As a little boy I admired my father’s ability to capture great images. He was a diplomat and traveled around the world – I would follow him everywhere. My favourite shots of dad’s were always, without fail, photography of people.

In 1985, while studying photography at Claude Watson School for the Arts in Toronto, I was mesmerized by the most outstanding portrait photograph I have ever seen: National Geographic Magazine’s cover of June 1985 – the Afghan Girl by Steve McCurry. Little did I know that 30 years later, my mission would be to recreate the feeling of the Afghan Girl in every headshot, by capturing the spirit inside everyone who I have the honour to photograph.

In the 1990’s, I worked with troubled youth and their families for the Ministry of Children and Families, the Vancouver School Board and various non profit societies. During those 14 years as a youth worker and family therapist, I always wondered about working with people at their best rather than at their worst.

Counselling taught me to interact with my clients as if it was a session, bringing out their best throughout each interaction. Today, my clients have a mini-session, just like family therapy, but it’s fun, easy and always produces great results. My dream came true through Art of Headshots Studio.

My father’s passion for photography was infectious. He would have been an extraordinary photographer. In our last conversation, he asked me to never quit photography. I won’t.

Carlos is the Headshot Photographer for Vancouver and founder of Art of Headshots Studios.

Al has eight years of experience in photography, video and graphic design. He has worked with magazines, such as Martha Stewart, and international brands such as the Four Seasons, Fairmont, Steigenberger Hotels, FuijiFilm Canada, KPMG Canada, Mini Cooper, Credit Agricole, Canon and Procter & Gamble.

Having created and managed a photography company specializing in product, portrait and fashion photography, as well as working as Head of Photography for MenuLava Canada for the last two years photographing over 150 clients ranging from franchises to independents vendors, Al has all the right skills to capture the perfect portrait.

Al’s dedication, talent and extensive knowledge of portrait photography will be a wonderful addition to Toronto’s corporate community.

Ben’s love for photography was sparked while he was a high school student, using his camera phone to take pictures of friends while hiking in the Rockies. Fascinated by the beauty of the things around him and how he would be able to preserve the images.

Eventually he rented a DSLR camera from his high school and brought it out on weekends. “This is when I started learning the technical fundamentals of photography…”

His passion progressed and centred around human subject. “Specifically, I like to photograph people doing the things they are passionate about whatever that may be. I believe people reveal their inner emotions when they are immersed in their passions.”, expressed Ben. We have noticed his passion for photography from the first day I hired him to today. “I’ve learned that the thing I love most about traveling is the people I meet. You would be surprised how much two people can communicate while speaking different languages.”

“It took me a long time to really understand what makes a great photo, especially in the digital age when we are constantly bombarded with good photos on our phones, computers, social media etc. As the ability to take good photos has become accessible to anyone with a smartphone, the bar that sets apart good photos from exceptional ones gets higher and higher.”

Ben’s work has been featured online by Gripped Magazine, Arc’Teryx, Canadian Mountain Holidays, The Alpine Club of Canada, and a few other organizations. He has won awards such as the Alpine Club of Canada’s Presidents Trophy, The Mount Royal Ecotourism Film Festival’s Photo of The Year, and the Arc’Teryx Calgary Grand Opening Photo Competition.

“While winning awards is great, the photographic achievement I’m most proud of is hosting the first ever Outdoor Adventure Art & Photography Gallery at Mount Royal University. This was an incredible experience for me because it brought together so many people all with a different creative passion. The gallery gave many students a platform to show their work in the real world where they could talk to people face to face about their creative process and how they developed their work”.

Ben’s other accolades includes designing the first photography course at the Grasby Art Studio in Calgary and our recent client satisfaction which has been a delightful opportunity to work alongside a photographer destined for greatness.