This week on The All Worlds Traveller, I’m proud to show off my friends Erin Gallagher and Edd Fairman in the Golden Age of the Silver Screen session that was part of their personal brand shoot in February 2026.
Erin, Edd, and I have known each other for many years. I’ve done several projects with each of them, most notably with Erin, who has worked on Distant Era projects including The People of Light and Shadow and Gods and Heroes of the Aegean. Erin was the first person to pay me a professional wage for my photography work and has filled in to do makeup for clients when necessary.
Taking Care of Business
Our session began with a round of fun media images for Edd in the red suit he wears as a professional magician. We snapped through dozens (hundreds) of shots of Edd doing fun, wacky expressions while Erin was in the makeup chair (with Jacque Bischoff doing makeup). Erin needed some quick, updated headshots, as well as full body head-to-toe shots for her acting work.
Clowning Around with Edd
Once we’d done all of the important shots for Erin and Edd’s respective businesses, we switched over into art mode. Jennifer Mohr did Erin’s hair for the Silver Screen section of our shoot, while Edd hammed it up in front of the camera and gave dozens of expressions and poses.
The Jazz Singer
When Erin was ready, she came into frame. Erin and Edd had brought a mic that looked like it was from the period we were trying to evoke. I let Jacque choose a gobo and then arranged the gobo’s circle pattern on the left side of my shot, like stage lights, while Erin performed some jazz singing for us. We were thrilled with the result, which looked different from any of the Silver Screen setups we’d done before.
That’s a Wrap
We finished off our Silver Screen session with shots of Erin and Edd together, some sweet, some funny, some where they’re cracking each other up. Then we wrapped and called it a night.
We accomplished a lot in a relatively short time, thanks to efficiency and teamwork and years of friendship and collaboration. My expectation had been a much longer, more intense session with multiple backgrounds and headshot looks. Fortunately, however, we were all very mission oriented, E&E knew what they wanted, and so we made that, resulting in a session that was less intense, less costly, and more breezy and fun.
A few months later, Erin and I followed up with another personal brand session showing her at an office downtown doing tarot at corporate parties (which is something you can hire her to do!). She’ll use these shots to promote her business on her website and in her marketing materials.
It’s a pleasure working with old and trusted friends. There’s a shorthand for everything and a comfort and familiarity that makes the whole experience more like an extended hangout than a photo session. These are my favorite kinds of sessions, and I’m grateful to Erin and Edd for their continued friendship and collaboration over all these years.
