Headshots! There are so many different kinds for an equal amount of purposes. There are; corporate,
business, promotional's, glamour, beauty, seniors, models, and actors. In studio or environmental, relationship to the camera or away from camera; sexy, friendly, basic, or with a little attitude, etc.
I got a call the other day to do audition headshots from a young actress who was going to be auditioning in Atlanta, Ga.
I had to refreshed myself on the criteria for what was required, because I haven't done them in a while. It's almost better to remember what not to do because if done wrong you ruin your client's chances for being considered.
The main criteria for theatrical headshots is emphasizing the sitter's character and best features without the usual angles and beauty poses, and still catch the eye of the viewer with hopes of making them pause for further gazing upon the actors face. The eyes are the soul of the person and should reflect the personality of the sitter, for this reason agents want their clients looking straight into the camera; but theatrical auditions also want to see character, along with a nice smile, and a hint of expression that gives credibility to genuineness, truthfulness for the part they're auditioning for, (this is what we hope to accomplish.)
We decided on using the studio to shoot our headshots instead of an outdoors setting. I used a soft grey material for the background. I set up my speed lights for a kiss of additional lighting, because the window light was the main source; I did have in place a background light for separation and subtle vignetting. I placed my client about four feet from the background, mostly standing, sometimes sitting. I asked her to converse and move her head and hands at the same time to catch some natural expressions, but I stopped her intermittently as well and took shots. I wanted her to be at ease in front on my camera.
I used two cameras; Canon 5D MKii and my backup also a Canon,50D. My main lens was a Tamron 28-78mm 2.8 that I kept almost wide open, between f 3.2-4; this lens stays on the 5D. My ISO stayed between 100-200 because I had speed lights for added lighting. My shutter changed as I changed the settings on my speed lights. On the 50D, I kept with my go to lens, Canon EFS 17-55mm 2.8. I love this lens, it's fast and sharp, it's a wide angle zoom and macro; but it can't be used on the full frame 5D (sniff). However my 50D does just fine in a studio setting anyway; not so good under dark conditions. I resist adjusting the ISO past 800 due to a lot of noise.
The Tamron lens wide open gives me the soft feel I like, which is my over all style. As a wedding photographer I like a soft focus for romantic shots, sharp eyes, shallow depth of field, and a hint of texture on the skin. I wanted to create the same look without the romantic appeal for my actress. I feel confident we accomplished our mission. I wanted to give her a good chance to be chosen for the part she was auditioning for. The images came out great;
overall we had 141 to dwindle down to five. We had
variety, expression, nice eyes and smile. She picked her five with input from me, and I only hope we picked the right ones, because all it takes is one great headshot to catch the attention of the director and you're in!
If we're successful, I will update this blog! Ciao.
