Portrait: Should I take off my glasses?

Many times people ask me if they should take off their glasses for a photo. I always tell them no– if your wearing glasses during the photo session most likely wear them all the time. When people take them off they are uncomfortable and they squint and in general are more uncomfortable. Glasses become a part of your persona– when I’m taking a portrait I want to capture everything that makes you, you. I also personally feel glasses can add interest to the photo. I really like the reflection on Jared’s glasses in the portrait below. Because we had mixed lighting in the room the reflection from the windows is very blue while the rest of the image is made up of warmer tones. His eyes are also not obscured by the reflection, if they were it just wouldn’t work. As for taking the lenses out of the frames– just looks strange to me.