actress headshot

Andy · February 21, 2005

my daughter is going for a movie role -

shot with canon 1Ds Mark II, 50mm f/1.4 aboard. three light setup: two 420s on stands with white umbrellas, and a 580ex in my hand, attached with off camera shoe cord, and lumiquest soft box attached. flash unit in my left hand, camera in my right.

and here's the other shot that she wants to include, she's "in charachter." can anyone guess?

yes, the recipes are a little different for the cross-toning. i'll settle on just one before prints are made.

enjoy (hoping for a casting call) photography,

Angelo · February 21, 2005

She's a beautiful young lady. How lucky she has you for headshots. What's happening at her hair line in back? Is that a type of fethering effect you have going?

ehughes · February 21, 2005

Andy, I like the first one a lot, the lighting is great. Have you ever looked at the headshot work of Kevyn Major Howard http://www.headshot-photography.com/ ? I've always liked his work.

As for the second picture, can't quite figure out the character.. Best guess, an inept spy? ( inept since the magazine upside down )

Ed

fish · February 22, 2005

andy wrote:

and here's the other shot that she wants to include, she's "in charachter." can anyone guess?

I like the crispness of the second shot better. The texture of the hair and eyebrows sets it apart for me.

As far as character, "Wilson" in Home Improvement?

:

Nir · February 22, 2005

Beautiful young lady and beautiful shots Andy! I hope she gets the part!

johno · February 22, 2005

Great shots Andy... She is beautiful. How fast they grow. Andy, I know you're a great photographer, however, I don't think it will be your pictures that get her the part. You could have used a instant camera and she still would have grabbed any viewer with those looks.

I am so glad my kids take after my wife and not me.

peace,
johno~

Yuri Pautov · February 22, 2005

Critique
Andy!
If you don't mind - a bit of critique :-)
Yes, perfect portrait - light, pose... but...
for me (*for me*) it's more artificial then natural.
I started thinking - why?
It looks more like painting then a photograph - these beautiful eyes seem to be 'out of theme' in their deep tones. Maybe using some filters could help to 'lighten' them. You know - I prefer more sharp eyes. Maybe its because of DOF... don't know...
Anyhow, I like the second one better!
Spasibo,
Yuri

Andy · February 22, 2005

spasibo, yuri

Yuri Pautov wrote:

Andy!
If you don't mind - a bit of critique :-)
Yes, perfect portrait - light, pose... but...
for me (*for me*) it's more artificial then natural.
I started thinking - why?
It looks more like painting then a photograph - these beautiful eyes seem to be 'out of theme' in their deep tones. Maybe using some filters could help to 'lighten' them. You know - I prefer more sharp eyes. Maybe its because of DOF... don't know...
Anyhow, I like the second one better!
Spasibo,
Yuri

thanks for the ideas - i'll try some of them. always appreciate your feedback, i value it highly.

KimballPhotography · February 22, 2005

I really like both shots! Not that my unprofessional opinion means anything but, I'll speak anyway. For some reason the position of her hand bugs me in the second picture. It just looks flat and big...maybe too bright for the rest of the pic? Could just be me though. Both of them catch my eye! From the second pic I would say that she would be great in a Legally Blonde type movie, ha ha ha. Like maybe one of Elle's buddies

.
Really hope that she gets the part! She's beautiful and your work is great.

Natalie

Thiago Sigrist · February 22, 2005

Hi again Andy!
Hey hey! Anna's really looking good on those shots, so I guess Julia Roberts should better watch out! :-)

Lighting is really nice on them, I love the way your highlights came out; and the catchlights in the eyes are sure a nice touch!

Also, as Yuri noticed, #2 definitely has the edge in terms of sharpness... The first picture has loads of detail but looks less sharpened. I don't know what else to say, because I *like* this look. Was it the look you wanted to achieve, Andy? :-)

Thanks so much for sharing!
Take care!

-- thiago

PS: I also hope Anna takes the role! The skills she shows posing for you surely would be helpful in her acting career! :-)

Andy · February 22, 2005

Angelo wrote:

She's a beautiful young lady. How lucky she has you for headshots. What's happening at her hair line in back? Is that a type of fethering effect you have going?

thanks angelo - appreciate your feedback. it's a little hinky but i think i can improve the hair line a bit more.

REECEPHOTO · February 23, 2005

My pick would be the fist photo.
Andy, she has such a beautiful face you have to use the first one.
Great lighting, good comp, very nice job....!

Andy · February 23, 2005

ehughes wrote:

Andy, I like the first one a lot, the lighting is great. Have you ever looked at the headshot work of Kevyn Major Howard http://www.headshot-photography.com/ ? I've always liked his work.

As for the second picture, can't quite figure out the character.. Best guess, an inept spy? ( inept since the magazine upside down )

Ed

i haven't ed, i'm going to look there. thanks for the link, and for commenting

no, not an inept spy. it's an actual character from a wildly popular book.

tmlphoto · February 23, 2005

Here is my 2 cents worth Andy.

I think the DOF is too shallow too allow both eyes to be in focus. I would try stopping down just enough to keep both eyes sharp, but still giving the soft look to the rest of the picture.

I would crop it tighter. The shirt doesn't really add and you really want to emphasize the face/eyes.

Consider a longer lens (ie. 100mm or so). The 50mm tends to emphasize the proportions of the nose.

I agree with the earlier comment about the darkness of the left eye. If you were going for a really contrasty lighting look it wouldn't bother me, but overall the contrast ratio isn't that high, so I think it needs to be lighter.

I hope this doesn't sound too harsh. It's really a lovely shot, just some ideas about possible improvements.

A little chin up might work better as well.

gubbs · February 24, 2005

I like the slightly soft look of the 1st one, but I do prefer the 2nd shot, although I've absolutely no idea who the character is

Help us out andy! Let us know how she gets on - Break a leg!

Andy · February 24, 2005

tmlphoto wrote:

Here is my 2 cents worth Andy.

I think the DOF is too shallow too allow both eyes to be in focus. I would try stopping down just enough to keep both eyes sharp, but still giving the soft look to the rest of the picture.

I would crop it tighter. The shirt doesn't really add and you really want to emphasize the face/eyes.

Consider a longer lens (ie. 100mm or so). The 50mm tends to emphasize the proportions of the nose.

I agree with the earlier comment about the darkness of the left eye. If you were going for a really contrasty lighting look it wouldn't bother me, but overall the contrast ratio isn't that high, so I think it needs to be lighter.

I hope this doesn't sound too harsh. It's really a lovely shot, just some ideas about possible improvements.

A little chin up might work better as well.

some great feedback here and i appreciate it very much. i've made some final tweaks and she's sent off the shots to the producers of the next harry potter movie. thanks!

tmlphoto · February 24, 2005

andy wrote:

some great feedback here and i appreciate it very much. i've made some final tweaks and she's sent off the shots to the producers of the next harry potter movie. thanks!

Tell her to "Break a leg".

dragon300zx · February 25, 2005

Ok I am a Harry Potter fan. Have read every book at least twice. Who is the character though? Its not Hermione, or Geannie Weasley. Looks like im gonna be pulling out books four and five for re-reads again. Well I hope she gets the part.

Andy · February 25, 2005

fish wrote:

I like the crispness of the second shot better. The texture of the hair and eyebrows sets it apart for me.

As far as character, "Wilson" in Home Improvement? :

thanks a lot, fish. it's great to photograph our kids, isn't it? i especially enjoy that she comes to me now for photos

Nir wrote:

Beautiful young lady and beautiful shots Andy! I hope she gets the part!

thanks nir! i hope she does, too... how exciting would that be? harry potter? way cool.

johno wrote:

Great shots Andy... She is beautiful. How fast they grow. Andy, I know you're a great photographer, however, I don't think it will be your pictures that get her the part. You could have used a instant camera and she still would have grabbed any viewer with those looks.

I am so glad my kids take after my wife and not me.

peace,
johno~

ty john - yep she's a looker. i'm gonna get shotgun lessons from humungus while i'm with him in yosemite

KimballPhotography wrote:

I really like both shots! Not that my unprofessional opinion means anything but, I'll speak anyway. For some reason the position of her hand bugs me in the second picture. It just looks flat and big...maybe too bright for the rest of the pic? Could just be me though. Both of them catch my eye! From the second pic I would say that she would be great in a Legally Blonde type movie, ha ha ha. Like maybe one of Elle's buddies .
Really hope that she gets the part! She's beautiful and your work is great.

Natalie

thanks natalie for the critique - really apprecaite your comments.

Andy · February 26, 2005

fish wrote:

As far as character, "Wilson" in Home Improvement? :

fish, do you mean, this guy?

fish · February 26, 2005

andy wrote:

fish, do you mean, this guy?

That's the guy!! Earl Hindman (died recently, I think)

Andy · March 5, 2005

Nir wrote:

Beautiful young lady and beautiful shots Andy! I hope she gets the part!

thanks for looking, and commenting, nir! i really appreciate your efforts here at dgin

TOF guy · March 5, 2005

andy wrote:

my daughter is going for a movie role -

yes, the recipes are a little different for the cross-toning. i'll settle on just one before prints are made.

enjoy (hoping for a casting call) photography,

Hi Andy,

I like the pics. First, I get to look at a very beautiful woman, and second, yours pictures are great (as usual).

I'll throw in a few comments. First picture: 1- there is a little too much light coming from above on her hairs: harsh reflection there. Second, the picture would be more flattering with a longer lens. Third, I think that it is a little distracting that while her hair are mostly sharp, there is a patch on the right of the head (viewer's right), which is OOF. 4- a very subtle detail: it seems that the camera was slightly above eyes level, and possibly would benefit from being shot at a slightly lower camera position.

The 2nd picture is a very interesting shot. But it does not appeal much to me: I'd rather see her face than the magazine ! Also the very best "high key" pictures are with the skin close to saturation, but not saturated. There is just no shade of grey on most of her forehead.

Glad to be able to continue to see your pics again

: . Too bad for the other side, though :cry .

Thierry

Andy · March 5, 2005

TOF guy wrote:

Hi Andy,

I like the pics. First, I get to look at a very beautiful woman, and second, yours pictures are great (as usual).

I'll throw in a few comments. First picture: 1- there is a little too much light coming from above on her hairs: harsh reflection there. Second, the picture would be more flattering with a longer lens. Third, I think that it is a little distracting that while her hair are mostly sharp, there is a patch on the right of the head (viewer's right), which is OOF. 4- a very subtle detail: it seems that the camera was slightly above eyes level, and possibly would benefit from being shot at a slightly lower camera position.

The 2nd picture is a very interesting shot. But it does not appeal much to me: I'd rather see her face than the magazine ! Also the very best "high key" pictures are with the skin close to saturation, but not saturated. There is just no shade of grey on most of her forehead.

Glad to be able to continue to see your pics again : . Too bad for the other side, though :cry .

Thierry

thanks thierry - and

welcome to dgrin

i really appreciate your in depth and thoughtful comments.

dragon300zx · March 20, 2005

Ok I was discussing it with this girl I have been talking ot tryign to get to know and what not ya know. And I know who the girl your daughter is tryign to depict in the picture is and prolly the part she is trying out for. I cant remember the girls name but its the daughter or the news paper reporter for witches newspaper whatever its called ( am a fan of the series not a fanatic so names and details slip me). Are we right?

Andy · March 20, 2005

dragon300zx wrote:

Ok I was discussing it with this girl I have been talking ot tryign to get to know and what not ya know. And I know who the girl your daughter is tryign to depict in the picture is and prolly the part she is trying out for. I cant remember the girls name but its the daughter or the news paper reporter for witches newspaper whatever its called ( am a fan of the series not a fanatic so names and details slip me). Are we right?

ya got me, dragon! i haven't yet read the books or seen the movies. i'm going to do all that when my now 5 yr old is a little older

anyhow, she's supposed to be a ditzy private detective i think

rutt · March 20, 2005

These are nice portraits and your daughter is a beautiful girl. Naturally, I have a couple of suggestions.

Take a page from Uri's book and try various extreme angles on her head. Shoot down from the forehead, up from the chin, profile up, profile down, etc. He posted a striking example of this here that really got me thinking. See how flattering #2 is to his subject vs the other two shots? As a father, it might be hard to think objectively about your daughter's features and which to emphasize and which to deemphasize. So experiment.
The shot with the magazine is OK, but if I were casting a part, I'd just toss it. What are you hiding? The casting director needs to see the whole face in order to do his/her job.
The lighting for the first shot would do the job (but Yuri's suggestions might improve it.) But it's too flat for me. I want to see more detail and perhaps some shadows.
Color? I know I'm a broken record, but in this case I'd really think hard about it. Is B&W a requirement for the application? If so, case closed. If not, think again about the casting director trying to do his/her job. Color provides more information. If I had that job I'd want to know whether she is a red head, strawberry blonde, or what. Is her skin really that pale? What color are her eyes?

I dug up this shot that you posted a few months ago:

Maybe this isn't what you actually want to use for this application, but it would stand out from the pile of other submissions a lot better than the two B&W shots. And I can answer the questions about eye color, etc.

Andy · March 20, 2005

thanks for the detailed suggestions, john - always appreciated! in this case, the req't was for bw, two shots - one a standard headshot and the other "in-character" so that's why she's behind the magazine. the shots were submitted together as a pair - per the casting call letter. no word yet on this part, but as a result of these two shots, she landed a small role in a film being made this spring. pretty cool, eh what?

she is beautiful, and thanks for saying so. i too, prefer the portrait i took of her that you linked.

rutt wrote:

These are nice portraits and your daughter is a beautiful girl. Naturally, I have a couple of suggestions.
Take a page from Uri's book and try various extreme angles on her head. Shoot down from the forehead, up from the chin, profile up, profile down, etc. He posted a striking example of this here that really got me thinking. See how flattering #2 is to his subject vs the other two shots? As a father, it might be hard to think objectively about your daughter's features and which to emphasize and which to deemphasize. So experiment.

The shot with the magazine is OK, but if I were casting a part, I'd just toss it. What are you hiding? The casting director needs to see the whole face in order to do his/her job.

The lighting for the first shot would do the job (but Yuri's suggestions might improve it.) But it's too flat for me. I want to see more detail and perhaps some shadows.

Color? I know I'm a broken record, but in this case I'd really think hard about it. Is B&W a requirement for the application? If so, case closed. If not, think again about the casting director trying to do his/her job. Color provides more information. If I had that job I'd want to know whether she is a red head, strawberry blonde, or what. Is her skin really that pale? What color are her eyes?

I dug up this shot that you posted a few months ago:

Maybe this isn't what you actually want to use for this application, but it would stand out from the pile of other submissions a lot better than the two B&W shots. And I can answer the questions about eye color, etc.

Andy · March 20, 2005

andy wrote:

my daughter is going for a movie role -

and here's the other shot that she wants to include, she's "in charachter." can anyone guess?

and the character, is "luna lovegood" the ditzy private eye....

actress headshot

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