This series is from years back, but keeps coming up in conversations.

It's the inevitable by-product of asking a bunch of really creative people to do something kind of simple. We're all rebels on one level or another and I'm way more of a cheerleader than an enforcer, so this was bound to happen. They were supposed to be basic ID photos, instead they became icons and some of my favorite work. These were often assembly line days, where I only had a few minutes with each person. Some I had known for years, and others were brand new and not sure how long they might last. There were rock stars, and wilting violets, and so many brave and trusting souls that were “required” to sit for these sessions.

I still remember the day the light came on in my head and I realized the power of misdirection. I'd filled the brief and taken the "required" photo. I then asked that young designer to give me the look she has when she gets a bad critique. Her faux tearful expression was magic, and I was hooked.

The look evolved over time, from something simple to almost needlessly complicated and then back to simple. The brief for the last version was "people should take this seriously," clearly some push back from the previous overly playful iteration of ID photos. Many obliged by staring through my soul, others pushed back by proudly owning that tiny corner of my studio.