The Irony Wasn't Lost on Me
Here's something I love about my job: the irony.
I showed up to photograph a landscaping company on a gray, snowy January morning in Pittsburgh. The kind of morning where your hands are cold before you even step out of the car. The kind of morning where you look outside and think, "yeah, nobody's going anywhere today."
And yet - there we were. Inside. Warm. Making some of the best headshots I've ever delivered.
That's the JML Landscape Management story.
It Started With a Headshot I Took of Lauren
Earlier in 2025, I photographed Lauren at a professional conference. That's where we met. A few months later, I reached out to see if her company might want to update their team photos.
Her response was honest and refreshing: "We don't usually do this. It's not something we've budgeted for."
And then she kept going. She described what they currently had on their website - inconsistent cell phone photos against a tan wall, group shots from 10-15 years ago featuring people who no longer worked there. A sales team that was growing. A brand-new website that deserved better.
By the next day, she had talked to her president. He was in. New year, new budget, new headshots.
The Setup: One Location, Three Branch Groups, 29 People
JML has three offices around Pittsburgh. We brought everyone to the Fox Chapel location - their main office - and cleared out the back conference room to build the studio.
29 people. Three separate group shots by branch. Three hours from setup to final image selection.
One thing that doesn't show up in the final photos: most of these people did not want to be photographed. Lauren told me going in that the team was nervous. Some were flat-out resistant.
That's actually pretty normal. In my experience, about 95% of people tell me they're "not photogenic" before we even start. I've heard it thousands of times. And every single time, I think the same thing: that's not a you problem. That's a photographer problem - and I'm about to fix it.
The Background Decision (And Why It Matters More Than You Think)
JML has a distinctive brand identity - deep greens and blues tied to their legacy as a landscaping company. Lauren mentioned their president wanted the headshots to reflect that.
Here's the challenge: shooting directly on a colored background - especially green - creates color wash on people's faces. Our skin naturally carries green and yellow tones, and when you put that against a green wall, things get muddy fast. Skin tone accuracy is a non-negotiable for me.
So we shot everyone on a neutral background and handled the color replacement in post. The result? Crisp, accurate skin tones with a background that perfectly matches their brand - and a consistent look across all 29 employees that will actually hold up when they add new hires down the road.
Speaking of which - we're now their ongoing photographer for new hires. No more one-off sessions that never quite match the rest of the team.
The Morning After
Lauren emailed me the next morning.
"You have received nothing but glowing reviews from my team on your professionalism, your humor, and overall photography skills."
That's the line that gets me every time. Not because of the compliment - but because of the word humor. Because that means the room was loose. People were laughing. The person who walked in not wanting to be photographed walked out with a photo they actually love.
That's the whole game.
What Happened Next Surprised Even Me
A little while after the session, JML posted on LinkedIn. A full grid of headshots. A shoutout. 29 people getting their moment.
I didn't see that coming. And honestly? That's one of the best kinds of surprises in this business.
The photos are now living everywhere - on their website, on individual LinkedIn profiles, in sales proposals, and in birthday posts and employee spotlights across their social channels. That's the thing about investing in great headshots: they don't just sit in a folder. They work for you, in a dozen directions at once, long after the session is over.
The Takeaway for Companies Like JML
If your team headshots are inconsistent, outdated, or straight-up missing - that's costing you. Not just in aesthetics. In trust, in credibility, in the first impression every potential client makes before they ever pick up the phone.
JML didn't have a plan for headshots, let alone a budget. They made both - and now they have a photo library that's actively selling their company for them every single day.
That's not a memory. That's a return on investment.
