Joe Henson Headshots featured in Backstage Article!

Last month I received an email from Backstage asking me to submit two of my favorite headshots with an explanation of my shooting philosophy and specifics regarding the images I had chosen.  It seemed like an interesting proposal and I immediately started considering which images I would choose.  When I went back to re-read the email to see what size images to submit and how long the explanation should be, I noticed the subject line of the email.  It said To: Joe Henson...and 454 others!  When I clicked on the 454 others, I saw an endless list of headshot photographers who had been sent the same email.  454 others!  I knew that the market was getting saturated with photographers since the advent of digital, but WHOA!

I decided to go through with the submission anyway, curious about how my work would stack up against the potential 454 others' work.  These are the photos I chose and this is what I had to say...

Last night I received an email directing me to this link http://bit.ly/nDNFBu.  I was one of 14 photographers in New York whose work was chosen to be featured!

My takeaway from this experience?  14 in 454 odds are...not so bad!  

Joe Henson Author Photo of G M Malliet!

Congratulations to our client, G M Malliet on the publication of her new mystery "Wicked Autumn"!

G. M. won the Agatha Award for Death of a Cozy Writer, which initially won the Malice Domestic grant, G.M. MALLIET attended Oxford University and holds a graduate degree from the University of Cambridge, the setting for her previous series, the St. Just mysteries.


We had a wonderful shoot in Washington DC this past June and are honored that she is using our portrait as her author photo!  

Joe Henson, Guest Speaker at ACT-STRAVAGANZA on July 30th!

I'm excited to be a guest speaker this coming weekend at ACT-STRAVAGANZA, an all day Acting Industry seminar.  We are encouraged by the huge turn out of attendees, so we have expanded the seating.  There are still a few tickets left, so check us out and register today!

http://seanprattpresents.com/?page_id=449

Joe Henson Fine Art at Montclair Art Museum Show!

I'm excited to be accepted by the Montclair Art Museum for their Collecting Art Show on June 11th and 12th.  Please stop by and say hello!

New Beauty Shot!

Kerry-Lou and I are excited about a new project incorporating beauty and body painting! We spent last Sunday night with a very patient model, Susannah, who stood stock still for over three hours of Kerry-Lou's air brushing and body painting. The theme of this shot is "Summer" and we're planning more images to add to the mix. Check back soon for more installments...

Joe Henson interviewed by Commercial Print Guru, Aaron Marcus!

Please listen to my interview on ModelTalk Radio conducted by Commercial Print Guru, Aaron Marcus at

You'll learn the inside story about Headshots from the perspective of a New York Professional Headshot Photographer with 28 years of experience. Tune in and let us know what you think by emailing me at joe@joehenson.com!

Joe Henson interviewed by Commercial Print Guru, Aaron Marcus!

Please tune in to a webcast on Friday, April 15th at 5 PM est of my interview conducted by Aaron Marcus, renowned Commercial Print Guru.  We'll be discussing "Headshots - the Inside Story".  I'll be sharing the knowledge and opinions I have garnered in over 28 years of shooting actor's headshots in New York City.  It promises to be a useful and entertaining time.  The webcast address is www.voiceamerica.com/channel/246/voiceamerica-variety.   

Announcing Boudoir Manhattan!

We are excited to announce the launch of our new Boudoir website!  Please take a moment and check out http://www.boudoirmanhattan.com.  Kerry and I have been working hard to expand our business and the Boudoir Manhattan website is our most exciting project to date!  If you have feedback, please feel free to write us at joe@joehenson.com.

 

Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead

Check out "Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead", a recently published coffee table book profiling the writers and artists who made the National Lampoon insanely great.  The image rich book, written by Rick Meyerowitz, the artist who created one of the best known Nat Lamp covers ever, the Mona Gorilla Da Vinci cover, tells the story of the Counter-Culture's funniest and most provocative magazine from an insider's prospective.

The book features my photograph of Ed Subitsky, a brilliant (and still living!) cartoonist.  I remember his shoot well for two reasons, one that he was the epitome of the mild-mannered, bald guy with glasses; and two, that his partner Susan seemed to share a psychic link with Ed and spoke for him throughout the entire experience.  "Ed would like the photo to reflect..." she would say, while Ed smiled and shyly nodded.  I'm not sure I ever even heard Ed speak throughout the shoot.  My guess is that he speaks through his detailed and psychologically subversive cartoons which you can sample in Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead.  Go Ed!  "Blessed are the meek!"

 

"The Warmth of Other Suns"

Congratulations to our client, Pulitzer Prize winner, Isabel Wilkerson, on the publication of her book "The Warmth of Other Suns".  We had a wonderful time shooting Isabel's new author photo which accompanies the book.  The review of her book is the cover story of September 5th New York Times Book Review, http://nyti.ms/cj3eyQ.  Please take a look.

Isabel Wilkerson, photo by Joe Henson, NYC

                                                                                                                                   
                       
                                               

Joe Henson Interview on "Destination Montclair"!

We're excited to present my interview on "Destination Montclair", an interview show based in my hometown which features profiles of local artists.  It was my first TV interview (besides my celebrated appearance on Romper Room in 1960!).  It was shot live, with no rehearsal, a bit nervewracking, but at least no Albert Brooks flop sweat!  Please watch and enjoy...http://bit.ly/bH7Wmf

New Beauty Shots with Margie and Jacqui!

Our most recent beauty portfolio additions are the result of a collaboration with Hair and Make-up by Margie Bresciani (Kerry-Lou's talented Hair and Make-up team member) and Jacqui Rossi as our lovely model.  Our objective was twofold, one shot with clean glamour and Margie's concept piece, which uses paper doillies and air brushed lace.  Voila...

 

Memory Inspired by NPR Show

Driving back from a weekend shoot in DC yesterday, I was listening to NPR.  The subject of the show was learning poems by memory and what effect that had on the "memorizer ".  I love listening to NPR.  The hosts seem so cultured and civilized... reminds me of my old college days, surrounded by people dedicated to improving their minds.  Listeners were invited to call in to the show and recite poems they had committed to memory.  The show was both entertaining and emotional.  Many of the callers reflected on the effect that certain poems had on their lives, or  poetry and how it was linked with memorable moments in their lives.  The host quoted a line from Alexander Pope's Essay on Criticism explaining why poetry connected so strongly with so many people.

"True Wit is Nature to advantage dress'd,

What oft was thought, but ne'er so well express'd;

Something whose truth convinced at sight we find,

That give us back the image of our mind."

 

My thought on hearing this fragment was that Pope had stated the nature of all art, to create something that both rings true and also refines and gives detail to the vague images that swirl through our shared universal consciousness.  Art...you know it when you see it.

These thoughts led me to remember a shoot I once had with Dick Cavett.  Some of you are old enough to remember his TV show in NY and the many amazing moments it was responsible for generating.  His show was urbane, compelling and full of surprises.  Remember Cavett's interview with Marlon Brando and Brando's post show attack on Ron Galella (the first paparazzi star)?  Brando got tired of Galella tailing he and Cavett as they walked the streets of NY, so he whirled around and punched Galella flush in the nose.  Subsequently Galella would follow Brando wearing a football helmet.  Once Cavett convinced Katherine Hepburn to come to his studio just to get a feel for it because she was considering an unheard or rare interview.  She surprised him by deciding on the spot to do the show which forced Cavett to pull off a fantastic spur on the moment interview with just a skeleton crew. And then there was the time that Cavett substituted for Johnny Carson one night and interviewed my 60's idol, Jimi Hendrix.  I still remember one exchange between them.

Cavett - "Jimi, you are a Sagittarius, aren't you?"

 

Jimi - "Constantly..."

 

Very cool.

So what does poetry have to do with my shoot with Dick Cavett?  In our shoot as we developed a rapport and because I knew that Cavett took pride in his intellectual abilities and education, I challenged him to play a game wherein each person would recite the first line of a poem and the other had to complete the second line.  It was my attempt to keep him involved and connected during the shoot.  I lead off with T.S. Elliott "Let us go then, you and I..."  and he took it from there "When the evening is spread out against the sky, like a patient etherized upon a table."  He countered with Archibald MacLeish "Quite unexpectedly as Vaserot, the armless ambidextrian..." and I bobbed and weaved with " was lighting a match between his great and second toe..."

 

And on and on it went.  It was great fun, made the shoot fly by, and I'm sure my English professors would have been pleased.  

 

 

The end result was this shot, of which I am very proud, because he came in wearing the leather jacket but his manager wanted him to wear a sports coat.  I thought the leather jacket looked great, so I suggested that we shoot some in that.  It wasn't in the original plan, but it was the shot he ended up using, even when he did the Broadway production of "Rocky Horror".   

 

Dick Cavett and poetry, forever connected in my mind.

New Beauty Shot!

We recently had a visit from our lovely muse, Susannah and that's always an opportunity for fun photography.  Kerry designed and created a spring hat for the occasion.  Amazing what talent, vision, and a hot glue gun can generate!  Kerry did the make-up, hair, and bonnet.  You can see more of her work at http://www.kerry-lou.com.  Here are some images from the shoot...

Joe Henson's Headshot Article in Backstage On-Line

We're excited to announce that you can access Joe Henson's article on Headshots - "Successful Shooting" at Backstage On-Line.  Please follow this link to read - http://www.backstage.com/bso/news-and-features-features/successful-shooting-1004078219.story.

New Promo Shots for Katrina Szish!

We recently shot a creative and extremely fun session with Katrina Szish. Katrina is a NYC-based pop-culture journalist and television personality. She has held senior editorial roles at VOGUE, GQ and INSTYLE magazines, and she is omnipresent on the airwaves. She is a familiar face on national morning shows where she masterminds makeovers and demystifies red carpets and runways; she appears on cable news networks alongside some of the world’s most renowned journalists to debate the hottest headlines, and her insights on the cult of celebrity have made her a staple on entertainment news shows. Katrina regularly appears on “THE TODAY SHOW,” “THE VIEW,” “THE EARLY SHOW,” “THE O’REILLY FACTOR” and “SHOWBIZ TONIGHT” and VH-1.

Katrina is also the Editor-in-Chief of http://www.pinkmemo.com.

Katrina wanted her portfolio to reflect a fashion forward sense of style with a range of concepts. Make-up and Hair Styling credit goes to Kerry-Lou, found at http://www.kerry-lou.com. Kerry has provided Hair and Make-up for Joe Henson Photography for the past ten years and is definitely our not-so-secret weapon.

Here is the first image - hot off the presses!

Beauty Portfolio Update!

Kerry and I have been hard at work on our beauty portfolio. We enlisted the modeling talents of our lovely Susannah from Boston and lo and behold - lighting struck...twice. Here are the before and afters..

Soupy Sales

Soupy Sales passed on October 22nd at 83 years old. He was a true comedic legend and a totally unique personality whose style influenced many after him including Pee-wee Herman and Andy Kaufman. He will truly be missed.

About 8 years ago my phone rang and low and behold, "Hi Joe, this is Soupy Sales! I need a new photograph and my agent said I should see you!" Another unexpected and exciting moment, and one of the reasons I love my job so much. I grew up with Soupy Sales as a household name. I had followed him from "Lunch with Soupy Sales" to "Whats' My Line" to "The New Soupy Sales Show". And there he was calling for a headshot! Wow! Soupy Sales! My mind was swimming with memories as I booked his shoot...asking the kids to go into their parents' wallets and send him the little pieces of green paper..."Doing the Mouse", his single, was the fasting selling single in history in it's time...and much pie throwing, even at Frank Sinatra!!!!!

When he came to the shoot, he couldn't have been nicer or more professional. He came with his wife Trudy, who was an ex-June Taylor Dancer from the Old Jackie Gleason Show. She was still a stunner.

The session was easy and fun and Soupy was open and crazy and totally frank with his industry war stories and opinions. I loved the shoot with Soupy. I told him about seeing his sons who played in "Tin Machine" with David Bowie and he told me how proud he was of them. At the end of his session, he invited me to lunch at his apartment on the Eastside and I would have done anything to go, but alas, I had another session to shoot.

After our work was done, a signed 8X10 arrived in the mail. It was our photograph and he had signed it "I love you, Joe,
Soupy Sales"

My shoot with Soupy Sales - a big memory for me. Rest in Peace Soupy.

Bridal Variations

Kerry and I shot Christie for a bridal portfolio last week. We got the shot we wanted and then decided to play around a bit. Makes it all worthwhile!

Having much fun with Photography!

This summer has been one for play, and hopefully growth. We have been working in the portrait game as per usual, but also pushing on some new markets. Last Sunday our whole family converged on the studio to work on Jennifer's art project. It will be a magazine and art piece all at once. Jennifer designed ensembles that are an artistic take on a blend of Hip Hop fashion merged with Hippie aesthetics. Kerry did the Hair and Make-up, Jenn did the styling and design, Abbie and James were the models and yours truly put it all on pixels. Here are some of the shots we took...