It suddenly struck Steven that his headshot was 15…maybe 20? years old, when he was asked to speak at a prestigious conference in Boston. We hustled to get him into the studio.
His daughter, Leah, arranged the whole thing. She is the Special Projects and Events consultant at Congregation Beth Jacob, and through my wedding work at the venue, she knew I was a photographer. She warned me that her father is hilarious.
As he entered, I asked about what he does, and what our goal was. He told me he works with US Customs and Border Patrol. “Constantly controversial…” I mused. He showed me an example from a colleague.
The conversation spun from there. He was far more interested in discussing his family than his work, which has been in this neighborhood since 1903! I learned about his dramatically different twins, and we discovered the best way to get his twinkle in his eye, was for him to tell me jokes.
But the biggest smile of all was mine, when he texted after receiving his image. Not just the self deprecating jokes, but the top prize: a compliment from his wife.