First Attempt at a Theatrical Headshot

SamirD

I'm pretty happy with it considering it was shot with a consumer-grade camera that doesn't really have any capability for bokeh. What do you think?

ian408

I like the tight crop and it's a nice head-shot. What would make it better are things like a bit of lighting to add depth and contrast. Maybe a different expression as well as your subject almost looks like he's not 100% happy with you

divamum

The pose and strength of expression are good. That said, I'm not sure it packs enough punch to catch attention from a sea of other headshots on a casting director's desk (ie if it's going to be used as a straight theater/film submission headshot rather than only lobby-cards and programs). Have a look at the directories linked out of the www.reproductions.com directory to see the kind of thing that's pretty typical these days (and, btw, colour has become standard for actors in the US, unless BW is specifically requested)

If re-shooting isn't an option, I do think you can significantly increase the impact of the shot with some added post-processing - for me, the bw needs to be higher contrast, and I'd like to see some more "sparkle" in the eyes, which you can achieve with some dodging (of highlights, particularly the catchlights) and burning (of shadows, such as the iris centers and rims, and even eyelashes a touch). Maybe bumping up the brightness on the face a bit too, but in general play around with the processing to see if you can pull a bit more "pop" out of it.

As far as bokeh....what lens were you using?

I would have moved the subject further away from the background -or found somewhere more neutral to shoot (tarmac, bricks, any number of outdoor possibilities) - if I couldn't open up the ap to increase blur. As it is, I find the steps a bit disracting, especially as they're such strong horizontal lines and the light is variable, thus further attracting attention.

One other possibility now you have the shot in the can is to crop it even tighter (particularly on the rh side) and maybe play with some tilting to see if it helps to minimize the bg and bring the viewer's attention instantly to the eye which is, after, the key to a really strong headshot!

Hth!

SamirD

Thank you for the replies! <img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/clap.gif&quot; border="0" alt="" >

ian408 wrote: »

I like the tight crop and it's a nice head-shot. What would make it better are things like a bit of lighting to add depth and contrast. Maybe a different expression as well as your subject almost looks like he's not 100% happy with you

There's no post on the image as there wasn't enough pay for it, and lighting was a real challenge with a very harsh sun overhead and 110 degree temps. I was using the shade of a building to create and ambient light environment, but like you said, it lost some depth and contrast because of it.

divamum wrote: »

The pose and strength of expression are good. That said, I'm not sure it packs enough punch to catch attention from a sea of other headshots on a casting director's desk (ie if it's going to be used as a straight theater/film submission headshot rather than only lobby-cards and programs). Have a look at the directories linked out of the www.reproductions.com directory to see the kind of thing that's pretty typical these days (and, btw, colour has become standard for actors in the US, unless BW is specifically requested)

Thank you very much for the link and the advice on color/BW! Color just wasn't cutting it for these shots so I switched to BW on the camera.

divamum wrote: »

If re-shooting isn't an option, I do think you can significantly increase the impact of the shot with some added post-processing - for me, the bw needs to be higher contrast, and I'd like to see some more "sparkle" in the eyes, which you can achieve with some dodging (of highlights, particularly the catchlights) and burning (of shadows, such as the iris centers and rims, and even eyelashes a touch). Maybe bumping up the brightness on the face a bit too, but in general play around with the processing to see if you can pull a bit more "pop" out of it.

This was done several weeks ago and has already been submitted, so a re-shoot is out. Post would be an option, but without the software or compensation for the time, it's something I may just toy around with later.

divamum wrote: »

As far as bokeh....what lens were you using?

The lens is the fixed one that is on the camera which was a Panasonic dmc-fz20. It's a Leica branded lens that is 36-432 2.8 all the way through. This camera can be bought used for <$150. <img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/eek7.gif&quot; border="0" alt="" >

divamum wrote: »

I would have moved the subject further away from the background -or found somewhere more neutral to shoot (tarmac, bricks, any number of outdoor possibilities) - if I couldn't open up the ap to increase blur. As it is, I find the steps a bit disracting, especially as they're such strong horizontal lines and the light is variable, thus further attracting attention.

I agree that the background was a bit pronounced as it does grab the eyes. We shots some other shots against a brick wall, but it was even worse on pulling the eyes away from the subject.

divamum wrote: »

One other possibility now you have the shot in the can is to crop it even tighter (particularly on the rh side) and maybe play with some tilting to see if it helps to minimize the bg and bring the viewer's attention instantly to the eye which is, after, the key to a really strong headshot!

That's a great suggestion. I never thought about using tilting or framing the shot slightly tilted. <img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/thumb.gif&quot; border="0" alt="" >

ian408

BTW, if you were using a point and shoot or camera that has a "macro" setting, you can make some sweet bokeh by using that setting and moving in as much as you can. It's not perfect but it does work.

SamirD

ian408 wrote: »

BTW, if you were using a point and shoot or camera that has a "macro" setting, you can make some sweet bokeh by using that setting and moving in as much as you can. It's not perfect but it does work.

Yep, I've cheated like that before. I had enough distance to try to make some real bokeh with this one. If only the camera sensor was larger. :cry The glass is pretty fantastic.