The other week, I realized that my old headshots had become an absurdity.

They were from three years ago, which on the one hand isn't that long ago, and on the other hand, is another lifetime. In them, I had short, dark hair, different glasses, and was wearing a LOT of makeup. At the time, I thought it would be fun to get glammed up for my photo shoot. And it was... but the resulting pictures never quite looked how I really look.

Old headshots
By Amber Marlow

Then time passed, and in addition to the fact that I don't really wear that much makeup... my hair changed. My glasses changed. I got older.

The old photos... they just didn't look like me. Maybe they never had, but now, they really didn't.

If someone hired me after seeing the old pics, then saw my little face pop up on our first FaceTime or Skype call, let alone at an in-person meeting — they'd be like, "Um, who is this blond(ish), long-haired, make-up free human in front of me?"

It wasn't just that clients might be confused. It was also that I felt like I was showing a version of myself to the world that was untrue. And that didn't feel good.

I'm casual. I wanted to own that.

I don't usually style my hair, or wear much makeup; I wanted to own that, too.

I wanted people to feel, when they met me, like they'd already seen me online. I strive in my writing to let you "see" who I really am, and I wanted photos that did the same..

So when my friend (and amazing photographer) Katie was in town, I asked her if she might snap a few shots of me while we were walking around the Village.