A Collaborative Campaign Headshot Session in Pacific Grove
Burcu Mousa (see the headshots I made for her on her campaign website) contacted me about making headshots and branding photos for her campaign to be Auditor-Controller for Monterey County. She visited my photo studio in downtown Pacific Grove, California bringing with her a number of wardrobe changes and I had reggae already playing per her request when I asked her what music vibe she wanted for her photo shoot! This was a fun, collaborative shoot, and yes, having a professional photo session matters because elections are visual. Since I shoot tethered to a 43” screen, Burco and I went through shot by shot during the session getting each headshot and branding photo just right in terms of lighting, background, and expression. She also changed wardrobe several times to match with the background and intention of each photo. In less than an hour long session, we were able to create 10 images she personally chose and that some of which are already up on her website! I really enjoy working with candidates running for political office. It definitely adds a little kind of extra buzz to the photo shoot in my mind! Thank you Burcu for choosing me as your photographer and trusting me to make the visuals that will be used in your campaign!
How a Conversation Led to a Guest Room Photo and Video Project
You never know what may lead to a photography job. Such was the case of how I ended up working with Odeli of Del Mesa Carmel. I received an invitation to the first Makers’s Market at Asilomar Conference Grounds in December. Setup across from my table display was an artist. He wandered over and we got to talking. I had the drone on display on the table, so in talking about that, he mentioned having a friend who was talking about needing drone video. I gave him my card to give to her. Well, shortly thereafter that person walked by so he introduced us, and here one month later I was on site starting out by making interior photos and video of a guest room available for residents of the community. Thank you Eric for the intro and thank you to Odeli for your help during the shoot. I will be back to make the drone video next!
This short marketing video above was created to complement interior photography by showing how the guest room flows, how light moves through the space, and how the room is actually used. Videos like this work especially well on websites, social media, and digital marketing platforms where attention is limited and first impressions matter.
On-Location Team Headshots and Family Business Portraits in Pacific Grove, California
This was my fourth overall shoot for Waveform, including both photography and drone video, but it was the first time photographing the owners, Ryan and Katelyn, along with their team. In the past, I had photographed examples of the work they do for their clients. This time, I visited their Pacific Grove warehouse office with my mobile studio setup to create professional on-location headshots for each team member.
Creative young actor headshots made in studio in Pacific Grove California
My first young actor headshot session with Joseph was back in April of this year. How much can things change in 8 months, well, just take a look at the photos from that first shoot! When he arrived with his mom, Kristen, to my photo studio in Pacific Grove, I noticed right away and the style of headshot shoot we did this time reflected the new roles that Joseph is now ready to take on by looking older. Kristen had sent me some guidelines from Joseph’s agent for this shoot helping me prep the studio for the new style of headshots the agent wanted this time. For this session, I shot with a single light, and Joseph was seated on a posing stool for most of them, and then the biggest change was shooting with a shallower DoF and tighter in. Then, the agent provided guidelines wanting a more natural look, so a bit of imperfection in the hair for example was actually good! I really like the results we got in a session that took less than an hour, but yet still yielded a variety of backgrounds, wardrobe, poses, and expressions, as well as glasses on and off. Thank you Joseph and Kristen for continuing to choose me your headshot photographer!
A Modern, Comfortable Headshot Experience Designed Around You to Start 2026!
A new year is the perfect time to update how you visually represent yourself publicly, and my Pacific Grove photo studio is designed specifically for modern headshot photography. I offer a relaxed, friendly environment where clients feel comfortable — even if they don’t usually enjoy being photographed. With years of experience, a flexible schedule, and a clean, contemporary style, I make the process efficient and enjoyable. You can have your music of choice playing for the right vibe, while getting real-time image review during the shoot, and guidance throughout the session so you know exactly what your headshots are looking like as we are making them. I’m proud to have dozens of 5-star Google reviews, and my goal with every headshot session is to make sure you leave feeling confident and genuinely happy with your photos!
Colorful and Black & White Branding Photography DJ Musician Producer Photo Shoot in Studio in Pacific Grove California
Incredibly, this was my fourth shoot (1st, 2nd, 3rd shoots) this year with local DJ and music creator Jason Kushy as his career continues to take off! We were back in my photo studio in Pacific Grove for this shoot where Jason wanted some branding photos with a colorful background. He chose a shade of red for those images. Then we shot on a gray gradient background for photos eventually converted to black and white for some minimalist, but eye catching branding portraits. All this resulted in yet another creative shoot that provided Jason more high impact branding photos to use for his own Spotify account and for his label to submit to publications writing about his new music releases. Thank you Jason for continuing to choose me as your photographer!
Photographing The Wharf Rats at the Salty Seal in Monterey Live for Promotional Photos and Video
How did I end up making promotional photos and a video of The Whatf Rats at the Salty Seal in Cannery Row in Monterey, California on a recent Saturday evening? All through the Pacific Grove Rotary Club of course! Fellow Rotarian, Matt, is the singer and guitarist for the band and he asked if I could come to their performance and make a series of photos of them performing, and then at their start of their second set list, make video of those songs. The lighting was better than I expected resulting in more dynamic still photos and the proximity I could get to the band members while they were playing allowed for close up video shots. The video above features the start of them playing Black Magic Woman, which we did not coordinate, I knew the song pretty well, and with a bit of luck and a bit of good timing, was able to record from start into the opening of the lyrics like we practiced it many times! Thank you Matt for this opportunity and for choosing me as your photographer and videographer.
