Exec. head shots. Advise?, opinions?

ShepsMom

I was asked at work to take some head shots for a newsletter.
I'd like your honest opinion on few of these. I'll be doing more, but these are just trial ones.

These were taken at different locations, so light and bg appearing different :scratch, i don't know how else to make bg look the same. I tried to edit it in PS but now it looks like crap :dunno


Thanks for any advise you might provide.


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cmorganphotography

DO you have a spot on the background behind them? The bg looks too dark and there's do defining outline of the people vs the bg. If you do have one I think it needs to be brighter and higher right about center of back on the person. I have no criticisms otherwise. They look happy and bright. Hope it helps!

CarnalSigh

My humble opinion....I like the actual photography and lighting. Their facial features are brought out well. A couple things bug me tho. The green (it looks digital) background. I dunno. Unless it's a company color and they requested it, I think I'd have gone with a neutral but warm color. Perhaps a warm dark coffee brown or dark grey. Another thing that gets me is the centering of the subjects. While dead centering of the eyes SOMETIMES works, it needs to be used sparingly. I'd have liked to see a little better use of the rule of thirds here, and perhaps even back the camera off a little bit to get more of them into the shot, and perhaps even angling them a bit more instead of facing straight towards the camera (most seen in the last photo)...thus reducing the amount of dead space above their heads and producing a warmer feel. My 2 cents.

I hate critiquing peoples' work. It makes me feel rotten when others pick mine apart and I feel like a real arse when I do it to others. You asked tho.

ShepsMom

cmorganphotography wrote:

DO you have a spot on the background behind them? The bg looks too dark and there's do defining outline of the people vs the bg. If you do have one I think it needs to be brighter and higher right about center of back on the person. I have no criticisms otherwise. They look happy and bright. Hope it helps!

Thank you cmorgan, i'm not sure i understand your question regarding "spot on bg behind them"? I darkened it in PS. I've been looking at it for a while and it does appear somewhat darker then it really is. I'll have to go and dig out originals.

ShepsMom

CarnalSigh wrote:

My humble opinion....I like the actual photography and lighting. Their facial features are brought out well. A couple things bug me tho. The green (it looks digital) background. I dunno. Unless it's a company color and they requested it, I think I'd have gone with a neutral but warm color. Perhaps a warm dark coffee brown or dark grey. Another thing that gets me is the centering of the subjects. While dead centering of the eyes SOMETIMES works, it needs to be used sparingly. I'd have liked to see a little better use of the rule of thirds here, and perhaps even back the camera off a little bit to get more of them into the shot, and perhaps even angling them a bit more instead of facing straight towards the camera (most seen in the last photo)...thus reducing the amount of dead space above their heads and producing a warmer feel. My 2 cents.

I hate critiquing peoples' work. It makes me feel rotten when others pick mine apart and I feel like a real arse when I do it to others. You asked tho.

Thanks for the comments!
Company requires dark green background. I'm not sure about rules of third for this type, i've looked through some of the different headshots and i didn't see many that are off center, may be a little. Some have different head positioning, but that's about it. I'm not experience in headshots of this type, so i'll have to think some more on this one.
Thanks again!!!

Icebear

I think they are all really good. Yeah, I could nitpick, but overall you did real well, tho I don't care for the BG much.

The only big fault I see is that in image #5, your subject is dead on to the camera. If it weren't for her hair, you'd have both ears. Personally, I think some of the others are a bit straight on too, but #5 is the most obvious.

I agree they should be cropped a bit though. Too much BG above the heads.

Nikolai

Marina,
corporate headshots are often subject to many rules and requirements we're not aware of here, so it's kinda difficult to offer an dvice.
However, here's a couple of things I noticed that may improve the general outlook:

• either use the backlight on the BG to create a halo around the person; or use a hairlight to highlight the top of the sholders (+1...+1.5 stops above the main light) and create a more distinct separation between dark business suites and dark bg
• I think the light is too bland, I prefere more dramatic lighting in portraiture. But that's me and that's definitely a subject for the company's policy...

HTH

ShepsMom

Icebear wrote:

I think they are all really good. Yeah, I could nitpick, but overall you did real well, tho I don't care for the BG much.

The only big fault I see is that in image #5, your subject is dead on to the camera. If it weren't for her hair, you'd have both ears. Personally, I think some of the others are a bit straight on too, but #5 is the most obvious.

I agree they should be cropped a bit though. Too much BG above the heads.

Thank you for your input, i will work with my subjects to sit them properly, they're quiet cry babies. First quiestion is "can you remove my wrinkles, or do i have a double chin...."

I will also crop them as you suggested, thanks again!

ShepsMom

Nikolai wrote:

Marina,
corporate headshots are often subject to many rules and requirements we're not aware of here, so it's kinda difficult to offer an dvice.
However, here's a couple of things I noticed that may improve the general outlook:

• either use the backlight on the BG to create a halo around the person; or use a hairlight to highlight the top of the sholders (+1...+1.5 stops above the main light) and create a more distinct separation between dark business suites and dark bg
• I think the light is too bland, I prefere more dramatic lighting in portraiture. But that's me and that's definitely a subject for the company's policy...

HTH

Thanks Nikolai, i shall do some reading on the subject so i know what i'm doing . For now, i only have 1 light, so it's kind of hard to get really creative. I'll see how it all plays out on Monday.

ChatKat

Angle
Marina,

To hide the chin/neck a bit shoot from a higher angle and avoid the area under the chin (double chin area). Another trick is to have the person sitting at a 45 degree angle to the back ground and have them twist thereby stretching that double chin and loose skin tighter.

cmorganphotography

ShepsMom wrote:

Thank you cmorgan, i'm not sure i understand your question regarding "spot on bg behind them"? I darkened it in PS. I've been looking at it for a while and it does appear somewhat darker then it really is. I'll have to go and dig out originals.

I like like a small flourescent or a little heat lamp. A spotlight, to lighten the background and provide an outline for the people posing to distinguish them from the bg.

ShepsMom

ChatKat wrote:

Marina,

To hide the chin/neck a bit shoot from a higher angle and avoid the area under the chin (double chin area). Another trick is to have the person sitting at a 45 degree angle to the back ground and have them twist thereby stretching that double chin and loose skin tighter.

Kat, i thought about bringing a ladder with me, just for that reason, they probably going to think i'm out of my mind....

ShepsMom

cmorganphotography wrote:

I like like a small flourescent or a little heat lamp. A spotlight, to lighten the background and provide an outline for the people posing to distinguish them from the bg.

I see what you're saying, now i understand. Oh boy .

Thanks again!