Meet the Photographer
hi, i'm Dean
I'm a theatre director, writer and (obviously) photographer originally from belfast and I love telling stories with people.
I have years of experience as a director and have been very fortunate to direct work in the West End and internationally. You can find out more about me on my directing website.
i started profile portraits because I got fed up seeing brilliant artists not being represented by their headshots. i've been in the audition rooms, seen the casting breakdowns, and watched brilliant actors get overlooked because their headshot didn't match their goals.
because of my background in directing, i'm less interested in posing you and more interested in talking to you and bringing out the authentic artist through direction based on your goals. the best shots happen when we are feeling creative and invested in the moment. you pick the music, i'll handle the rest!
How I Work
Good headshots are a nice picture of someone's face. Great headshots tell a story. This is the crucial philosophy that informs how I shoot and everything becomes about centring the individual, their authenticity and their brand in an image.
I spend a moment at the beginning of each shoot getting to know the artist I am working with, understanding their personality and their goals. This helps me build a vision for how to best capture that specific individual in a way that only they can portray.
Then, using my years of directing and photography experience combined, we treat the shoot like a collaboration, with me offering the artist starting points to help capture a moment that feels authentic and exciting.
My Style
Although I certainly have a style, it is important to how I work that I remain creatively flexible to ensure the artist being photographed is the centre of attention. I never want people to look at my portraits and think "That's a Profile headshots" because then they are thinking about the photographer and not the artist in the frame. So I treat each headshots session as a new artistic project, pushing my own creativity to meet the individual in front of me.
That said there are certainly a few themes that run throughout my images:
- I love cinematic portraiture and headshots that feel like they could be a still from a movie (probably because I'm a director)
- soft light sculpted in a way that demands we pay attention to the artist in the frame
- natural tones, textures and poses, because casting directors want to see real people who can tell real story.
Get in Touch
Time to tell your story - contact me!