We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alex M Wolff. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alex M below.

Alex M, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

Part of my practice on the commercial side is headshot photography through my HeadShotRescue.com brand. An organization called Executive Consultants of New York reached out for help with their graduating class. ECNY trains people in the skills necessary for a successful job search. One of those skills is creating a dynamic Linke-In profile. A professional headshot is considered one of the most impactful components of the profile.

With a tough job market, there were 55 candidates in the program. The Microsoft store in the Walt Whitman Mall in Huntington Station, NY agreed to host the photo sessions, In a 2-hour time frame, we managed to create great professional headshots and assist people in their job search. It was a thrill to see the candidates posting my headshots on their linked In profiles, and then adding their new jobs to the profile.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Photography was not in my blood, but I received my first camera in 1964 at the age of 6, and the fascination has never faded. I have been taking and creating photos for a very long time. Photography was one of my studies at Florida Institute of Technology where I majored in Oceanographic Technology.

Photography is a passion I never gave up while I spent most of my career in the corporate world working on Wall Street, then the beauty and fragrance industries. Although it was a side gig, I was doing portraits and weddings, as well as having my work in the occasional art gallery. Business allowed me to travel and see the world. It was a later-in-life trip to Italy and the Vatican Museum when I was struck by the importance of art in history,

Up until 2008, I was very much a capture photographer. Get it right in the camera or throw in away. While photographing yacht races in Oyster Bay, NY, I had taken two ok pictures, neither of them special. I had just bought and needed to learn Photoshop, so I played with the images, combining them into a single artwork, which went on to win the Illustration of the Year from Professional Photographers of New York and Town of Oyster Bay Environmental Photography People’s Choice award.

From that point on, I have evolved from the Capture mentality to a Create mentality. Every time I click the shutter. I consider the possibilities of how I can adjust and create something new.

Opportunities to create art are all around us. After a visit to Jackson Pollock’s Studio (R) I created a collection of 25 limited edition artworks, transformed from photos of the paint left on Podllock’s floor. To date, that is some of my best abstract captures, that required a licensing agreement to be put in place before offering them for sale.

In addition to the art, I capture underwater images while diving around the world. A natural extension of my interest in oceanography combined with my love of photography. Being based in NY, the underwater opportunities are limited, and most of my work is commercial.

Personal branding and headshot photography for corporations, non-profits, and actors is the base of my work, with food and product photography as close second. Long Island is also a beautiful place for family portraits, which leads to my next favorite project. After photographing the annual gala for Habitats For Humanity, I am donating family wall portraits for the 200 families on Long Island that have received houses from Habitat.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I have been told by many return clients they feel I am not just a hired camera, but their partner throughout our engagement, and beyond.

Each client has a different need, I learn what that need is, and create a style that suits their end goal. I put my ego aside and help where I can.

Frequently, I hear I am especially easy to work with compared to other photographers they may have used. My general philosophy on that is life is too short to work with asses so don’t be one.

Most importantly, though, I underpromise and over-deliver. The quality is always spot-on on, client-centric, and I try to deliver something beyond their expectations.

I have a passion for working with non-profits that directly help people, and those projects are very visible in the community. My experience has been that people like to support businesses that support their causes, and this has proven true in my community.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice

NFTs are an interesting phenomenon, especially as they are tied so closely to blockchain and alternate currencies. At their heart, they try to bring value to an artist but I think they are not perfect for the buyers. With a huge scam market that has been built around NFTs, they can be very high risk to the artist. I often wonder if they are even necessary.

NFTs, In my opinion, are just license and ownership agreements and are rarely created in a way that brings the full value to buyer or seller. In reality, is there anything an NFT does that can not be satisfied with a simple sales or licensing agreement?

If I could really trust the NFT market, which includes all of the people with access to your wallet, and blockchain manipulation, I would look for an NFT smartly written to include proper licensing and usage, as well as restrictions, that would allow a buyer to make money from the NFT while still owning it. But I think caveat emptor was written for NFTs.

Contact Info:

• Website: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/concierge_photography_ny
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alex.m.wolff.73/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/concierge-photography/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUaVNglZGnt-u0ZZolxkt1w
• Other: www.HeadShotRescue.com

Image Credits
All images (C) Alex M. Wolff HeadShotRescue.com