On Monday afternoon I spent a lovely day around Holland Park taking headshots for the actor JT Eaton. I guess you could call it a ‘park’ of the job, when taking headshots for an actor’s portfolio I get to spend a pleasant afternoon in the park. Of course the most important thing is the quality of the photos themselves. Casting directors a big fans of outdoor headshots, and I feel it does creates a more relaxed portrait. It’s far easier to relax in a park than standing in a darkened studio somewhere with various lights going off around you.
Of course the down side is mother nature doesn’t always want to give us perfect light, and living in London we all know it can be sunny, rainy, blowing a gale or even snowing at a moments notice. That’s where the headshot photographer’s skill comes in. We have to be able to manipulate the light or failing that… create it.
By manipulating this basically means moving the actor around till I’m happy with the light, using a reflector to fill out any shadows and always being aware of the changing light conditions. In camera I’m constantly playing with aperture and shutter speed to make sure I’m exposing for the correct part of the face.
Creating it is a little different. I’m starting to successfully experiment with a new technique that takes the chance out of outdoor portraits. By carrying a light source around with me, in seconds I can create a mini outdoor studio. The result is I’m finding is a lot cleaner, more striking headshot, which is more evenly toned overall. It’s something I’m still trying out but becoming more and more fond off.
Here are a couple of examples:
- Using reflected light
- Creating light
Where I’ve ‘created’ a light source it’s a lot smoother in tone compared to the left hand side where the light is still great but more ‘contrasty’. Of course the backgrounds still have that classic outdoor dappled light, but the light on the subjects does look very different. It’s great to always have a back-up plan when taking headshots outdoors, and this way if the light is a little bit poor, I’ve always got something in the bag.
Stuart
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Discussion
You have done a pretty good job. I am no professional but one thing I learned is to try not take a “perfectly centered” picture. Here it looks good with the head slightly chopped.
What do I know about Photography though…