

Thought to be impossible ten years earlier, a giant unified push by government, private industry and the American public made the moon landing achievable. Engineers and scientists developed new technologies and materials, solved old problems and conquered new challenges. It was America working together, America working at its best, and everything was possible.

Something has happened over the last fifty years. Science is no longer believed, technology becomes ever more dominant and our industries, politics and public struggle under the pull of distrust. 

Imagine, as a nation if we could again decide everything was possible, it would be a giant leap for mankind!