Since we're talking headshots...
Since a few folks have been posting headshots recently and I have some shoots myself coming up next month, I was sniffing around galleries (something I do regularly just to try and stay current with what's "out there" and to make sure I'm abreast of current trends etc etc) As always, I recommend the www.reproductions.com director as a good place to find lots of headshot togs' galleries).
Here's a link to one NYC studio whose work sports the currently fashionable/expected look, but which seems to use both studio/natural light and studio/urban/apartment bg styles instead of just one or the other. The site has a very large collection of images in the gallery to view, too - some interesting shots, IMO http://www.theoandjuliet.com/__310-973-7315__/photo/ph_Frameset.html. There's also a 5 year "archive" available to view which is fascinating for looking at how styles have been morphing and changing!
Backgrounds vary, and there's a mix of high key, natural light and other setups, but one thing that does seem consistent is the very bright - almost flat - lighting on the faces. It's an interesting approach that I suspect is very popular with models and actors (and at nearly $1K, the pricing would suggest that's the case - I'd consider this high-end pricing in NY, where you can get a very decent set of headshots done for about $400-600)
This studio's work is hardly the only way of doing things, but I thought the page offered a nice "one-click" route to a bunch of quality examples in one place. Enjoy! :thumb
Here's a link to one NYC studio whose work sports the currently fashionable/expected look, but which seems to use both studio/natural light and studio/urban/apartment bg styles instead of just one or the other. The site has a very large collection of images in the gallery to view, too - some interesting shots, IMO http://www.theoandjuliet.com/__310-973-7315__/photo/ph_Frameset.html. There's also a 5 year "archive" available to view which is fascinating for looking at how styles have been morphing and changing!
Backgrounds vary, and there's a mix of high key, natural light and other setups, but one thing that does seem consistent is the very bright - almost flat - lighting on the faces. It's an interesting approach that I suspect is very popular with models and actors (and at nearly $1K, the pricing would suggest that's the case - I'd consider this high-end pricing in NY, where you can get a very decent set of headshots done for about $400-600)
This studio's work is hardly the only way of doing things, but I thought the page offered a nice "one-click" route to a bunch of quality examples in one place. Enjoy! :thumb
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It is about how that thing looks photographed." Garry Winogrand
Avatar credit: photograph by Duane Michals- picture of me, 'Smash Palace' album
Yes, the light!!! Is it a cultural thing? I don't think I see the extremes in the t&j egs (et elsewhere) in European work? In most of these the bomb to one side of the face, and in the catchlights, is so intenese I find myself wincing involuntarily for the sake of the subject!! Like a blast furnace just exploded!
In Australia, and southern Australia especially, the light truly hurts, it is truly clinical in its magnitude and sharpness. Many of this style of face make me feel in the same need of sunglasses and hat protection we often feel in the light here! How can someone be offered as appealing when they look like they are going to give you sunburn if you were more than a minute or two in their presence, or likely to spontaneously combust like terrorist mail?
Great links, dm! You are right that it's necessary to be up to where the cutting edge is cutting, just have the Bandaids ready!
Neil
http://www.behance.net/brosepix
However, when you consider that when submitted in response to a casting notice/casting call an image might get 5 seconds worth of attention from TPTB and that it is competing with HUNDREDS of other shots/actors it becomes easier to understand A. why it's so important that the eyes in particular "say" something and connect with the viewer and B. why anything extraneous in the shot (even too much airspace) becomes a distraction. The most basic definition of a successful headshot is one that gets auditions, and it's abundantly clear from actors' comments that certain styles seem to do better. Given that headshots have a purpose beyond the exclusively aesthetic, one kind of has to work within that brief,
That said, every once in a while one sees a really out-there shot that breaks every recommendation and suggested approach, but is so fabulous it transcends. I suppose, as usual, every exception proves the rule....
Btw, musicians don't put quite the same emphasis on headshots - while a good headshot is an important part of the package, audition invitations and casting decisions aren't nearly as dependent on the photo as in the actor market, instead relying first on the CV, sometimes a tape demo, and then the photo. But for actors - particularly when seeking film/TV work - the headshot's ability to grab a casting agent's attention sometimes genuinely make the difference between getting the audition or not.
As a musician I understand this perfectly as I have "borrowed" so many ideas from other artists but eventually I would incorporate a portion of that into my own style...
I looked at many of the examples from the links you posted and I'm on the fence...I can see what Neil pointed out and I can totally see your view as well....
I say it's a good thing
Neil
http://www.behance.net/brosepix
http://www.headshots101.com/
http://peterhurley.com/
http://www.headshot-photography.com/portfolio.htm
Maybe because that's the way we view most media as in film and television not to mention out computer monitors.
Head shots are more effective this way?
@Rey, I think landscape orientation is just a current trend - until about 4-5 years ago landscape was a BIG no-no in headshots and you were encouraged NOT to use shots that weren't in traditional portrait orientation. Now, pretty much anything goes.
Let me reiterate that I know nothing at all about Theo&Julia as linked above except the shots on their site - I only pulled their site to post because there were so *many* pix in that thumbnail collage, and also because of the "archive" link they offer which showed some of their bw work in the style that's now considered somewhat outdated; it was simply a lot of examples to share with a single url!
I started googlin to see what was being done now, on the different coasts and I am very glad to have ran across this thread.
Don't forget Bonnie Gillespie's fabulous articles (in the sticky) - they're more for actor-style stuff than singers, but some good thoughts in them in general:
Bad Headshots, Good Headshots (link to examples at bottom of column)
Bad Headshots, Good Headshots II (ditto)
For "location" in this weather, I'd look for something like a college hallway with tons of natural light, maybe some brick wall or wood/neutral tile floor. What about backstage area like a loading dock?. Those actor shots I did earlier in the year were in a college atrium and went very much for the "NY loft" look - worked a treat. And won't be so cold! With some shallow dof, you're golden
One other trend I'm seeing in singers at the moment is actor-style *photography*, but with "diva" styling, eg glam gown sitting on fire-escape steps outside. Guy in tux in Central Park. That kind of thing. It's a trend, yeah, but it kind of works... If you can find some copies of Opera News, look for Dario Acosto's work for them - they'll usually run a shot blurb on an up-and-coming singer each month and frequently it will be the singer glammed up in full designer gown/hair/makeup/jewellery, the works... but in an outdoor NY setting. It's definitely a very specific "look".
Great thread.....