Mannequin head with realistic skin tones for lighting practice?

O

OldCorpse

Rockin the Boat
OK, this is a bit of a long shot, but maybe. I would like to buy a mannequin head or bust for experimenting with lights and lenses. So I'd like it to be as close to a real human head as possible - size, skin, hair etc. Now, I realize it's easy to get the right size and even real human hair, but skin is a big problem. Clearly, there's nothing quite like human skin, but what in your experience comes closest? Something I can judge skin tones by? Or is this crazy talk? If by some miracle such a thing exists, where can I buy one - male or female doesn't matter.
 
I dont understand how it would be all that beneficial, I tweak my camera based on the shooting situation, every sets gonna have different lighting, skin tones change based on the enviornment, makeup, colortemp, ect... so shooting a manquien in lets just say your basement with a three point setup, might need to be changed when shooting outside in daylight. Why not just adjust your camera on set to the given skin tone.
 
All true, but a special situation. I already know exactly where I'm going to be shooting. I have access to the space at all times. I know what camera, lenses, and lights I'll be using. Basically, what I want to do, is experiment with placing an actor for some fairly complex camera moving which would require lighting - I can do that way ahead of time, so when the day comes, I can have all the setups figured out ahead of time and see what the effect would be. And then I'd just use those setups with those lights, lenses and blocking. Of course, the one variable is that different actors would have different skin tones, so that's not something I can predict, but if I can at least get close on everything else... like I say, it's a long shot. Thanks for reading!
 
I've used a couple of heads for a similar purpose. I've got a bust of Yuri Gagarin that has been my main go-to for lighting practice. Not realistic skin though (he's green/black) and about half size to a human head.

I would suggest getting a couple of cheap foam heads for displaying hats, get a couple of wigs and a makeup kit. Then make them up to any skin colour you want. The actor will presumably be wearing makeup so you can match the colour exactly. No such thing as skin tone in a movie with a makeup artist, not on the face anyway. Could even dig holes in the eyes and add marbles to get the glint just right if you wanted.
 
Realistic would be expensive. I got a mannequin head off ebay for like $40 for quick setups, and -- well, mainly because my daughters went off to college so there went my easy supply of instantly-available models for trying something out... :)

I understand (I think) exactly what you're talking about, and something like this might be useful.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mannequin-H...357?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5642901555

You'll still need a wig, but other than that, I dunno, it's not perfect but it's not bad.
 
I do this all the time... it's a great help when there's no one around (my girls are all off to college too!).
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?235902-Af100-hmc150-gh2&p=2233997&viewfull=1#post2233997

What you want to do is find your local cosmetology school. Every student is required to have their own head to work on (most schools have more then they know what to do with)...once the hair is cut, they really don't need it anymore. You can usually get one or two very cheap...or for free!
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=cosmetology+mannequin+heads
 
Barry_Green said:
Realistic would be expensive. I got a mannequin head off ebay for like $40 for quick setups, and -- well, mainly because my daughters went off to college so there went my easy supply of instantly-available models for trying something out... :)

I understand (I think) exactly what you're talking about, and something like this might be useful.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mannequin-H...357?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5642901555

You'll still need a wig, but other than that, I dunno, it's not perfect but it's not bad.
Click to expand...

OK Barry, I pulled up the link and immediately thought... I can hear my wife now, tell me again what this is for?

Its bad enough when I have them ship C-stands, directors chairs, and other bits and pieces to my home. But if my wife came home to find me dressing and fitting a wig to a mannequin? ;)
 
David W. Jones said:
But if my wife came home to find me dressing and fitting a wig to a mannequin? ;)
Click to expand...

I used to do a lot of body painting in the studio. I have at least 20+ pair of womens underwear and 20+ bras in my photo equipment room at home, along with the body paints (closed the studio.)

Yeah, I don't want to explain that one ...

Luckily, I had models to sit in for test shots then in exchange for lunch, pics, etc. Miss those days. :huh:
 
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