Sometimes headshot and personal branding isn’t supposed to be suit-and-tie, all buttoned up, clean shaven, TIME-cover-esque. Sometimes they are supposed to look like you got up and walked off of the Art of Manliness blog and sat down next door in a photo studio. 

Xander Ortiz, local musician, founder and president of Georgetown’s Beard Club, and owner of Brewtastic Soaps graciously sat for a portrait for me over Easter weekend (I told him I needed to ‘pad my portfolio with some dudes’ but also he’s pretty cool, so there’s that) and, as most guys are surprised to discover, he was a natural. 

We created some solid images together that we’re both proud of.

And also this new backdrop is dope.