First Headshots

PhilCollum

I'm just starting to learn some very basic portrait photography, and was asked to take some headshots/portraits of my mother. She wanted them mainly for some political ads. (She's runing for local city council - Now that she's retired she has WAY too much time on her hands, it seems!) She also wanted a few for her own personal keepsakes. And gave me about 2 days notice to get it done. Yikes!!

This is the first time I've ever tried posed portraits, and these are a few of what I came up with. Excuse the goofy poses, clothing choices, etc. My mother is quite a demanding lady. I love her more than anything, but she definately "knows what she wants" and is as stubborn as I am about getting it!! :wink

Anyway, portraiture has never been a strong point for me, but is something I'm trying to learn. I'm really looking for some good, ol'fashioned, harsh constructive critisism here. So any and all C&C would be most welcome!


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Thanks for looking. You guys are awsome.

Agnieszka

Hi there.

Haha, I have one of thse moms aswell

#1: I would have tried to tell her to turn her body a bit, so one shoulder is more in the front. I think straight on photos like this look a bit too "harsh"

#2: Haha, not sure if it's a city council-shot, but she sure looks like a model

#3: Not sure about this one, maybe it's the light/flash ....

#4: I actually really like this shot. She looks "strong" and looks like she knows what she wants. Guess it's more of a political ad. Maybe I would have taken it somewhere in the city though, with some architectural background.

#5: LOVE that shot. She looks very sweet & natural in it!

#6: I would crop the phtoos a bit different, maybe just under their hands / above the knees? But they sure look like a loving couple!

Hope this helped ...

Tango

my fav is #5, great shot!

tonichelle

Another vote for #5 - very natural in every way and a great composition

dmmattix

Another vote again for #5. Very nice.

Elaine

#5

heatherfeather

Agnieszka wrote:

Hi there.

Haha, I have one of thse moms aswell

#1: I would have tried to tell her to turn her body a bit, so one shoulder is more in the front. I think straight on photos like this look a bit too "harsh"

#2: Haha, not sure if it's a city council-shot, but she sure looks like a model

#3: Not sure about this one, maybe it's the light/flash ....

#4: I actually really like this shot. She looks "strong" and looks like she knows what she wants. Guess it's more of a political ad. Maybe I would have taken it somewhere in the city though, with some architectural background.

#5: LOVE that shot. She looks very sweet & natural in it!

#6: I would crop the phtoos a bit different, maybe just under their hands / above the knees? But they sure look like a loving couple!

Hope this helped ...

Geez- that is exactly what I was thinking on every single photo. Good job overall. Just watch the light hotspots and a little fill flash (not too much, though) would help on some of the outside ones. You can sure catch a glimmer of her personality in these which is a very good thing!

gregneil

Agnieszka gave you great advice, so I won't try to top it... but I want to add my voice to the accolades for #5! That's a wonderful shot. Relaxed pose, well composed, good exposure, a wonderful smile, and a twinkle in her eye. Good work.

nightspidy

#5
Love #5 - your Mom looks very personable and approachable here, as well as very happy

PhilCollum

Thank you, everyone, for the comments. I guess I'll lobby for making #5 her lead shot! Knowing her, she'll probably lean toward "I wish I were a fashion model" #2!

Agnieszka, gregneil, heatherfeather, thank you for the suggestions. You are all spot-on.

I had the most difficult time getting correct outdoor fill and not creating those ugly highlights. It was just about 12:00 noon when she wanted to go outdoors, and the bright southern California sun was shining brigtly overhead without a cloud in sight! I tried reflectors and fill flash but couldn't seem to get the fill light right. I'll be working on that.

Thank you again, everyone. You guys always pull through with good advice.

Icebear

Well, everyone is in agreement that #5 is the hands down winner, but nobody has said why. Well, I'll say why. It's because it's the only one that's not a straight on view. We like it because it's not straight-on, and particularly because it's narrowly lit (that is to say that the primary (key) light source is on the side away from the camera.) In the vast majority of situations, you only want to see one ear in a portrait. Sure there are exceptions, but they're rare.

Your mom has a very expressive face and a great smile.

Scott_Quier

1 - Turn her a bit more away from the camera. It appears you have two light sources here, but they also appear to be the same intensity. I might suggest you move the one camera left a little more to the left, move the other a bit closer to the camera and lower the power on it a bit. If you have a light ratio of 1:2 or 1:3, you will get some decent depth in the photo - as it is, you have no shadows (called flat lighting) to provide texture/depth/interest.

2 - This is better for all the reasons outlined above. I would still drop the power of the fill light another stop.

3 - I would think this is not appropriate for a political type portrait. Shooting down on someone places them in a subordinate position relative to the viewer, thus reducing the appearance of power/competence. Look up at them (just a little) has the opposite effect. As for the light, do you have a reflector to camera right? I get the sense of a different colored light source (warmer) from that direction.

4 - From a lighting perspective, this is nicely done. You have balanced the ambient with fill to reduce the impact/contrast of the shadows on her face without completely removing them. Her expression is one of a person who knows what they want. The slight angle to the camera is flattering and not quite so "in your face."

5 - Watch the hot spots on the face caused by dappled light as it filters through trees. The pose has a very nice, informal, and approachable feel to it. Well done.

6 - Again with the dappled light. Her crossed legs are a bit too crossed. Maybe crop this a little but up from the bottom, like at mid-thigh?

PhilCollum

Icebear wrote:

Well, everyone is in agreement that #5 is the hands down winner, but nobody has said why. Well, I'll say why. It's because it's the only one that's not a straight on view. We like it because it's not straight-on, and particularly because it's narrowly lit (that is to say that the primary (key) light source is on the side away from the camera.) In the vast majority of situations, you only want to see one ear in a portrait. Sure there are exceptions, but they're rare.

Your mom has a very expressive face and a great smile.

Thank you, Icebear. Good points to pay attention to next time.

PhilCollum

Scott_Quier wrote:

1 - It appears you have two light sources here, but they also appear to be the same intensity.

Yeah no doubt I got the ratio wrong. The flashes were in manual, and I had them set at s 2:1, but obviously had the fill set to close to the subject. I'm glad you pointed that out.

Scott_Quier wrote:

3 - I would think this is not appropriate for a political type portrait. Shooting down on someone places them in a subordinate position relative to the viewer, thus reducing the appearance of power/competence.

Great point - where were you when my mother was demanding that I be high enough to capture the scrunchie in her hair?!

Scott_Quier wrote:

As for the light, do you have a reflector to camera right? I get the sense of a different colored light source (warmer) from that direction.

Good eyes. Yes, I had a large gold reflector camera-right that her husband held for me. After I saw the image on my computer, I wished I had balanced the reflector better.

Scott_Quier wrote:

5 - Watch the hot spots on the face caused by dappled light as it filters through trees. The pose has a very nice, informal, and approachable feel to it. Well done.

Thanks. I had hoped I could tone the shadows down enough with my fill (which was set up on a shoot-through umbrella camera-left) - but no. It wasn't even close.

Scott_Quier wrote:

6 - Maybe crop this a little but up from the bottom, like at mid-thigh?

I'll try it. Thanks for the very detailed comments, Scott!