Headshot for a man.

zoomer · March 24, 2012

Never had a guy ask me for an official headshot before. So untraveled ground for me.
He sad he wanted dramatic....intense.
He showed up in a pink/purple plaid shirt with a white undershirt and a brown coat with a furry collar....really??

So it took me 30 minutes to get to this point. No shirts collar up sitting on a bench in the late evening sun. Natural light with the 70-200 2.8.

Any critique? Headshots aren't really my bag so yell if I missed anything, thanks.

jeffreaux2 · March 24, 2012

I like it.

It might benifit from a little tilting to the right.

You might also try cropping just a tad more from the top and right side.

Looks pretty dang good as is though!

People don't really "get it" when I get so stoked about a really successful image of a male subject. It's tough for anyone who hasn't had the experience to fully understand the dramatic difference between photographing male vs female. Exponentially harder in my experience.

Thanks for sharing.

zoomer · March 24, 2012

Thanks so much for the quick response. I am working on these right now so wanted someone else to confirm I was on the right track. I know you really know your stuff so thanks!!
Yes guys are much tougher....such a fine line we have to walk in processing and getting them to reveal to the camera.
I did crop from the top and from the right already, so you and I are thinking alike on the crop...sounds like could have gone even farther.

eoren1 · March 24, 2012

Hey Mike
Agree about losing a bit of the right side - maybe to mid-light pole.
Like the light here and the expression.
I'm a bit obsessed with jaw lines after watching the video linked below so, if you were to do it again, I might have had him turn his head a tiny bit more to his right - take that one with a heavy helping of salt - the only headshots I get are when my kids stop moving for a split second. The video is pretty awesome though and he mostly concentrates on a male model.
http://vimeo.com/35732667

jeffreaux2 · March 24, 2012

What I didnt say was the skin tones look excellent. Be careful not to over smooth.

zoomer · March 24, 2012

Thanks again,
Yes that is another very fine line with guys. I did almost nothing to his skin. just evened out some tones and the sun shadow from his collar, let some light into the shaded eye also.
Yes he has a good jaw line...but much farther and start to lose the off eye and the ear.

divamum · March 24, 2012

Usual question - intended use? If he's an actor, you've got the start of a good "rugged outdoors guy" shot for him with plenty of intensity, but I would tweak it a little.

Play with the crop as suggested above, and I would brighten up his camera right eye (to match the left). I'd also do some eye-definition (dodge highlights/burn dark areas, a bit of high pass filter, brighten the whites a little - or just use an "eye define" action such as the one in coffeeshop blog's "Glamour Glow" - it's still my favorite quick eye bump/define, runs fast and is easy to control with layer + brush opacity).

I might also darken the bright spots camera left, on his jacket (I've done this with a brush, or sometimes cloning some non-overbright cloth from another area). In fact, you could add a bit more drama by bringing down the brightness but bumping up the contrast a tad (not too much, but enough to make it a bit moodier rather than bright). Also, if you tilt the crop a bit, you may find you can lose much of that anyway. Finished shot for an actor will need to be 8x10 anyway - if you want a nonstandard crop, put it in a border so that the final is that size, but even if he uses a thumbnail, he will need the 8x10.

I know this is more post than you usually like to do, but...

PS I actually like the jacket and the way you've used it - works very well.

Moving Pictures · March 24, 2012

My nit would be the same as above, phrased differently: a touch of off-camera fill flash, camera right, would have added some light to the right side and given some highlight to the eyes.

Here's a tip for future situations: Park the cable on the end of a monopod, use the left arm to hold the monopod to your camera right, hold camera frame on left shoulder. It's a complicated position for the body - and you can extend the monopod so it buries in your waist - but the results are stellar. (Attribution: pillaged from Strobist's blog.) With a TTL flash, power the thing down a stop or two, which might allow you to then under-expose a half-stop to diminish the background light; or simply run the flash at 1/64 power or thereabouts.

FWIW: Being involved in this forum has allowed me to better understand my own style, and I believe Divamum (IIRC) and I are of the same school of "create catchlights in all pics" school of thought.

Gotham · March 25, 2012

I think this is a strong headshot. The only thing that really bothered me is the line going above his beard. I think that's the shadow that you say you removed, but I think it needs a bit more work. Also, to me the entire shot is just a tweak over-exposed. I'd dial it back just a tiny bit in PS or LR. But you've captured the intensity beautifully, and the blurred background really makes your model pop.

Headshot for a man.

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