The Day My Headshot Method
Aired on National TV
A camera-shy woman, a film crew, three producers — and the exact moment her guard came down. On national television. (The photographer was nervous too.)
Watch the episode on Lifetime →
Confession: I'm a sucker for some good reality TV. So when Lifetime TV called, I said yes before they finished the sentence. The gig: photograph a segment for one of their dating shows.
Lights, Camera, Anxiety
I knew it would be a production. That didn't make the room feel any smaller. The crew. The lights. The boom mic. Three producers. Five subjects to photograph. And, at one point, more than twenty people crammed into that room. Imagine the pressure — on them, and on me. The cameras rolled, pointed at me, doing my actual job.
The one I want to tell you about was the woman at the center of it — and she'll tell you flat out that she feels awkward and uncomfortable in front of a camera. Now add the crew. If conditions were ever designed to make a person freeze, this was it.
Oh — And I Was Terrified Too
Here's what the cameras didn't show: I was every bit as scared as she was.
I built this entire studio because I'm camera-shy. For years I was convinced I was unphotogenic — dodging every lens, hating every photo I was in. So when those lights swung toward me and the cameras rolled, the irony landed hard: the woman who spends her days calming nervous people on the other side of the lens — suddenly, on national TV, the nervous one in front of it.
Which is exactly why I'm good on the other side of the lens. I'm not guessing what that freeze feels like. I've lived in it — and I know the way out.
The First Thing I Tell Every Camera-Shy Client
Before I lifted the camera, I took the pressure off — the same way I open every professional headshot session at my Harrington Park studio. I told her I'd direct every step: where the chin goes, where the hands land, where to look. (I even called out the dreaded double-chin angle on camera — because I watch for it so you never have to.)
Then the fun part — what I call the Visual Psychology Method. A little humor, a reminder to breathe — you'd be amazed how many people hold their breath the second a lens points at them — and steady direction, until the camera becomes an afterthought.
And here's the part you can't fake: it wasn't me who noticed the shift. One of the men being photographed with her said it on camera — he could feel her guard come down. That's when the real expression shows up. Not the stiff, posed, constipated smile everyone defaults to — the actual person.
Which Brings Me to You
If you've ever caught yourself saying "I'm just not photogenic" or "I always look awkward in photos," hear me: the problem has never been you. You've simply never had someone whose entire job is making sure you can't fail.
The camera-shy professionals I photograph across Bergen County aren't any different from that woman on national TV. Same nerves. Same story. Same beautiful turn when the guard finally drops. The only difference is that you won't have a film crew recording you for a national TV show.
You'll just have me, a quiet studio, and a method that held up on Lifetime TV.
Ready to see what you look like when someone knows how to direct you?
Sessions from $280. Same-day delivery. Expert direction from start to finish, for camera-shy professionals across Bergen County and the NYC metro. Watch the Lifetime episode →
Book your session