What can you do with this headshot?

[neptune000]

take your pick!

1> gritty retro

2> soft bw

3> fashion :mrgreen:

4> warm brown

 

[JerryPH]

Jerry, i don't use strobes, i use hot lights. Are you thinking it's overexposed or under? by how many stops? I, like everyone else, obviously try to get it right on the set, but nobody is perfect.

First, I am 100% with you, no one is perfect. I am about as far from that as you can get.

Second, as soon as you said hotlights, it became clear... they are your main problem.

First, they are too low, should be at about a 15-30 degree angle above the head of your model. The ratio from side to side is IMHO too aggresive for the goals of this session. One side is underexposed and the left side is over. Do you have a light meter? What does it tell you that the differences are from side to side?

Second, you are way too wide. 30-40 degrees to the sides of her face.

Third, position your camera so that you are not within the family of angles that shows all those hotspots on her face.

Now, all of that is still not going to give you as nice a result as even a $50 strobe. Hotlights are inconsistant in their performance, have a WB balance that is not pleasant, are uncomfortable for anyone underneath them, consume a LOT of power and will never give you as clean a result as you could get. Basically, hotlights are for motion video movies... not for photography.

Oh, consider looking up the "Master's Guide to Portrait Photography"... it would help you out a lot... it's helped me quite a bit!

 

[Rick Waldroup]

Jerry is right. If you intend on doing work like this, ditch the hotlights and get some strobes.

Once you get the lighting aspect down and learn a bit about posing, you will need very little work in PS. She is a gorgeous model and should be very easy to work with.

Once you learn how to work with the strobes, you can get really consistent results the majority of the time.

 

[MACollum]

Here's my go at the second picture you posted.

 

[Socrates]

...besides, a good photographer should know how to draw out the most from their equipment so that little to NO photoshopping is needed at all to get a wonderful shot.

I agree completely.