A Man of Many Hats

Some people are too restless and curious to settle in to one career for their entire lives.

Kurt is one of those people.

Kurt messaged me about doing some professional portraits because his work required very little compromise over how he is represented in his photographs. So we talked. It is nice to have the luxury of getting to know people when making their portraits and it influences the quality of the work. Kurt has lived a very interesting life. 

Kurt has worked in medicine, law, and currently works doing complicated things in the dermatology field for L'Oréal cosmetics. For shoots like these it’s nice to have some work in a studio environment and some in a more natural environment.  For Kurt, we went to the Urban Institute of Contemporary Art because of how the member lounge reflects his refined aesthetic and taste. The UICA in downtown Grand Rapids has an incredibly marvelous 5th floor member lounge where members have access to a space outfitted with the latest and greatest furnishings from Herman Miller. We took advantage of the floor to ceiling windows and the beautiful conference table. There is so much space that we were also able to bring a 9’ paper backdrop to create some photographs with a simple minimal background.

After learning more about Kurt, I tried to put together a library of images with a number of different poses and backgrounds for him to choose from. If I’m a client with a design or layout need- maybe I am being asked for pictures for a speaking engagement, for example- to be able to deliver a range of images is empowering. Having multiple options available for a client makes the world a happier and a better place.

A special thank you to the UICA for allowing us to work in their beautiful space.