Acting headshots

[sbug_adam]

Has anyone here taken headshots for actors and actresses..? if some, can you guys post some..

Adam

[brad]

Shot these for Lar Park Lincoln's upcoming book on marketing for actors... as examples of good headshots (B&W headshots are a thing of the past according to Lar)..







The big things to remember are:

* No heavy makeup
* No heavy post
* No personal jewelry
* Eyes and faces that "engage" the viewer
* Clothes and colors that complement the face (hard to judge)

[srwatters]

Here are a few that I've done in a style a bit more 'Hollywood'.

Arianne


Ashley


Kevin


Lindsey

[beetleman]

Always thought these were great examples:

http://www.headshot-photography.com/portfolio.htm

Check out the videos as well:

http://www.headshot-photography.com/media.htm

[srwatters]

Originally Posted by beetleman

Always thought these were great examples:

http://www.headshot-photography.com/portfolio.htm

Check out the videos as well:

http://www.headshot-photography.com/media.htm

My last shot of Lindsey is a direct rip-off of Kevyn's style. I even shot it in my driveway just like he does. I now also own the same lens he was using.... See a theme here?

[petert]

Originally Posted by brad

Shot these for Lar Park Lincoln's upcoming book on marketing for actors... as examples of good headshots (B&W headshots are a thing of the past according to Lar)..

Just curious... does everyone agree with that? Headshots presented in B+W are "a thing of the past"? ... personally, I don't see that... and it seems a bit short-sighted to me... anyone else?

[Gordon]

So his lighting style is garage (effectively big window) light, with a reflector underneath as well to bounce some fill up in to the face/ eye sockets ? Am I reading it right for the lighting ?

The poses all seem very similar too - a lean forward towards the camera to make the subject look engaged, slight head tilt to keep the eyes off horizontal to make the composition more dynamic, a fairly neutral, but intense look in to the camera. Very shallow DoF, focused on the eyes.

[Wendyp]

I really like Flygirl's stuff up here in the Dallas area. She's getting a lot of the referrals from the agencies.

http://www.flygirlphoto.com/

[brad]

Originally Posted by petert

Just curious... does everyone agree with that? Headshots presented in B+W are "a thing of the past"? ... personally, I don't see that... and it seems a bit short-sighted to me... anyone else?

Let me be more specific... Color is required under most circumstances (again, according to Lar Park Lincoln.. who does talent coaching and marketing teaching for actors)... B&W is still used a bit in New York and Hollywood.. but everywhere else, color is all that's accepted. B&W's are being rejected flat out.

[Wendyp]

Yes, black and white are getting to be things of the past. It may not hold as true in theater as in on-camera. I'm not sure because I haven't asked any Equity folk what they are using. The last conversation I had with my son's agency indicated that color is the way to go. Although I noticed at least one of the agencies here is posting the pictures on-line in black and white, virtually everyone at auditions is carrying a color head shot.

[Gordon]

Originally Posted by srwatters

My last shot of Lindsey is a direct rip-off of Kevyn's style. I even shot it in my driveway just like he does. I now also own the same lens he was using.... See a theme here?

I was thinking aboout this last night - I think you have a lot of the elements in place. One thing that struck me as different was that he gets a lot closer and tighter in to his subjects than you did.

[srwatters]

Originally Posted by GordonMcGregor

I was thinking aboout this last night - I think you have a lot of the elements in place. One thing that struck me as different was that he gets a lot closer and tighter in to his subjects than you did.

Yup. My first attempt fell a little short. I'm shooting another woman tomorrow AM. Same basic style. I'll attempt to emulate a little better. I'm hoping for overcast skys at 10:00AM.

[Gordon]

Originally Posted by srwatters

Yup. My first attempt fell a little short. I'm shooting another woman tomorrow AM. Same basic style. I'll attempt to emulate a little better. I'm hoping for overcast skys at 10:00AM.

If you have time- do you think you could reply to my Q above about the lighting setup for these ?

[srwatters]

Originally Posted by GordonMcGregor

So his lighting style is garage (effectively big window) light, with a reflector underneath as well to bounce some fill up in to the face/ eye sockets ? Am I reading it right for the lighting ?

The poses all seem very similar too - a lean forward towards the camera to make the subject look engaged, slight head tilt to keep the eyes off horizontal to make the composition more dynamic, a fairly neutral, but intense look in to the camera. Very shallow DoF, focused on the eyes.

Yes. Did you watch the video on his website? It's a BBC segment and shows him using a Nikon Film body with a 180mm f/2.8 prime wide open. He uses a large piece of foamcore supported by a lightstand with a boom arm placed about chair height in front of the subject in line with the camera. They do indeed lean into the shot to get the eyes in focus then everything else falls away. What I need to figure out is his compass direction. My garage faces close to due west so morning shots work best for me. If it's not windy, I'm hanging some white seamless above and behind me to help make some more defined catchlights.

[Gordon]

Well, the advice for windows (in the northern hemisphere) is to use a north facing window - as you'll never get direct sunlight through it, just diffuse, bright light even on a sunny day.

Probably the same for this I'd suspect.

For east/west/ south time of day will matter more than for a north facing garage.