My First Headshot Shoot

[positivethinkin7@yahoo.co]

Hi Gang...first time post for this forum....
I just started shooting headshots for actors and had my first shoot yesterday.
I'm not so versed in Photoshop yet but wanted to post this and get some feedback not only to color but to composition. All in all I thought it was a successful day. My client left happy as well.

I'm open to comments, advice, suggestions, retouches, etc.


Thanks for peaking in...

Ray

[Paul Tinworth]

(Sorry in advance if I seem too critical!) :oops:

In all honesty the composition doesn't work for me in this shot, but otherwise the pose (handsome bloke, it must be said) and lighting are spot-on. I'm fairly new to fiddling with levels, so I'll leave it to someone else if they want to comment on the colours!

Did you crop this? It seems a shame that the top of his head is missing! However, I guess it doesn't seem so bad if you remove a little of the width:

[positivethinkin7@yahoo.co]

Thanks Paul......

The "head cropping issue" came up and does come up when discussing actor headshots.
Some say it allows more of the facial features to be seen; others are completely against it. I guess its all subjective huh?
But thanks for the comps on the lighting aspect and such....

I appreciate your input....

Ray:)

[positivethinkin7@yahoo.co]

Oh and Paul....
I think the overall look of the shot was improved when you cropped the right side of picture.

Thank you,

Ray

[dbernard]

More of a cropping comment than anything else. The picture is nicely done. Most actor head shots are portrait like this:

[PhotoScout]

Hi Ray,

I just started shooting child models and the agents are asking for a few shots with the the model is looking into the frame. This is common when the model switches from fashion to facial work. They want close up face shots like you said. When I see the final shots posted on the agency websites they sometimes re-crop them like Paul did with your's....Hey, if that's what they want :).

[LBaldwin]

Nice lighting not a bad head angle. But generally headshots are supposed to give the prospective employer an idea of what the persons (best) features are and how they look on film.

The tight cropping into the hairline is part of a editorial fashion look, not an actors headshot. An actors head shot should include all of the head, hair facial features and upper torso. Take a look at any promo shot on any of the several actors websites.

If I were to hire your actor with this shot, How do I know he is not fat or bald? There are always exceptions for every rule, but when you deliberatly exclude body parts for an actor that gives rise to questions from the employer, producer, director etc. So then they go the next shot in the stack and so on. Leaving your client to wonder why he is not getting any calls for a go see, or a reading.

Remember the image you are creating is what he is going to use for advertising his style, looks and character. This image could be used as part of a zed or leave behind card. But not as a stand alone image on an 8x page.

Image standards change constantly (hey it keeps us busy) but I generaly go by what is published in New York, or L.A. as a guide. I also discourage newbies fron any outlandish images and try to keep it simple until they get more work. And of course actors are different than models, and agencys change their minds like the wind. I do like your image and I hope it is successful for your client.

Les Baldwin

[positivethinkin7@yahoo.co]

Dbernard - your cropping really pulls focus to the eyes and smile - ty
PhotoScout -I have my first child shoot on Wednesday -thanks for the heads up
Les - Great points there....during the shoot of course i tried to give the actor a wide variety of angles and images to choose from based on how they wanted to market themselves along with my two cents.........this model was very adept at creating different angles for me as well....today's shoot was diffucult..i had two people who clearly were not comfortable with themselves and it was diffucult creating a picture...i got a little tense but then infused more humor into the shhoot and finally both warmed up and we got some nice shots....It's amazing what one learns from shoot to shoot...
I have two clients tomorrow...one African American Male and one Caucasian Female...I'm trying to get as much of variety as possible for a portfolio

[LBaldwin]

I kinda thought you might have. It is always good to have soemone comfortable in front of the camera. Especially if they know how to pose and show facial range and dif expressions.

It;s when someone is NOT comfortable in front of the camera that our life can get tough. More than one photographer shot with NO film in the camera for the first few rolls so that the client can get used to your style. We used to say the best images were frames 37-..... :-P:lol:

You did the right thing using humor to get the client comfortable. I hate the Ready.... One ..... Two.... Three click crap. It's OK if you are a mom shooting your two year old, but pros (Moms or otherwise) really don;t like it.
Humor has it's own issues too, soemtimes the grin can be too big and the eyes can go bye bye. Just something to watch for. My family fav is

DAD HAS STINKY FEET!!!! Gets em' everytime.

Les Baldwin


Les - Great points there....during the shoot of course i tried to give the actor a wide variety of angles and images to choose from based on how they wanted to market themselves along with my two cents.........this model was very adept at creating different angles for me as well....today's shoot was diffucult..i had two people who clearly were not comfortable with themselves and it was diffucult creating a picture...i got a little tense but then infused more humor into the shhoot and finally both warmed up and we got some nice shots....It's amazing what one learns from shoot to shoot...
I have two clients tomorrow...one African American Male and one Caucasian Female...I'm trying to get as much of variety as possible for a portfolio[/quote]

[cassarilda]

Ok.. I know its a head shot, but I couldnt see anyone else mention it, so just keep an eye on styling of clothing as well..

Tugging the shoulder of his shirt down to reduce those creases would also decrease the distraction.. :)

Not too bad on this shot, but keep an eye on it for future shots.. a major crease or lump in the wrong place can ruin a shot :)

[positivethinkin7@yahoo.co]

Les - Other good points there, especially the humor...and the eyes go a'squinting..
and BTW..the "Dad's got stinky feet" made me laugh as well...Thanks for the continued input

Cassarilda - its amazing how much one can look out for during shoot, its really opening my eyes to the "bigger picture" of making the picture...i hadn't really noticed it until you mentioned it

Now I'll be aware of it for today's shoots....

Thanls!

Ray

[LBaldwin]

Ok.. I know its a head shot, but I couldnt see anyone else mention it, so just keep an eye on styling of clothing as well..

Tugging the shoulder of his shirt down to reduce those creases would also decrease the distraction.. :)

Not too bad on this shot, but keep an eye on it for future shots.. a major crease or lump in the wrong place can ruin a shot :)

I use a small mantra:

Set it up, clean it up and shoot it. Depending on the shot I will do quite a bit
of clean up, Straigten the jewelry (rings and necklaces), button check, hair check, shiny forheads etc.

Bra straps are pet peeve too. Todays fashion them lots and I think it;s tacky.
I also study eye placement, head tilt, shoulder size, and lots of other factors to help create a great image for the client.

Les

[positivethinkin7@yahoo.co]

Great simple mantra when there's so much to look out for......

I'm off to shoot somebody......(My Dad gets a eerie kick out of that whenever I say that)

I'll let you know how it goes....

Ray