For indoor shooting she utilizes a Fuji Finepix S3 Pro, which produces a very detailed 12 megapixel picture, and electronic flash units with a variety of light diffusing, flattering accessories. She also has Nikon and Mamiya film cameras available if necessary. Her technique with clients is to get them to relax, let down their guard, and forget they are having their headshots taken, so that the future viewers of the pictures taken that day will see and make a connection to that person on a human level as opposed to solely viewing them as a commodity, or "just another face in the crowd". This also helps avoid a posed, or "deer in the headlights" look, resulting in a more spontaneous, connected, and warm look in most cases. She will give directions on the best ways for clients to pose, and will recommend symetrically proceeding, (getting both sides of a persons face), as well as shooting from a variety of heights and angles.

She utilizes her most important assets which are: a sense of humor, a discriminating eye, a passion for life and art, an empathic sense of human psychology, and a lot of patience! She tailors her sessions to the specific needs of the client regardless of her personal aesthetic, although she does inform clients of the conventional wisdom regarding styling and makeup, i.e. stay away from wild textures and busy patterns which would distract from you, the subject; keep makeup looking natural and light; avoid jewelry and ornaments which may also interfere with the viewer's perspective of your personal attributes and potential (unless you would like a character shot). She has an experienced female hair and makeup artist (who is also very friendly and easy going) available as well.

Mary Ann has studied at the International Center of Photography in New York, spent a year training with an established headshot photographer (Mickey Pantano.com) and has studied with Lois Greenfield . She has a Bachelor's degree from Hunter College in Psychology and Art , and is a figurartive oil painter as well, which also aids in looking for the best composition and perspective of her subjects. She has a background in computer graphics which allows her to retouch images should this be necessary, or create comp cards and other graphic design projects. She also studied at the Art Student's League, The New School, The School of Visual Arts, and the New York Academy of Art. She has three studio mascots: two Pomeranian dogs, Orpheus and Kali, and a talking African Grey parrot, Faust. Animal lovers will be thrilled, but if the client desires, they can all be relocated to another area during the shoot.