good enough for heashot?

J

john818

Well-known member
Hi there everyone,i want to start doing headshots,so im practice on how to light the face,here is an example of what i did,this is me.i took the photo myself,i know the background isnt good,and im not a model lol.what do you guys think of the lighting?i tried my best to make it look natural
any criticism is appropriated


headhots1smallcopy.jpg
 
I think you need to work on the poses because this doesn't work. As far as the lighting goes, well, it is flat. If that is what you were going for then you accomplished it.
 
ya i know,im not a model,just was doin some test for lighting,well ya most headshots are flat lighting
so i was tryin to get that,thanks Jeremy
 
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I really hate to be the one to bring this up... but I know EVERYONE who looks at this is thinking the same thing:

GOOD GOD MAN!!! TAKE A LAWNMOWER TO THOSE THINGS!! THEY'RE OUTTA CONTROL!!!!!!

I can't concentrate on lighting... all I see are eyebrows.


OK... now that that's out of the way, what are you using to light this? Like Jeremy stated, it's flat. No real contrast, and the pose is very unflattering. It just emphasizes the nose (no matter who's in front of the camera). Are you physically holding the camera? get someone else to stand in for you next time, work on adding some contrast in the lighting, and work on the pose. Thats my first recommendation...

Good luck, and I hope I don't come off like too much of a jerk. If someone has bad breath, I tell them... it's just the way I am. I'd expect nothing less from others, either.:beer:
 
I'm no headshot expert but this one doesn't work for me. The lighting is not flattering to the subject. The subject is not engaging, no personality in the pose. I don't like the composition, for me it's somehow claustrophobic. Maybe Alveraz will drop by and give you some constructive critique as it's an area he seems to understand well. On the good side, you've gotten your first headshots done, you had the guts to share it, it's all uphill from here:)
 
I can tell you used a Wide angle lens closeup on your face. You want to use the longest lens possible on a head shot. they are more flattering on facial features.
 
haha thank ryan for that beautifull comment,well ya i totally get the pose sucks big time,ya i took it myself with a wide angle lens,it was kinda hard keeping it still and smile at the same time lol,i just wanted to know how the lighting was,cuz ive seen headshots where the lighting is flat,thats what i was trying to mimic,but ill work on it some more and ill find someone to stand infront of the camera lol.thanks guys

ill put up another photo as soon as i could find someone lol
 
I actually don't mind the way the light is covering the face, it just looks a little hard to me. I don't know if it was a hot light or a bare flash, but next time you might want to use a softbox or bounce umbrella. Make sure it is far enough away to provide a nice even soft light. Only other suggestion with someone who has dark hair, or really almost anyone, is to provide a hair light or have the sun behind them.

Then there is everything else that everyone else said. Next time shoot at 70mm at least, hopefully more in the 125mm range. Also, don't have the head take up so much of the frame. Make sure you have some background showing in the frame. The background should provide contrast to the subject. It should be some what recognizable but not distracting, and make sure it is out of focus. Also use a lens that will provide it with a nice bokeh.

Always good to have that first attempt under your belt, so take everyone else's advice as well and you'll be on your way.
 
i just had a reflecter bouncing on my face
ya your right,thanks
ill do better with all this in mind
 
Like others have mentioned, try to shoot on a longer lens, it will make your shot a little more enticing to look at. Also try to get a little more "pop" from your background, by either back lighting, or shooting against a background with a different color. Here is an example from some shots I took recently.

Chelsea-1.jpg
 
john818 said:
ya i know,im not a model,just was doin some test for lighting,well ya most headshots are flat lighting
so i was tryin to get that,thanks Jeremy
Click to expand...

Hi Jeremy,

Great start! It's good to know headshots are not as easy as everyone thinks (or I'd be out of business). It's funny, most folks look at professional headshots and think, "I can do that." Vindicated at last!

But fear not. Though it's not that easy, with a few adjustments you'll be well on your way. Here's a few thoughts, take what works for you, lose the rest. I'm still a newbie myself, but I have a successful business shooting headshots exclusively...

Above you mentioned, "headshots are flat lighting". How dare you, sir! :) That's like saying, sushi is just raw fish. I would suggest lighting is at least 75% of the whole headshot process (maybe more) and the ingredients and flair for what is "not seen" is vital to each shot's success. What you think is flat, is better characterized as "even".

Flat is without depth or texture, "even" is maintaining a "pop" without drawing the eye to the obvious lighting technique (or lack of). Separation! I never shoot flat but insure the subject is well lit. You must however keep shadow-play in mind at all times. For instance if I have some extra pounds I need to lose on the subject, shadows can be your best friend, and if you have the actor that tends to audition for antagonist roles, shadows come in to play there as well.

On the flipside, if I have an actor that's looking for straight commercial or sit-com headshots, the "even" well lit gameplan comes into play. I try to bring out the summer, airy, playful or possibly warm look. This take a good amount of light (sometimes). Every one of my headshots though filled by flash is done in natural light. Quick tip, use the natural light, but keep them out of the sun. I love me a good corridor or hall that is lit by natural light from one end or the other. Shade rules.

It's important that you think more critically per subject, keeping his or her objectives in mind. There is no, point-and-shoot with headshots, it's actually quite involved (though you shouldn't know that by the look of the headshot).

Be careful with that lens, many folks love their 50mm or 85mm for headshots but don't realize how delicate they are when it comes to distance and facial features. Keep two things in mind. If the subject already has large facial features, like nose, chin, etc, then you need to adjust your distance. I would suggest that lens for your 3/4 shots, as these are an important standard for commercial headshots.

The second consideration is, try to keep your primes for the second half of the shoot if possible. With your longer lenses you have the opportunity to stand back, give the actor room and let them warm up to you from a wider distance. Later in the session they should be relaxed enough and trusting enough that you can "close in" with a 50 or 85 and really get up in their business. Make sense?

With all of the craziness involving light, posing, colors, background, etc., we forget the most important thing, the subject!!! That's your primary objective, getting them to loosen up and be themselves!

I have a hundered more suggestions but I need to keep the trolls in here that might be from LA out of my feeding ground, if you get my drift. I have some pretty cool tricks I use, but you'll have to PM me for those ;)

One last note, don't take the background for granted! I've learned that the best background is the one that makes an impact on the direction of the headshot without being distracting. This is a delicate balance that is screwed up by 9 out of 10 headshots (guilty as charged).

Your first priority is, how do I insure the Agent or CD is drawn to this actor? The basic primers to accomplish this are, draw out the actors strengths, draw the Agent or CD to their eyes, maintain balanced but effective lighting & composition and lastly, garnish your headshot with the most effective, poignant (debatable) and least distracting background possible (one of the hardest parts).

A simple start to this is finding the butter or bokeh(sp). That's a good starting point, separate them from the background. If the shot calls for them to be against the background, avoid the straight-on shot, find an angle that draws the eye to them.

Watch those colors of the background! Remember, it's a garnish, what accentuates the overall image? Consider the lines and eye direction. Your eye naturally moves along lines or certain textures. How can I use this background to swing the Agent's eye directly to the actors eyes?

Look at your example, that dull pasty white nothingness in the background is exactly how I feel when I look at this image. It's in my subconscious and it has nothing to do with the subject! Just something to think about, this is far from a rule. One more quick tip, check out your catch-light, see how it's just about on top of his pupil? I would suggest a more off-center catch-light, just off the pupil, not on top of it.

I bet you never considered all this, right? Welcome to the world of headshots. This is only the very tip of the iceberg. Remember one more thing, "less is more". Something you've heard before but very important when it comes to headshots.

Good luck!

Caveat: This is all subjective stuff and purely an opinion of a self-taught photographer with less than one year experience. I literally picked up a camera for the first time about 8 or 9 months ago. Keep that in mind ;)
 
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Nope, I thought he said headshots are normally "flat". That's how I interpreted it anyway. Didn't even notice your post, I'm not very aware sometimes :)
 
Alvarez thats an awesome post you've made on headshots. I'm working on my people photography skills right now and you really are an inspiration. Cant believe you only just picked up a camera less than a year ago. Anyways thanks for the insightful post and taking the time to make it.
 
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