Headshot photoshoot with Jim

Jim’s photoshoot with me was a real mix of emotions.

We had a lot of laughs – Jim is incredibly witty, with an appealing self-deprecating flavour to his humour – but we also dived into some deeper and more emotive topics, too.

He’s incredibly engaged, with an interest in every topic that came up and an attentive warmth in his personal interactions.

It’s no wonder, then, that Jim is a psychotherapist.

He’s particularly interested in people’s innate ability to grow mentally and emotionally over a lifetime, and is trained in the use of person-centred therapy and hypnosis to help clients overcome barriers to self-actualisation.

However, this is just one of Jim’s many skills.

Jim studied French and German at Oxford where he met his future wife.

By sheer coincidence they had both grown up fairly close to each other in Manchester, so had lots in common straight away.

However, it wasn’t until after university that they reconnected and their friendship blossomed into a marriage and a family.

Now Jim is using his own education to help his son learn French; although Jim tells me that his teenager is already better than he is!

Jim also hopes to find some time to return to his love of fiction writing.

He has previously published several short stories, as well as securing an agent for his first novel.

His genre of choice would be a comedic thriller, an intriguing duo of edge-of-your-seat danger combined with enough self-awareness to not take itself too seriously.

In another life, Jim may have become an actor. He loved drama at school and university, but wanted a career with a little more stability.

So instead of performing Shakespeare, he is helping others to process and thrive through the ups and downs of real life.

Because, as the Bard himself once wrote, ‘All the world’s a stage’, and every one of us needs help and support at different points as we navigate the different Acts of life, and the various roles we play in it.

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If you’re looking for professional headshots in the Oxfordshire area, please get in contact.

Sarah Plater AMPA is an award-winning qualified, certified professional portrait photographer based in Bicester, Oxfordshire.

She is the Master Photographers Association Young Families Portrait Photographer of the Year 2022 and Newborn Photographer of the Year 2019 for the Central Region (covering Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire) and achieved a Studio Portrait Finalist Award at the 2023 National Competition.