Develop Intelligence: Professional Portraits

It’s always so refreshing when someone approaches me and wants to get creative with their company headshots. I refer to the word “headshot” as a “dirty word” because I feel like the standard headshot tends to be bland and not represent the depth of the person that is being photographed. We live in a creative and visual world, so why not get creative with your headshot?

My friend and neighbor, Carmel, approached me and asked if I could photograph her and her team at Develop Intelligence. She made it clear from the get go that she wanted myself and my friend Sean to have fun with the lighting scenarios. With that in mind, we elected to use a single light with two different set ups. One light and airy, the other dark and dramatic. Below you will find the results! A big thank you to Carmel for being up to creating some fun imagery!

So Damn Gouda - Photo Shoot

A common theme in my work is showcasing hard working and passionate people. This is not by accident as I crave to be around people that go “all in” on what they are passionate about and I have found that surrounding myself with these types of people helps me stay strong and work hard in the pursuit of my passions of photography and film. Being a solo entrepreneur can be lonely at times, so these are the people who tend to fuel my tank when it begins to run on empty.

Mike Keuler is no exception when it comes to people who lead with their passions and pour their entire being into their work. Mike is a world-class cheesemonger who cut his teeth working with Whole Foods and the highly regarded restaurant Frasca in Boulder before taking the leap and starting his cheese plate catering company, So Damn Gouda. Recently Mike and his wonderful wife and business partner, Cori, took over a cheese shop here in Denver and have dove into creating the brick and mortar interpretation of So Damn Gouda. Some may have let fear get in the way of expanding an already busy, and thriving, business but they jumped in head first with their new space and I have to say that it is a great addition to the local business landscape of Denver.

A couple of weeks back I stopped by the shop to capture the action and had a blast documenting their daily process while also staging some fun portraits. It’s always a valuable experience for me to work with people like Mike and his team as I take away so many nuggets on the art of working in an entrepreneurial setting that is fueled by passion. A big thanks to Mike, Cori, and the team for allowing me to jump into their busy workplace and giving me complete creative freedom.

Sean Waldron - Photo Shoot

Recently I did a commercial job that was a great experience and most of the greatness can be attributed to this guy, Sean Waldron. Sometimes people can be overly cynical in our industry and lose touch with why we started doing this to begin with. Most of us didn’t get into this because we wanted to make millions because, most of us, are not millionaires and probably will not ever make millions doing this. The reason why we choose film and photography is because of a passion to tell stories. Well, Sean shares that passion and attacks each shoot with a kickass attitude.

Sean mentioned on the shoot that he needed some portraits for an upcoming article that a publication is doing on him. I happily obliged because it was an excuse to hang out with him while getting some great shots for my portfolio. Sean lives on an amazing property where his wife works so we just wandered around with a single strobe and messed around with different setups. Below is a collection of my favorites from the shoot!

Also, Sean has a great podcast called TENSION THEORY that I suggest you check out, my episode is coming soon, and you can view his film work at SEANWALDRONCREATIVE.COM. Thanks for your time and energy, Sean! Looking forward to future collaborations with you!