First time at formal headshots - C&C wanted

I've taken on the challenge (for myself) of creating some informal headshots for a small software company around here. They're meant to be used primarily for internal communication purposes (showing who everyone is to an off-shore team etc) as well as potentially use in some social media sites.

I'm not at all disappointed with the results, but I did find the whole experience felt like it was rushed through a bit at one point.

Unfortunately time simply was limited... Altogether, I only had about 3 hours of set-up and shooting time for ~25 people, divided over two days (not everyone was in the office on day one). Most people were busy, so I've only been able to take about 3 or 4 shots per subject on average.

My main setup was this:
- Key: a shoot through umbrella on high camera left aimed about 45 degrees down directly to the subjects face.
- Whiteboard holder as a reflector next to the subject on camera right.
- day 1: a background light with blue gel from below
- day 2: same light gridded on the wall, clamped to the main light.
- kicker a bare SB-80DX feathered on subjects cheek for the men, and put it high up aiming down for the ladies.
Triggering was done with one RF-602 on the key light, and the other two flashes triggered optically.
I'll add a setup shot will later...

Here are some various results out of ~30 portraits. All were shot with my 40D + Tokina 50-135mm around f/8 - f/9 (aiming for 20cm DoF behind the focus point).
#1

I'd really like to hear some comments since this was my first series of headshots

Otherwise I'm gonna assume they're perfect and stick with this >:]

I like the over all shots. However, the background is a little too visible in my opinion in most of them. I think that takes away from the shots. 2-5 seem to be the best out of the posted shots.....how did you end up getting different results using a static setup?

Thanks Richard

It wasn't really that static. A few things I changed such as the height and angle of the key light (to compensate person height), the angle of the kicker (altered it between hairlight for female and kicker for male).
The background light got knocked over a few times so I eventually moved it. For the first shot, I found the blue light to be a little overwhelming against long dark hair, so I decreased it in the last few shots which are #1 and #6. #6 and some others (not posted here) were on the second day, where I started with a blue gridspot instead of the bare flash.

I liked them but I think all of them are too dark, can you push them in post to brighten them up? I think a lighter colored background may also help.

The lighting looks to be uneven. Too much shadow in the lower face. I would like to see the BG blurred out more as well. For corp headshots, the BG as is does not work.

That's good advice, I shot these at f/9 because I wanted to aim for around 20mm DoF behind the eyes. I can probably open up to around f/4 or 5.6 to lose some more of the background.
I'm also planning to buy a botero (or some sort) backdrop, which will give me a more constant background.

I actually like the BG, just pull them a bit further away if you could. Like someone said about shadow lower part of the face, a reflector under in front could have helped.

I think you're on the right track, and I like the expressions you captured, but a few things come to mind...

1. The overall lighting looks harsh (forehead, cheeks, nose). You can try reducing some of the shine in pp.

2. There's a significant amount of shadows, especially around the lower part of the face and neck. #1 has the least amount of shadow because her head's angled up.

3. The shots feel a bit dark to me overall. The eyes need more light.

4. The background doesn't seem to fit for this type of company headshots. If they presented these on their website, I feel the background would be too busy. The lighting is also inconsistent.

I hope these comments help.

Tim

I think you are over complicating things. You could have done much better job with just single light in an umbrella. Maybe a reflector on the other side.

1. First for me is that bg. I don't like it. Try it with simple wall next time and you will see a change.

2. You can shoot these at wider aperture without much issues. Use longer glass to help blur the bg more.

Look at Tim Park's pictures.

How far was the umbrella and what zoom setting on the flash head? I never used shoot through but it (45" one) should have given you nice soft light on the whole face and upper body.

Edited:- I was able to find a test shot I did of my wife a while back using 30" umbrella in a shoot through mode. No other light or reflector. Umbrella was just outside the frame.

Next time, lower your main light to get more light in the eyes. The main was too high, creating dark eye sockets. Also looking at the shadow under the nose it almost appears like a butterfly lighting pattern.