A few portraits for a friend

[DiskoJoe]

This is my friend Curtis. He needed a few photos for a acting gig he was auditioning for. This is what I came up with after reviewing a bunch of "head shots" that other actor had posted online.

Feel free to leave feedback if you have any ideas on how these could have been improved.

I liked this bw the best but the color version was pretty decent too and Curtis really liked that one.

Curtis Cunningham by DiskoJoe, on Flickr

Curtis Cunningham by DiskoJoe, on Flickr

Curtis Cunningham by DiskoJoe, on Flickr

Im kinda on the fence about this one. I was going to the dreamy hazy kind of look but did not get exactly what I was looking for.

Curtis Cunningham by DiskoJoe, on Flickr

 

[tirediron]

Hmmm.... I think there's some room for improvement here Joe; the lighting in 1/2 is very flat, and lacking in contrast & saturation which has resulted in the monochrome being very mid-tone rich rather than black & white. #3 really needs some fill flash and as with #4, if you are going to shoot from down low, always have the subject tilt their head down slightly so that you don't get an 'up the nose' shot. I think the first three would be MUCH stronger had you shot vertical, and used some fill light. I also find the backgrounds in the first rather distracting.

Generally speaking actor's headshots should be all about the head, and not about the background. I think a do-over with some extra lighting wouldn't go amiss.

 

[Trever1t]

I like #1 best and in this circumstance the landscape orientation isn't bothering me because the background symmetry is interesting. Either cut more off the top or include it.

 

[bunny99123]

I like 2. He doesn't look happy.

 

[DiskoJoe]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will see about making some vertical crops. I need to work more on using my fill flash. I did a few shots with the flash but wasnt happy with the output. We were working in too small a space for what I wanted to do.

I was thinking the same thing about the crop on the first one cutting more into his head. I feel ya on that.

And its not that he wasnt happy but he is new to being in front of a camera and was still not relaxed enough. I tried working more with him on this but we were a little strapped for time unfortunately.