Simple Musician Portrait Shoot

[Brandon Hill]

I had a short time to photograph NYC singer, Chad Hilligus last weekend but we were able to get what we needed. He's on tour with The Ten Tenors and I met him in the city his group had stopped in. I had a tight space, single light and soft box, minimal props but you know what they say: limitations breed creativity. The setup was pretty basic though so a lot of the shoot was just acquiring a nice relaxed subject that had the tiniest bit of attitude. The goal was to achieve no more than 2 final shots and we had a third that I liked too. In the space we had some simple hardwood and cool wall, and I pulled in a chair for an option. Chad came styled well. That was really all the variety I needed.









Technical stuff:

I used a single strobe through an octabox. I placed it pretty high and camera right so I had shadow under the nose and a little fill on the shadow side of his face.

Gear/settings: Canon 5D MII, 24-70 2.8, ISO 125, F11. Pocket wizards to trigger.

Post: Desaturated adjustment layers, removed all color from the floor. Subtle magenta color fill layer on the top. Chad has good skin so there wasn't much retouching needed. I'm not a fan of making people look like plastic dolls so I try to retain some of the skin texture.




To read more about Chad and the shoot, stop by my blogpost on the job. Portraits of Singer, Chad Hilligus

 

[e.rose]

Nice work here... but I have to say, I just stopped by your website...

Your work. Is freakin. AMAZING.

So awesome!!

 

[Brandon Hill]

Nice work here... but I have to say, I just stopped by your website...

Your work. Is freakin. AMAZING.

So awesome!!

Ah thanks so much E.Rose. Appreciate it!

 

[tirediron]

Looks like camera left to me...Very nicely done Brandon.

 

[spacefuzz]

Brandon I also checked out your site, stellar work!

 

[DiskoJoe]

I like the first one the best out of this bunch. Not surprised to see that one on your site.

 

[twocolor]

WOW!!

 

[Brandon Hill]

I like the first one the best out of this bunch. Not surprised to see that one on your site.

Thanks, yeah there's something relaxed and inviting about his face, while still having an edge of musician-attitude.

 

[tommyboy]

Hey nice work. Just curious... Do you always shoot wide open @ 2.8? I have same lens & 5dII and find a sweet spot for sharpness a little higher eg 3.5 or so.

 

[BrianStyles]

I love this