Photographing Headshots

Good morning everyone.

In this morning's blog post I am going to keep everything simple. It is something that everyone can do and it can help when you have no white background to work with even when it may be required.

One of the first things I had to photograph when I got started with my degree was take a self portrait. Well as I found out it is not a easy as it sounds.

My chin was to high, the angle of my face was wrong, the exposure had to be changed often. I could take a light meter reading, which is why I always recommend a light meter. I have a Sekonic  but any light meter is suitable. It sorts out your exposures and gets out from in front of the camera a little less than you would think.

Well, over the past week I had to photograph a company and some head shots. They had some cream walls and it was just not what I was looking for. They wanted to add them to there web site for some advertising and I just wanted a clean crisp head and some shoulders. I had two soft boxes with me and that would be just great to get some good exposure and keep the shadow off the wall, correct.

So a typical setup would look like this right?

Lighting schematics by Lightingdiagram.com

You can get some good lighting and you can also take care of the shadow cast by your subject. This is a great setup. It is easy to carry to strobes and you could always use an office wall or flat surface for your background.

However, what if the background is uneven, full or artwork or even need additional editing later in Photoshop. However can you deliver a quick easy yet very clean background to your client with little or no additional editing.

Well all you have to do is reposition the soft boxes that you already have. In the following scenario I took my large Octa soft box. You can use your largest soft box so that it covers the entire back of the head and shoulders of your client. Then you position your other soft box over your shoulder behind you and the camera. 45 degrees to your right or left and high enough so that if your client is wearing glasses you do not get the reflection of the soft box in their lenses.

Take your light meter reading from the strobe over your shoulder and set your exposure accordingly.

Now you have a setup that you can use anywhere. No background is required and the photographs are going to be clear and crisp. 

Here are the final results from that shoot. 

I love this type of head shots. They are so clean and crisp. All I did in post-processing was apply a plugin mask. I used Perfectly Clear V2 by Athentech and I also tried out Portraiture by Imagenomic. They are both great products so give them a try and see what works for you.

It is a great way to add some additional business to your portfolio. I got most of my training from Lynda.com which is accessible from the Online Library. (I mentioned this in one of my previous posts) or check out the website of Peter Hurley  for some really great inspiration.

I hope you liked this post. If you would like to see more of this or even if you have a few suggestions then please send me an email at denzilern@stu.aii.edu or leave a comment on the site.

Happy shooting, have a great week and I will speak to you again next week.

Denzil

Have Your Photos Tell a Story for a Big Impact!

When you share images on social media, are you telling a story? While one image may speak for itself, sometimes it makes sense to create a diptych, triptych, or collage of images to make more of an impact. I shared the diptych above on my Facebook page instead of adding each one individually because I think they make each other stronger. The contrast in color, focal length, and composition when juxtaposed in such a manner make me look closer at each panel. At the same time, each image emphasizes the closeness of the couple, which is the goal of an engagement session. That aspect, as well as the warmth of the images, relates them to one another so that they are able to work together.

Do you have a preference in how you share images, or what you are drawn to when other photographers share theirs? If you're interested in displaying your images in groups, you can create templates in Photoshop really easily. Using the same border thickness from one template to the next and adding your logo or name to each template will make the process of inserting your images and exporting for web sharing super fast!

-Friday Ambassador

Blending Modes are fun in Photoshop!

Hello and welcome to another Terrific Tuesday!

I have been using Photoshop now for several years, and it was not until recently that I decided to experiment with the blending modes.  One of the ones that I particularly like is the soft glow effect that you can create with it.  To me the glow simulates some of the effects that can be created with filter lenses on the cameras, however, my collection of lenses is not that big so I decided to practice with the software.

If you have never done it, don’t be afraid there are a lot of tutorials out there that can help you get started with the wonderful world of blending modes in Photoshop.  Look at some of the images and you will see that it is something that would enhance the way they look, and it might be something that you might want to explore with more detail.

both images:  www.photoshopessentials.com

For the images that I changed, the procedure was simple, of course it could be adjusted to fit your needs or the aesthetic value you might want to create with your own images.  My six steps were as follow:

1.      Once you open the image in Photoshop, duplicate the background layer and apply a Gaussian blur, (I used about 15% of the longest pixel side).

2.      Set this duplicate you created to multiply blend (from the layer style) mode and lower the opacity (I lowered mine to about 35%).

3.      Duplicate the altered layer.

4.      Desaturate the new duplicated layer and then set it to screen blend mode at 70% opacity.

5.      Include a hue/saturation adjustment layer to the Multiply layer to increase saturation (this is not the desaturated layer!).

6.      Adjust for shadow detail in the Screen Layer.

I have found out that if you use images with natural light, they seemed to be working better for me than the ones where I used strobes or hot shoe flash, let me know how it works for you.

Here is a tutorial of how to add a soft glow:

Adding a Soft Glow with Photoshop: http://www.tipsquirrel.com/adding-a-soft-glow-with-photoshop/

There are plenty of books and literature out there that can also help you with this topic, the one that I used when I started to practice with the blend modes is at the bottom of the page.

Drop me a line and let me know how your experimentation is going, are you having fun with blend modes?

Of course you are!!!

Until later, this is your Tuesday Ambassador wishing you all a great and happy, pixeled full day!

 Valentine, Scott.  The Hidden Power of Blend Modes in Adobe Photoshop.  2013.  Print.  Peachpit.  California.

Liquified!

Good Thursday morning everyone. I had someone mention my last post in a class the other day. That was so exciting. It really means a lot to us to know you are reading. We cherish your feedback!

Something else that excited me happened this week also. Last Saturday I took fashion photos out at the beach and then got to play with them. I planned to create a water effect from this image, but I was overwhelming surprised by the liquefy effect in Photoshop. I took shells, and water colored tulle for my model to lay on and in. The image with no post-production was quite satisfying, so I assumed I could really go someplace great with it.

I had an image of a lighthouse with its reflection on the water that was slightly rippled, but very calm for Lake Michigan! Because I was working on a Lighthouse project, this image worked into my scheme.  By itself it creates a very interesting image, but a lot of people will wonder what the shadow is along the side.

Placing the water over my model, I lowered the opacity to 66% so that it created a soft watery look over her. Then came the fun. I duplicated my portrait layer first of course to preserve it (don’t forget this step)! Using the Liquify (apparently Adobe doesn’t know how to spell J) tool, found under Filter, I began playing with her hair and the tulle around her. I used varying sized of brush and pressure. The rest, beneath the water layer, was almost like oil on water. I was so excited, I couldn’t wait to share.

What have you created lately that you couldn’t wait to share. Tell us about it. We get as excited over other’s work as our own!