When he finished high school, Balsamo started working for a local camera store, which gave him the opportunity to pass along his business card to potential customers. Using his parents' home as an office, Balsamo started out photographing weddings and portraits during the early 1980s. By 1987 he had outgrown his parents' basement and moved into an office in Barrington with room for a studio. In 1996 Balsamo dropped his wedding photography business and concentrated on studio portraits. I was even doing more portraitures than I am now.
Eyes are the windows to the soul.
Balsamo provides families with an initial consultation in which he aims to learn more about them and the kind of photo they want. Far from the cookie-cutter portraits of families standing in a line facing the camera, Balsamo's knack lies in capturing a natural, not posed, look. Instead of scanning over dozens of tiny proofs, Balsamo presents his proofs by projecting their image onto a screen that allows clients to get a better feeling for which photos have the greatest impact. After photos are selected for enlargement, Balsamo also provides a framing service. With Thomas, it's obvious he loves what he does.