Recently, Brenda and I had the pleasure of working with Roderick Jammel Halsey on photos and CD artwork for his new CD, “The Tablet That Walks”

Roderick and his beautiful and talented wife Jolie came to our studio with a well-thought out plan — Roderick had previsualized the look and style he wanted for his photos, and all Brenda and I had to do was turn those ideas into real live photos. Here are some of the images we created together:

Another recent collaboration was with jazz musician Dana Marcine, producing cover photography and promo pix for her new album, “Crossing Lights.”

Dana had a great railroad concept in mind, and she guided us to the perfect location to evoke the exotic glory days of travel by rail:

We LOVED working with Roderick and Dana, and wish them great success with their new releases. Please click on the links above and check out their music!

Last spring, we had a great music photoshoot with up and coming “tween” music artist Karina. We loved listening to the tasty tracks she had just laid down the day before while we captured her happy style on camera!

Of course, we can’t show you our recent music photography without going back in time and showing you some blasts from the past. In late 2003, I shot this image of Jason Crigler at The Casbah in San Diego, when he visited there backing up Marshall Crenshaw. Jason liked the image so much he chose it for the cover of his upcoming CD, “Down Like Hail.” Little did anyone know that just a few months later, while playing on-stage in NY, Jason would suffer a near-devasting brain hemorrhage caused by an Arteriovenous Malformation, or AVM — an abnormal collection of blood vessels in his brain. You can read more on NPR’s site about Jason’s struggle by clicking here. Jason’s own web site is here.

At about the same time I shot Jason’s album cover, I was working with several talented independent San Diego artists. I shot the images for the tray insert and back cover of The Coyote Problem’s “Wire” thanks to the encouragement of guitarist Peter Bolland.

Another artist I had the privilege of shooting at about the same time was Gregory Page. I shot some images he used on CD packaging, and we also did some great promo shots:

After moving to Albany NY, a chance attendance at a Searson summer concert on the Empire Plaza led to working with the hot Canadian band on photos that ultimately ended up on the cover of their Searson “Live” album.

There are a lot more stories to tell and pictures to share, but I’m out of time for now. Check back in a couple weeks for an expanded version of this story. Until then, check out some samples of my concert photography in the slideshow below.

The headshot photography of Paul Grupp and Brenda Tompkins of Upstate Photographers in Troy, NY.
All images Copyright © Paul Grupp. All rights reserved. Music used by permission under license.

Our comp cards are industry standard 5.5 x 8.5 inches, printed on thick 110-lb cover stock, glossy on both front and back. Currently, we have three standard designs — use one of them, and there is no setup or design charge — you pay just for the printing.  Reprints of the same card (without any changes) are even cheaper!

Front – Comp Card Style 1.

Back – Comp Card Style 1.

Front – Comp Card Style 2.

Back – Comp Card Style 2.

Front – Comp Card Style 3.

Back – Comp Card Style 3.

We can help you pick the best images to include on your cards, or you can just give us the filenames you want, your contact info and stats, and we’ll get them made up for you. We always put a preview up on our web site for your approval before sending the order to the printer. You can see our current prices by clicking here.

Spring is coming, and there’s no better time than now to get new headshots! To help you make up your mind, we’re offering double prints — Eight 8×10 prints, instead of just four, with all of our $149 headshot packages. This is a limited offer, subject to our availability, so don’t delay — give us a call and get on our March calendar right away! Appointments are available days, evenings, and weekends, with or without an in-studio makeup artist.

Stop the Presses! Update! Breaking News!

Book your headshot session on on a Tuesday or Thursday (day or evening) during March and receive a $10 discount on in-studio makeup from fabulous Makeup Artist Amy Elizabeth!

Call Brenda at 518-526-9970 to set up your session!

Our Actor’s headshots show you at your very best.

We understand how important it is for your headshot to accurately but attractively communicate your individuality and personality. Your headshot is your calling card, and is what agents, clients and casting directors see first.

Our complete Actor’s headshot package is only $149*, and includes all of the following:

• A relaxed photography session shot in high-resolution professional digital, at our studio, your location or any of several great outdoor locations throughout the Capital Region – your choice
• Weekday, evening, and weekend sessions available (you can check our calendar for availability of a date and time by clicking here )
• Up to three different looks (wardrobe changes)
• No fixed time limit or number of frames – we shoot until we are confident we’ve created some great headshots for you; typically we shoot around 100 frames, and most sessions last around 30 minutes. Again though, we don’t have fixed “rules,” we shoot until we have a good selection of headshots for you.
• The best images (typically around 20 or so) are uploaded as proofs to the Albany Headshots internet gallery allowing you to make a fast and easy selection of the four images you want for final retouching and printing.
• Editing and retouching of the four images you select (includes color correction,black and white conversion, straightening, cropping, blemish removal,etc.)
• Four (4) 8×10 glossy prints in your choice of b&w or color, border or borderless. Your name and contact info can be printed on the front of each print
• Prints are typically Fed Exed to you within a week of you making your selections on our website*; guaranteed 24-hr turn-around with pickup at our studio is available for a $50 additional charge
• A few days after your receive your prints, we’ll mail you a DVD containing the edited, retouched images from the shoot, plus the unedited proof images that were posted on our website. Images are delivered in high resolution, along with a usage license that allows you to print them any time, any where, without need for additional payment or permission from us.***
• See our pricelist for a complete list of options.

Makeup

Makeup and hair styling is not included in our standard package. For many kinds of headshots, especially for men, they are not required.  If you would like to have an in-studio makeup artist present at your shoot, we recommend contacting Amy Elizabeth at 917-693-1955. If you choose to have your makeup done somewhere else, make sure they don’t use any of the popular mineral-based makeups — they can make you look extremely pale under the studio lights.

Need a LOT of prints?

We offer two options for volume prints: 50 8×10′s for $119 (including Fed Ex shipping!) or 100 8×10′s for $169. Prints are your choice of glossy or matte, carefully printed and color corrected to our exacting specifications by a pro lab, checked and approved by our studio staff, and then shipped to you by Fed Ex.

* 8% NY State Sales Tax will be added to all purchases.

** If you give us your selections the same day we upload your previews. Due to unpredictable workload, if you delay making your choices, depending on when you submit them, we may not be able to immediately turn around your prints.

*** While we give you permission to make your own prints, we don’t really recommend it. Professional Headshots should be printed and checked by a professional lab, and we recommend you order your prints directly from us for the highest possible quality. We keep our reprint prices low!

OK — time for a little tough love here. We simply cannot understand why musicians spend so much time perfecting their artistry, carefully crafting their songs, rehearsing them to perfection, painstakingly recording and mixing until everything is just right, pouring their blood, sweat and tears into every live performance — and then when it’s time to represent themselves with photos, so many just grab a few snapshots somebody’s girlfriend took. That’s crazy.

Your photography defines who you are, creating the indelible images that your fans and audience remember you by. So please, please, please — hire a decent photographer to make your promo pix, CD cover shots, and all the rest. In fact, the truth is, you should hire us. It’s some of the best money you will ever spend on your music career.

Paul and Brenda have years and years of experience shooting music, and our work has appeared in newspapers, magazines, on CD covers, websites, and promo pix across the country. Yes, you actually have to pay us for our photography. But we’re not THAT expensive. We will find a way to work within any reasonable budget, and that’s a promise.

We can shoot you in live performance at anywhere from a tiny coffeehouse to the largest arena, or in your living room, recording studio, our photo studio — wherever. So call us. It’ll be the smartest thing you’ve done this week — heck, maybe even this year!

518.526.9970

Note: all photos on this page are Copyright © Paul Grupp. Please don’t steal them from me — I worked really hard to make them.

In addition to headshots, Paul and Brenda offer many other types of photography services. To learn more about our wedding, engagement, and trash-the-dress photography, please visit http://upstatephotographers.com.

To learn more about our BPix, Glamour, and Model Portfolio Photography, please visit http://mybpix.com.

A headshot is generally a photograph used for publicity and advertising purposes. A businessperson might use a headshot for a press release, a realtor might use it on their business cards. Writers use them on their websites, book covers, and magazine bios. Models, actors, musicians, TV personalities, and news people use their headshots to get work, on websites, as promotional pictures, for editorial purposes — the uses are endless! Typically a headshot is just that — a head — but sometimes, it’s a 3/4-length, or even full-length image. It all depends on the intended usage of the photo.

Another question we hear often is, “Why are you so cheap compared to the LA and NYC headshot photographers?  Well, it’s very simple — it’s the difference between the cost of doing business here and in a major metropolis. Headshot photographers in NYC and LA have to pay more for everything — studio rent, utilities, insurance, and basic cost of living are far higher than here in the Capital Region. So they must cover these higher expenses by charging you more.

We have been shooting headshots here in the Capital Region for years, and in San Diego for years before that. Our quality and service is such that clients come to us from all over the country!  We have worked with many actors, musicians, executives, politiicians and news staff, coming from NYC, Boston, Syracuse, Utica, and further. In short, we offer the quality and service of NYC headshot studios, at a fraction of their cost.

All photos Copyright © Paul Grupp. All rights reserved.

Let’s talk about some examples of the different types of headshot photography we do:

We love to do business headshots at your office, shop, or other place of business. This lets us include subtle environmental cues that help tell your story. This is a classic headshot, useful for “who we are” sections of a business website, inclusion on a business card, attachment to press releases, inclusion with an editorial story in a newspaper or magazine.

Environmental Headshot - Business

Especially for editorial usage, we often take a wider shot that is more than a “pure” headshot. Sometimes showing a little more of the environment adds interest and meaning to the photo.

Environmental Headshot - Business

Another example of a business headshot that includes even more of the environment.

Business Headshot - Studio

Sometimes, you don’t want any distractions in the photo — just you. The more formal the usage of the photo, the more formal the photo itself can be.

Corporate Headshot - Studio

A classic CEO portrait. Simple, beautiful, and it communicates a lot about who the subject is.

Political Headshot - Environmental

While we don’t post many examples publicly, we do a lot of political photography. We’ve photographed Senators, Congressmen, Judges, Prosecutors, Governors, and presidential candidates.

Model Portfolio - Environmental

Model Portfolio photography is one of our specialties — we’ve photographed fashion models, glamour models, even Playboy models! Whether you are just starting out and need to create a portfolio from scratch, or you’re a working professional needing to update your book, we can work with you to make some stunning images.

Model Portfolio - Environmental

This photo is from a session we did in both the studio and on location — a portfolio update for an established model.

Model Portfolio - Studio

This model needed some photos in a particular shirt for a local entertainment website.

Actor's Headshot - Studio

Increasingly, actors from all over the state have been coming to us for Actor’s headshots. Some, like Stanley, are well known, others are just starting out. Notice the white border and name printed on the photo. This is an option available on any of our headshot packages, and is often selected by actors.

Actor's Headshot - Studio

Another example of a headshot that is more than a headshot — sometimes, including more of the subject tells a more complete story.

Actor's Headshot - Environmental

In the spring and summer, we typically do actor’s headshots both in the studio and outdoors. This gives you the widest range of choices to select from. We have some great locations to shoot in right next to our studio; we also can shoot anywhere in the Capital Region.

Acting Headshot - Studio

Just after semester breaks, we typically get a lot of student actors — both at high school and university level. We love shooting first headshots for student actors! Our years of experience helps us put even the most nervous student at ease, and coax out those great personality traits you want to come across in your headshot.

Musician Headshot - Environmental

Musicians are a favorite specialty of ours. We love shooting musicians for promo pix, CD covers, website images, whatever!

Model Portfolio - Studio

We could go on and on – we love showing and discussing headshots. If you’re looking for some new headshots, whether business, corporate, political, actor’s, musician, or whatever — we want to shoot them for you! Drop us an email or give us a call at (518) 526-9970 to schedule your session.

Want to see more examples of our headshot photography? Click here!

All photos used in this article are Copyright © Paul Grupp. All rights reserved.

Looking to start or update your professional model’s portfolio? We’ll give your portfolio a refreshing kick in the pants with some great headshots, some basic 3/4 and full-bodyshots like an agency might ask for, and some stylish glamour or fashion shots suitable for posting on sites like Model Mayhem and One Model Place.

Model Portfolio Starter or Update: $200* (makeup not included), or $350* with professional in-studio makeup artist included.

The Modeling Portfolio package includes:

• Weekday, evening, and weekend sessions available.
• Relaxed, fun photo session with at least four looks (wardrobe changes) shot in the studio and/or outdoors (weather and season permitting)
• No fixed time limit or number of frames – we shoot until we are confident we’ve created some great portfolio images for you
• Uploading of your pictures to the Albany Headshots Model Portfolio gallery  for fast and easy selection of the images for final retouching and printing; we upload at least three images from each look we shoot (usually more)
• 12 (twelve) 8×10 prints and a CD with the 12 retouched images in hi resolution, plus a selection of the best unretouched images from the shoot in high resolution; 9×12 prints are available instead of the 8x10s for an additional $75.
• Guaranteed 24-hr turn-around wth pickup at our studio or next day (Fed EX) shipping available for $100 additional.
• Makeup and/or hair styling is not included in the $200 package, but an on-site professional makeup artist is available. For our clients who choose to have their hair and makeup done before coming to the studio, you can use a nearby spa or salon.
• See our pricelist for a complete list of options.

*8% NY State Sales Tax is added to all purchases. All packages subject to availability and scheduling; prices and packages subject to change without notice