Norwest Venture Partners, based in Palo Alto, isn’t your typical private equity firm—and they didn’t want typical portraits. They brought me in to photograph their entire team: advisors, investors, portfolio services, and even founders of the companies they’ve backed. The goal? To move beyond polished smiles and corporate clichés and create images that actually feel like the people behind the brand—sharp, collaborative, founder-focused, and human.

​

The project came together through Brand Navigation, led by Bill Chiaravalle, who reimagined Norwest’s brand identity with Lisa Ames and Jill Melchionda as a clean, modern, and energetic design system. I was engaged to ensure the visuals didn’t just match the new branding—they elevated it. What we created together was a portrait series that blends honesty with sophistication, confidence with warmth, and a little unexpected fun.

​

Photography often gets overlooked as just a “nice to have.” But in this case, it became a central force in how Norwest shows up in the world—across their new website, internal materials, and far beyond. With the steady support of the marketing team at Norwest, I had the freedom to do what I do best: create space for people to show up as themselves.
 

In a time when AI can generate images in seconds, it’s easy to question the role of a photographer. But Norwest understood the difference. They didn’t want placeholders—they wanted presence. They wanted to be seen. And I believe we captured exactly that.