Our friend Joseph Heroun is a Boston-based photographer who specializes in authentic portraiture for actors, athletes, professionals, dating profiles, students, models and fashion editorial. He’s also an accomplished magazine creative director with extensive experience in celebrity editorial and fashion portraiture. We invited him to share some of his favorite images along with insight into how, where and why they were created.

It Starts With A Dream

When my dear friend Elise and I started our collaboration a couple years ago, she was working the early shift at a fast-food joint. Today, she is a highly sought-after model jetting between New York and Europe. In this outtake from our portfolio-building sessions, I deployed my signature studio lighting scheme using a large softbox to illuminate the figure evenly while sculpting volumes with a small speedlight for defined, open shadows. 

Don’t Fear The Sun

It is often drilled into aspiring photographers to avoid overhead or direct sunlight, though I beg to differ. There is no better light source than the sun when gifted with a clear day. It’s evidenced in the works of countless California-based photographers like Imogen Cunnigham from the 1930s to Herb Ritts in the ‘90s. They embraced the simple, reliable beauty and dimensionality provided by daylight. New England could have been mistaken for the Southwest on this glorious August morning.

Seaside Magic

Pure, natural Cape light. Diffusion caused by haze, mist, and reflection off the sand makes the beach ideal for portraits. Notice the absence of catchlights in the eyes. 

Lifestyle

All-natural, backlit portrait on a perfect autumn day. Subject positioning is key.

If you’d like to see more of Joseph’s work, click here to visit his website or go over here for a peek at his IG. If you are in the Boston/NYC neighborhood and want to work with Joseph, click here to make contact.