One of my favorite client portraits of the year is of Asim. He is a Doctor of Dental Surgery in Red Bank, NJ. We talked on the phone a bit about what he needed, and it was as I expected, the dentist in a white lab coat shot as well as few semi-formal photos in a suit – for speaking engagements. We were wondering if his suit was tailored as it fit so well, but no – he said, whenever he gets a suit, they just fit well!

At the end of these sessions I’ve been adding what I call a concept shot for my portfolio as long as the client is comfortable with it. We staged this shot of Asim balancing a feather. I was hoping that he wouldn’t find it too strange and see the connection with the prop the same way I did. Using my favorite flat black backdrop and only two lights on continuous (but low), I wanted the light to spill onto the background as I needed separation with his dark suit – but directed on the feather.

His gesture and expression, the tonality of image and contrast of the white feather against all the dark tones are what makes this my favorite client portrait of the year.