Keep Headshots Simple in Nashville-

There’s a tendency to make professional headshots more complicated than they need to be.

Multiple locations. Elaborate sets. Downtown backdrops. Multiple outfit changes. Long sessions. A dozen different images to choose from.

But if the goal is a headshot, why complicate it?

I’ve always believed that a good headshot should be about the person—not the location, the props, or the production surrounding them.

Simple is timeless

I have a modest studio in East Nashville with an off-white background and professional lighting. That’s it.

And honestly, that’s more than enough.

A clean, neutral background is timeless. It doesn’t compete with the subject, it doesn’t date the photograph, and it works across industries and applications—from LinkedIn and company websites to press releases, publications and marketing materials.

The lighting is professional and intentional. The background is clean. The attention stays where it belongs: on you.

There’s a reason this approach has been used for corporate portraits for decades. It works.

The location shouldn’t be the story

Of course, I can photograph you outdoors if you want something more casual or environmental. It doesn't matter where.

But for a traditional corporate headshot, I question the need to turn it into an outing.

If you’re a lawyer, executive, realtor, physician, business owner or professional, the downtown Nashville skyline isn’t necessarily telling anyone anything about you. In many cases, it simply becomes another thing competing for attention.

And if the finished photograph is going to be cropped down to a small circle on LinkedIn anyway, why spend half the session walking around downtown looking for the perfect brick wall?

The experience should be simple, too

I also don’t believe you need to spend an hour or two taking essentially the same photograph.

You don’t need 150 images.

You don’t need five locations.

You don’t need an elaborate menu of deliverables designed to make a simple headshot session sound like a major production.

You need a good photograph.

I’ll make sure you’re properly positioned, the lighting is right, your expression looks natural, and we get the image you actually need.

That’s the job.

K.I.S.S.

Simple doesn’t mean careless. Quite the opposite.

It means eliminating everything that doesn’t make the photograph better.

A clean background. Professional lighting. Good direction. A relaxed subject. A strong expression.

That’s enough.

I’m a photographer, not an event planner. And you’re coming to me for a headshot—not a two-hour adventure.

So let’s keep it simple, get a great photograph, and get on with our day.

Sometimes the best headshot is the one where nothing gets in the way of the person you’re there to photograph.

Let's talk about your headshots

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Keeping headshots simple

Keep Headshots Simple in Nashville-

Simple is timeless

The location shouldn’t be the story

The experience should be simple, too

K.I.S.S.

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JAY FARRELL PHOTOGRAPHY