MEET TIM.

Tim Coburn picked up a camera at 15 and never really put it down, even when life took detours through morning radio, IT, and a brief but memorable stint in Douala, Cameroon teaching photography to kids who had never held a camera before.

Twenty years and 10,000 clients later, he runs one of Washington DC's most recognized headshot and branding studios out of Fairfax, Virginia. His subjects have included Tina Fey, Jerry Seinfeld, Stephen Colbert, Nancy Pelosi, and Pete Buttigieg. His corporate clients include Dell, Facebook, The Washington Post, Georgetown Law, and Microsoft. He has shot on location in Africa and South America, creating image libraries for nonprofits across six countries.

He started in fashion in New York and Miami. He opened his Fairfax studio in 2012. He has been trusted by the same clients for decades — which, in this business, is the only award that actually matters.

What makes the work different isn't the gear or the lighting setups, though those are dialed in. It's that Tim has an unusual ability to make people comfortable in front of a camera. Executives who hate having their photo taken. Professionals who have never liked a single image of themselves. They all say the same thing afterward. You can read their reviews if you don't believe it.