A New Chapter, at 72
Portraits for a 72-year-old just getting back out there — and a reminder that every story deserves great photos, at every age.
A Portrait Session for a New Chapter
There are shoots you plan for weeks and shoots that show up as pleasant surprises. Jay's session was somewhere in between — a straightforward call ("I need some good photos for my dating profile") that turned into one of the most joyful afternoons I've had behind the camera all year.
The Brief
Jay is 72. He's charming, sharp, quick with a joke, and — as of this year — back on the market. He'd been putting off getting real photos taken because, in his words, everything on his phone made him look like he was about to fall over. He'd finally decided to fix that.
The brief was simple: portraits for a dating profile. Something honest but flattering. Something that captured the person you'd actually meet, not a version of him that Instagram would want.
The Session
We spent an afternoon working through it. A change of clothes or two. Some indoor, some outdoor. Coffee in hand for at least the first hour because these things always start awkward and the coffee helps.
What I love about photographing someone at 72 — versus, say, 22 — is that they've already worked out who they are. There's no performance. The camera catches what's actually there. Confidence, humor, a certain unbothered ease. Jay had all of that in abundance.
Somewhere between the laughs and the takes, we both fell a little in love with the whole project.
The Point
Portraits aren't just for weddings and headshots and corporate profiles. Sometimes the best sessions are the ones people book because they're standing at the edge of something new — a chapter, a decision, a version of themselves they want to see reflected back. And when the person in front of the camera is genuinely happy to be there, the pictures tell you.
Jay's dating profile is up. I hope everyone he wants to hear from finds him.
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