[TheOtherHobbes]

I've seen plenty of awe-inspiring photography across many genres, but I have literally never seen a corporate headshot or a dating photo that does anything like this.

The closest not-really-corporate shots are probably the official NASA pre-launch astronaut portraits, which do indeed do a great job of humanising the astronauts.

But as soon as you see someone in a suit, you can pretty much guarantee they're going to be smiling a little too hard while trying and failing to hide that they're stiff, stressed, and guarded. Or possibly slightly dazed. Or overcompensating by trying to look in-control and dominant.

Grey, white or black studio background, corner window shot, corridor shot, water cooler shot, in-focus background, out-of-focus background - none of it seems to help.