About Anthony S. Torres | Corporate & Headshot Photographer

I've Sat on the Other Side of the Brief

Before I was a photographer, I was in marketing agencies, working as a producer and creative director. I briefed photographers, reviewed selects, and pushed back on delivery after delivery because the images weren't usable for what the campaign needed.

A designer needs negative space on the right side of a frame so a headline can live there. A web team needs a version of the hero shot where the subject isn't dead center, because the layout won't work. A marketing manager needs photos that actually reflect what the business feels like, not just what the location looks like. I made those requests for years and rarely got what I asked for.

When I transitioned to photography full-time, I brought all of that frustration with me and turned it into a process. Every session I do now starts with the question I needed answered back then: "Where are your images going to be used?"

Why That Question Changes Everything

That answer changes how I frame you. It changes the backgrounds we choose. It changes whether we shoot tight or with room to breathe. It changes what you wear. It changes how many looks we build into the session. It determines whether your designer will be able to actually use the photos, or whether they'll be working around them.

No competitor in this market asks that question at the start of a session. Most photographers ask what you want to look like. I ask what you need the images to do.

In Photography Since 2003

I've been photographing professionally since 2003. I'm a Certified Professional Photographer (CPP) and a Professional Photographers of America (PPA) member. My work spans headshots, personal branding, commercial and marketing photography, product, food and beverage, and fine art portraiture across my family and boudoir divisions.

I'm a New York native who relocated to Wake Forest, NC. I operate out of a studio in Zebulon, a few minutes outside of Wake Forest, and serve the entire NC Triangle: Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary, Clayton, Garner, and beyond.

What Clients Consistently Say

The thing I hear most often after a corporate session is that the consultation itself was the most useful photography-related conversation they'd ever had. The second most common thing I hear: they didn't expect to feel so relaxed during the actual session.

Both of those things are by design.

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Credentials

Certified Professional Photographer (CPP), Professional Photographers of America
PPA member
In business since 2003
A.S.T. Photos LLC, established 2012, Wake Forest, NC
Former marketing agency producer & creative director
Member, Zebulon Chamber of Commerce
Member, Wake Forest Chamber of Commerce
Member, Rolesville Chamber of Commerce
Studio: Zebulon, NC
Serving the full NC Triangle

What CPP Certification Means for You

The Certified Professional Photographer credential is issued by the Professional Photographers of America and requires demonstrated technical mastery, a rigorous image review process, and ongoing continuing education. Fewer than 3% of working photographers hold it.

In practical terms, it means the technical quality of your images is not a variable. Lighting, color accuracy, exposure, post-processing: you're working with someone who has been formally evaluated on all of it. That shows up in the final product.

The Approach in Practice

I shoot tall. I leave negative space. I frame for designers, not just for the subject. When I'm photographing an executive, I'm thinking about how that image is going to look next to a headline in a press release, not just how it looks on its own.

For personal branding clients, I'm thinking about what image stops the scroll on LinkedIn versus what looks credible on a speaking profile versus what reads well in a blog post header. Those are different images, and I build sessions to produce all of them from a single day.

For commercial clients, I'm planning the library before we pick up the camera. I identify the use cases, the campaign assets, the website sections, the ad formats, and reverse-engineer the session to fill those needs. The way an art director would plan a production, because I was one.

About Anthony