help with Headshots

[rschramm]

Hey everyone...

I have a very good friend who wants me to shoot her headshots.. she is an actress on a very limited budget (what actress isnt), here is the problem.. She is a real redhead, fair skin, freckles, the whole bit. I don't have a studio, so I am thinking we will need to be outside. any ideas for backgrounds/homemade lighting, if needed, etc.? btw all I have is:

D-200
18-200mm vr
Camera flash only no shoe mount..

Thanks for the help...

Rusty

[brad]

For acting headshots, no backgrounds...

crop in to just head and shoulders and control DOF to blur out any background...

choose neutral colors for background as well...

Set her in open shade/indirect sunlight and use a reflector below and/or to one side to light her face up and give catchlights...

make makeup light and fresh, hair style should have body to it..

wardrobe should be plain but eye catching, but not so much that it draws attention away from the face..... a good basic headshot might have a crew neck t-shirt (perhaps white) and a denim jacket...

Headshots are about the face and about the eyes... DON'T do anything with dramatic lighting... DO light the face evenly and well... with strong expressions and engaging eyes...

A casting director spends an average of 3 seconds on the first pass through submitted headshots. Your FIRST goal is making sure the headshot makes it into the second look pile.

Check my website for some headshot samples (click Actors). http://www.b2pix.com

Also, for the self-proclaimed "King of the Hollywood Headshot," look at Kevyn Major Howard's website: http://www.kevynmajorhoward.com

[The Loft Studios]

^^^ Great Advice with Excellent Visual Samples ^^^

[rschramm]

Brad, Thank you So much I really can't tell you how much I appreciate that.... Thank you...

Rusty

[Tapper]

Kevyn Howards shots are interesting. Maximum makeup, flat hot lighting. Usually places crown of head just out of frame in extreme corner of shot. Weird looking highlights in their eyes, is he using a hotbank of flourescant tubes?

Might be a good technique to emulate on a girl with fair skin and freckles. Those damn freckles are especially tough to deal with outside, seems like sunlight really emphasizes them.

You could always rent a studio for an hour or two. You'd get better results.

[brad]

Tapper: there used to be a video on his website that gave an insight to how he worked.... and no, he uses all natural light.

[srwatters]

Originally Posted by Tapper

Kevyn Howards shots are interesting. Maximum makeup, flat hot lighting. Usually places crown of head just out of frame in extreme corner of shot. Weird looking highlights in their eyes, is he using a hotbank of flourescant tubes?

Might be a good technique to emulate on a girl with fair skin and freckles. Those damn freckles are especially tough to deal with outside, seems like sunlight really emphasizes them.

You could always rent a studio for an hour or two. You'd get better results.

You might want to watch the BBC/Discovery Channel video on how Kevyn shoots. It's on his web site. All of his headshots are done with natural light in his garage using a single reflector. The 'weird' catchlights are the sky.

While your opinion is certainly valid, Kevyn's work is some of the most sought after in Hollywood. Try to book a shoot with him and you'll find out how successful he is. I certainly doubt that anyone could rent a studio for an hour or two and get better results.

Unless of course you're being sarcastic and I missed the boat...

BTW, here's my version of the KMH headshot from a year ago.





While I like to do these they are time dependent and can only be shot a few hours during the day (at least a my place). I've come up with my own recipe for shooing something similar in the studio with a single light and a couple of reflectors. Here's a recent one done on film and scanned.



No matter what way you decide to shoot them, Brad's advice is correct and I concur.

Good luck with your shoot Rusty. Natural light makes for some excellent images.

[JRW]

Great information. I was just getting ready to start searching for tips. I have a shoot tomorrow and will try to post the results...

[rschramm]

Thanks again guys.. Scott , great images.. Thanks..again..

[Tapper]

Scott,

Not sure where you read criticism in there. I said his technique was "interesting", which I suppose is my way of saying "I like his work, and I'm studying it".

Hard to believe that's natural light, given the evenness of it.

[Wil_Bloodworth]

Originally Posted by brad

Also, for the self-proclaimed "King of the Hollywood Headshot," look at Kevyn Major Howard's website: http://www.kevynmajorhoward.com

That's hilarious: "As seen on Oprah and The Discovery Channel" LOL!

- Wil

[srwatters]

Originally Posted by Tapper

Scott,

Not sure where you read criticism in there. I said his technique was "interesting", which I suppose is my way of saying "I like his work, and I'm studying it".

Hard to believe that's natural light, given the evenness of it.

If I told you that your shots had flat lighting and weird catchlights, would you find that a positive critique? I know I wouldn't. Even more if I was was completely wrong about the methods you used to make the images. I was simply pointing out that your critique was wrong and reinforcing Brads' (and my) opinion of Kevyn's work. I feel this is important, even more so when a less experienced photographer is asking a question.

JMHO.

[Tapper]

Well, I'm a "less experienced" photographer, so what do I know. The light looks flat to me (meaning evenly lit minimal shadows), and the catchlights are large and irregular, and attract my attention. I still like his pics, and a hell of a lot of commercial work is flat-lit, and what makes money isn't a bad thing.

As to getting it wrong, had I known what he had done, I wouldn't have asked. I guessed one of those light banks, based on the large rectangular size and interupted pattern. But you might note the question mark at the end of that sentence, it's there for a reason.

Being "less experienced" doesn't deny you the right to like, dislike, criticize, praise, or otherwise judge pictures for yourself. And being experienced doesn't necessarily imply good taste either.

Regardless, I'm not sure anything said here justifies the hostility I see in your replies. FWIW.

[Donner]

Great video. I thought he looked familiar, but I had to look around his website to figure out he was in full metal jacket.

I don't want to get involved with anything, but i think the confusion is just in Brian's use of the word 'flat.' I know most photographers, especially ones who have printed in the darkroom, think of flat as being muddy or lacking in tonal depth. This generall is a bad thing, unless it was your desired effect. Some of kevyn's stuff looked somewhat blown out on my screen, so i'll go with flat as being accruate for what i saw...

however, his stuff is also very evenly lit, which Brian said was what he meant. I don't think he was being critical, just curious, and made a common mistake by using a term that has more than one meaning in photography.

I think Keyvn, and others here, use a large light source to showcase the client's features and smooth the skin. By shooting into a garage, the light falls off enough to a) not give a background and, b) give the photo depth.

Anyway, no harm, no foul.

Donner

[brad]

The problem is that many photographers throw out the word "flat" as a derogatory term... when ALL it means is that the lighting ratio is essentially 1:1.

As I said in my original post about headshots. Flat lighting is desired for a headshot. Clean, evenly and well lit.


(Edited to fix typo.. RATIO not RATION .. damn fingers)