Yasmeen Anderson Photography
Welcome to my blog - thanks for stopping by! I am a Headshot, & Commercial Photographer in the Northern NJ / NYC area. I provide actors, musicians and models with unique headshots capturing their essence and provide apparel and other companies with photographs that meet their strategic goals.
I am an emotional photographer. I am most concerned with the emotion and character that I'm capturing. For headshots, my most treasured feedback is "you captured the essence of who she is."
I hope you enjoy seeing some of what I do and come along on the journey with me.
Follow me on facebook/twitter for my latest adventures in photography and some tips on how to make your own pictures more fabulous.
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Tag Archives: new jersey photographer
Wow, She’s Good!
I was given the opportunity to photograph this wonderful, young model. I was having a conversation with my photography assistant about the shoot after it was done and the one thing that kept coming up was , “wow, she was good.” We spent over 2 hours in the session and ended up with close to 500 good photos. It was really hard to narrow it down to my favorites. In that time she never ran out of poses, or seemed to get tired, even though she was sick with a fever during the shoot.
We shot on a black background originally, wanting the juxtaposition of the blond hair with the black background, then we moved onto a colored background and then the white/grey. It’s fun how each background brought out a little something different.
Here are just a few of my favorites from the shoot. Enjoy!
Weekly Theme – Favorite Color
For this week’s theme I am using two photographs that I love from my trip last week to the mountains in West Virginia. The family went there to the in-law’s cabin and we had such a great time rafting, playing in the river, driving the ATV and on and on. One of the highlights was a trip on an old coal train up a mountain on an old logging track. These two photos were some of the old trains we encountered along the way. I’ve always loved the color red.
Photographed by Yasmeen Anderson
Photographed by Yasmeen Anderson
Posted in Artistic Photos
Also tagged Actor headshots, Corporate Headshots, headshot photographer yasmeen anderson, headshots
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Weekly Theme – Backyard
For this week’s photography them, Backyard, I decided to take it literally. The YARD in the BACK of my house. As you may know we have a dog named Olive. We rescued her back in December of 2011. She’s a great dog. She was even kind enough to keep her peeing to the mulch in the back, until now. Now, we have these dead grass spots which are a dead giveaway that we have a dog. Gone are the days of a beautifully manicured lawn (actually those were already gone since starting our basement renovation, but now they’re REALLY gone) So – here it is, dead pee grass in the back yard.
To see another photographer’s interpretation of the theme, check out Maria Vallejo Photography.
Photographed by Yasmeen Anderson
Posted in Artistic Photos
Also tagged photographer yasmeen anderson, Yasmeen Anderson Photography
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Dominate Personal Training
Photo by Yasmeen Anderson
I’ve photographed Joe a few times, he’s one of my favorite models. He’s ripped to shreds, but beyond that, he’s a fabulous model. He’s playful and will try various setups and come up with great ideas. He takes direction well and is really super to work with. He is launching his personal training brand, DOMINATE. So we took to the reservation where I wanted to find a lot of stone. There is a great waterfall area there with amazing stone around it. We never even got down to the cool waterfall itself because we ran out of time – maybe another day, but I think what we got came out really well. Do you have a favorite?
Weekly Theme – Sweetness
Photo by Yasmeen Anderson
For this week’s theme I chose to photograph my daughter, Avery, who turns 8 next week. Today is the first day of no school so she is home and I snagged her for a few quick photographs.
To view another photographer’s interpretation of the theme, check out Maria Vallejo Photography.
Posted in Artistic Photos, Family Photo Sessions, Headshots, Portraits
Also tagged Headshot Photographer, portrait photographer
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Weekly Theme – Wind
For this week’s theme, Wind, I had to get a little creative in creating some wind-like motion. I had one of our babysitters, who just happened to have the perfect mane, throw her hair back – - creating this effect. Let me know your thoughts. I couldn’t decide which photo I liked, so I’m posting all three. I like the first one because it looks like flames.
To see another photographer’s interpretation of the Wind theme, visit Maria Adelaida Vallejo
Photographer Yasmeen Anderson
Photographer Yasmeen Anderson
Photographer Yasmeen Anderson
Why You Should Use a Professional Portrait/Headshot Photographer
Headshot Photograph by Yasmeen Anderson
Pretty much no one likes having their photo taken unless you are a model. I can’t tell you how many sessions I have where the first words out of the clients’ mouth is some form of the following:
- I hate having my picture taken
- I’m the most unphotogenic person
- I wish I’d lost 5 lbs
- I’m sooo uncomfortable with this.
- I hate (insert body part)
…and the list goes on. It’s a good thing I studied psychology in undergrad. : ) The thing that clients don’t realize is that they are not alone. Pretty much everyone is in the same boat and if you like the photos from the galleries you can be pretty sure that they said the same thing. Here is why people arrive hating having their photo taken and leave saying, “wow, that was fun.”:
We Click
We chat, we listen to music and we click. I say WE click because that’s a big part of it, while I’m clicking the shutter, we’re also clicking as we find out what we have in common and realize that our kids both do the same crazy things trying to escape homework or that we went to a similar college, both studied marketing in business school or have the same friends. There is always something that connects us. We’re living the human experience so there is always some level of connection and relationship built.
Headshot Photograph by Yasmeen Anderson
Opening Yourself Up
Having your photograph taken is a very personal experience. I always say that people get referrals for photographers just like they do for doctors. That’s because you feel a similar level of vulnerability. If you have a photographer that makes you feel like you aren’t doing something right, that’s a horrible feeling. Will every pose and position you put yourself in flatter you? Definitely not. But that’s why you work with a professional who can gently guide you in the most flattering poses for you.
What Works For You
Not every person looks good in the same pose. It’s important to realize that finding the right pose for your personality AND body/face takes an expert and also takes time. People think you can just snap a photo in 30 second and have it capture your essence. That’s just not going to happen. You may get lucky with good lighting or a good pose, but it’s
Headshot Photograph by Yasmeen Anderson
unlikely that the lighting, pose and level of relaxation will all be there. A good photographer will move you around in different poses, ask you how your body would naturally position itself so it comes from you and then adjust it so that it highlights or minimizes as necessary. That’s the magic and you don’t even realize why a photographer may be putting you in a certain pose, but THEY know and that’s the most important thing. That expertise will show in the photos.
I could go on about why headshots and portraits should be done with professionals, but I will leave you with these final thoughts: We are all individuals that have different strengths. Work with a professional who can accentuate your strengths and walk away with photographs that are you…truly you.
Posted in Actor Headshots, Actor Headshots, Bar/Bas Mitzvahs, Corporate Events, Corporate Headshots, Events, Family Photo Sessions, Headshots, Model Photos, Parties, Portraits
Also tagged choosing a photographer, find a photographer, Headshot Photographer, new jersey headshot photographer, new jersey headshots, new jersey portrait photographer, new york headshots, why you should use a professional photographer, Yasmeen Anderson Photography
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M is for Model
I had a fantastic and fun session with a beautiful fun model yesterday. In real life, she is so fun-loving and engaging, which apparently translates into her being wickedly photogenic. We did a number of scenarios – black background, white background, and outdoors and a number of wardrobe changes. All in all, it was a very successful session. Enjoy!
Posted in Headshots, Model Photos, Portraits
Also tagged Model Headshots, model photos, nyc photographer, Yasmeen Anderson Photography, yasmeen photo
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Empty Backyard
It’s important to me to make sure I’m photographing something, anything as much as I can. My session today was postponed due to a sick client, so I wanted to photograph something else. I spent a few minutes in my backyard this afternoon looking for some cool textures to photograph. Here is what I found:
Posted in Uncategorized
Also tagged backyard photographs, landscape photographs, nyc photographer, tree photographs
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Northern NJ / NYC Headshot Photography Video
I just created a video highlighting some of my headshot photography. I made it to help create some awareness around this portion of my business which I’m very excited about. Headshots are great. I love working with people to get photos that capture who they are or what they want to project to the viewer. We always have fun with music and laughter in the sessions. That’s an important part of the process to make sure the client is comfortable and having a grand ol’ time. I’ve been loving it so far and am looking forward to many more fabulous sessions.
The video is now on youtube, check it out:
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