A Few Recent Client Headshots (C&C Appreciated)

[Letterbox]

Just opened the doors to my first studio, and I've been pushing headshots, which are a new market for me. Critique appreciated.

1.


2.


3.


4.

 

[Derrel]

Newly opened studio, and entering the headshot market...and shooting them as horizontals with cut-off head tops, as in shots #1 and shot #2? Not a good idea. Have you done any research into what a headshot is expected to be? Shots 1,2,and 3 look very unprofessional. Compositions are not good, and the guys in #1 and #3 are lighted in very unflattering set-ups.

actors headshots - Google Search

 

[Letterbox]

Newly opened studio, and entering the headshot market...and shooting them as horizontals with cut-off head tops, as in shots #1 and shot #2? Not a good idea. Have you done any research into what a headshot is expected to be? Shots 1,2,and 3 look very unprofessional. Compositions are not good, and the guys in #1 and #3 are lighted in very unflattering set-ups.

actors headshots - Google Search

Derrell, thanks for your feedback. With the exception of the people looking for an ultra-corporate style, I'm making an effort to shoot something similar to what Peter Hurley comes up with. It's something different that people seem to love.

Check him out: Peter Hurley: Headshots June 2012 - PH2PRO Photographers

 

[fjrabon]

for what you're going for, the lighting in #1 is too uneven. The page you linked doesn't have any shadows like that on the face. 1 and 2 you actually cut into their heads, not just the top of their hair like the page you linked. There's more dead space in 3 than any of the photos you linked. 4 is good, but just a generic 'here is your pharmacist today!' shot.

 

[jamesbjenkins]

I'm making an effort to shoot something similar to what Peter Hurley comes up with. It's something different that people seem to love.

I'm very familiar with Hurley's work. Unless, I'm mistaken, you're not shooting with a $50,000 Hassy and lens, or a $15,000 Keno-Flo lighting setup.

Of the images you posted, #4 is the only one I'd be happy with if I were you.

#1 is tonally flat, and doesn't have any pop to it. Cutting off the tip of his head in this shot is a miss.
#2 the focus is off a tad, you have some really bad hotspots and again you chopped her head off.
#3 holy blown highlights Batman! I understand the high key look you were going for, but this lighting is way too harsh. The facial expression is a miss as well. I don't know how you were directing the model.
#4 is definitely your best image here. The lighting is spot on and the model's expression is perfect IMO.

Congrats on opening your studio. I can't knock the courage and planning it takes to get to where you're at now, especially since I don't have a studio. That said, you lighting needs a TON of refinement. Your posing needs to get a lot stronger. According to Hurley, his images are 80% the expression he can get out of his subjects. Your posing and direction on set is critical, and I don't see that here (perhaps except #4).

That's my $0.02

 

[cgipson1]

Lighting is harsh... blown highlights on the face is not "High Key"....

So did you actually open a "brick and mortar" studio? Tell us more about that part of it...

 

[Robin Usagani]

I get it. I dont love them but I dont hate them either. I think they are decent.


I would improve on the catch light on the eyes. That is the trend now.

 

[Derrel]

Yes, I'm familiar with Peter Hurley's work. I'm just not a fan of the lighting approach in shot #1...the result is rather muddy-looking, and the low mainlight placement on #3...ehhh...that doesn't work well with his expression or face. Here's another guy, a well-respected LA headshot specialist, who has a nice style. KENNETH DOLIN PHOTOGRAPHY : LOS ANGELES, CA

If you want to cut the top of the head off, a horizontal usually means that there will be a goodly amount of empty, dead, uninteresting space. The horizontal framing in #1 and #3 is an issue, and a LOT of the issue relates to the way we look at a face in relation to the BODY that is is placed on top of...and I mean that literally, and figuratively. A horizontal lopping-off of a person, especially a man, at the neck does not show what kind of physique or build he has. Same with a woman similarly amputated right below the chin. The angle of the head is also CRITICAL...the man in shot #1 looks gay, because his pose is borndering on a feminine head tilt, AND he has no shoulders... Will these people get work when casting directors and talent people can not SEE WHAT they actually "look like", as a person, or as a "body"??? I doubt they would even get placed into the "possibles" file without at least SOME clue as to their body type.

The guy in #3...good face... BUT for some weird reason, you have his shoulders turned so one faces the camera, and we cannot see if he has broad shoulders, or anything...we can only see a floating head. If he has a killer physique, it doesn't matter, because the photo makes it look like he's a woman you are trying to slim down. If you want to be able to portray individual people, and make them look good, you need to truly understand HOW TO POSE people, and how to FRAME them. Some guidance from well-established professionals is what you need. Almost every time I bring this kind of stuff up here on TPF,somebody pipes up to whine about my comments on people pictures, with comments about how horizontals are okay: and they ARE perfectly okay when done with a full understanding of HOW to do them to LEVERAGE the person's appearance. There is an entire visual language, and a number of basics to showing off a person; one of the KEYS is to have some kind of a BASE to a shot of a person...not an amputated head, shown with no body and no shoulders, and no bust...that is the problem with shots #1 and #3.

We recently had a big brouhaha over "horizontal portraits". THe thing is, the newbies who whined about my comments seem to fail to understand the most-basic fundamental of a headshot: to make the person look GOOD. To LEVERAGE their strengths... The guy in #1 looks feminine and spindly...the guy in #3 looks slightly sinister, and we cannot tell much about his physique or body type...all we can see is one shoulder pointing right at the camera, and a MASSIVE shirt collar...his head just floats there. You need a course in posing basics, with the "secret" fundamentals taught to you.

Here is an ultra-quickie examination of a few really basic,basic things that EVERY "trained" professional shooter knows. And which most self-taught shooters have no idea about. 10. The Rules Of Good Portraiture

 

[The_Traveler]

there is a decided magenta cast in the last one.

if you allow editing there are three benefits:

1. You would get more comments
2. You would get better help
3. I could show you a color corrected version.

 

[ANDS!]

Not seeing this overblown highlights on picture 3. The face looks fine (lighting wise), and theres no loss of detail. It certainly looks like that at the small size, but not when you view the full picture. Agree on picture 4 that there is a hint of color cast that could be fixed in two seconds.


1 and 2 I agree with the overall complaints, especially with the lighting getting away from you on 1. Focus drops off in 2 sooner than perhaps you wanted (but at least a nice radius around the eyes is captured).

 

[Letterbox]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone! Obviously, I'm a bit surprised, but I appreciate it nonetheless. It's been some time since I've been an active member on a forum like this, but I think it's important for all of us to remember that "by the book" isn't necessarily what our clients are looking for.

 

[Letterbox]

So did you actually open a "brick and mortar" studio? Tell us more about that part of it...

I work in the marketing field full-time, and moved to a new city just over a year ago. I've been getting more and more inquiries for headshots (and other general portraiture) through my website, so I rented some studio space. Before doing so, I'd have to leave a couple of hours early from my day job to squeeze in set-up time, shooting time, break-down, etc. Now, I can leave the majority of my equipment set up in the studio, and sneak in sessions after work. It's nice having a decent amount of space to work in, too.

 

[The_Traveler]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone! Obviously, I'm a bit surprised, but I appreciate it nonetheless. It's been some time since I've been an active member on a forum like this, but I think it's important for all of us to remember that "by the book" isn't necessarily what our clients are looking for.

Your wording is a bit obscure.
Do you mean that you don't agree with what was said or that our comments are not congruent with the general trend in customers or that we found fault with these portraits or all three.

Lew

(off-point:I see you live in Worcester, I grew up 20 miles east in Framingham and my brother went to Clark so I know the area reasonably well.)

 

[tirediron]

...it's important for all of us to remember that "by the book" isn't necessarily what our clients are looking for.

Very true, however, and I'm going to be absolutely blunt since you've posted in the Professional Gallery; I don't think too many of anyone's clients are looking for work like your first three examples.

 

[Letterbox]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone! Obviously, I'm a bit surprised, but I appreciate it nonetheless. It's been some time since I've been an active member on a forum like this, but I think it's important for all of us to remember that "by the book" isn't necessarily what our clients are looking for.

Your wording is a bit obscure.
Do you mean that you don't agree with what was said or that our comments are not congruent with the general trend in customers or that we found fault with these portraits or all three.

Lew

(off-point:I see you live in Worcester, I grew up 20 miles east in Framingham and my brother went to Clark so I know the area reasonably well.)

Very cool! I just moved back to Worcester from FL last year. It's nice to be home!

As for my wording, while I disagree with some of the exposure concerns, the rest of the critique is totally acceptable. These four photos represent 3 different styles I've been working with. I had been shooting most of my headshots most like #4, and getting a couple of inquiries now and again, but things have really picked up since changing to the horizontal/weird/tight crop and that lighting style.