Headshot

[lkeeney]

Here is a headshot from my fashion photoshoot last night.

I was disappointed because I had scheduled to do this shoot in Bobby Deal's new studio. Unfortunately, the designer changed the date of the shoot to a day when the studio was not available, so I had to do the shoot in my living room studio.

In case anyone is wondering, there was no skin smoothing done on this image.

As usual, all comments are welcome.

[zemlin]

There's a lot to like here, but wish the hair bits all terminated in the frame. I certainly understand the need to fill the frame, but when a "feather" doesn't have a visible end, it seems to be come endless, like a ribbon tied to her head.

[thcofer]

Nice shot. Interesting hairstyle

[yellowtiger]

WEll Done!!!

[lkeeney]

Originally Posted by zemlin

There's a lot to like here, but wish the hair bits all terminated in the frame. I certainly understand the need to fill the frame, but when a "feather" doesn't have a visible end, it seems to be come endless, like a ribbon tied to her head.

I'm with you on this comment, and the original shot includes all the hair. I was going to post the image as I shot it, but that would have put her eyes just below center of the image, and I know all the comments I would have received if I had done that.

I have full length images of this shot, but they are not nearly as dramatic as the closer shot.

[lkeeney]

Originally Posted by thcofer

Nice shot. Interesting hairstyle

I was only supposed to be shooting full length fashion shots, but I could not help myself from taking this headshot.

[lkeeney]

Originally Posted by yellowtiger

WEll Done!!!

Thanks.

[Studio7Four]

Originally Posted by lkeeney

I'm with you on this comment, and the original shot includes all the hair. I was going to post the image as I shot it, but that would have put her eyes just below center of the image, and I know all the comments I would have received if I had done that.

I have full length images of this shot, but they are not nearly as dramatic as the closer shot.

Now that you've given us that caveat, would you be up for posting that version as a For Reference Only shot? The hair continuing out of the frame was the first thing that came to my mind as well. Perhaps with a better understanding of what you had to work with we could better appreciate what you settled on (or offer more useful suggestions). One thing you may consider is shopping those extensions so that they do end in the frame as you've cropped it. A first time viewer would be none the wiser that in reality they were longer.

From a technical side this looks pretty solid. On this monitor at least it looks like your main might be just a tad hot (and/or her skin is just a tad oily) - the highlights on her face are a bit bright. The model also is coming across as a bit tentative or uncomfortable. Her expression seems reserved - with just a little tension in the eyes and perhaps a slight parting of her lips she could have come across pretty fierce. Also, the way she is holding her strap seems almost as if she's afraid her dress will fall down and she's holding it up (coupling into her expression). The same hand position without the straps between her fingers has a completely different feel to me.

Just my opinions, take them or leave them.

Cheers,
Rob

[lkeeney]

Originally Posted by Studio7Four

Now that you've given us that caveat, would you be up for posting that version as a For Reference Only shot? The hair continuing out of the frame was the first thing that came to my mind as well. Perhaps with a better understanding of what you had to work with we could better appreciate what you settled on (or offer more useful suggestions). One thing you may consider is shopping those extensions so that they do end in the frame as you've cropped it. A first time viewer would be none the wiser that in reality they were longer.

From a technical side this looks pretty solid. On this monitor at least it looks like your main might be just a tad hot (and/or her skin is just a tad oily) - the highlights on her face are a bit bright. The model also is coming across as a bit tentative or uncomfortable. Her expression seems reserved - with just a little tension in the eyes and perhaps a slight parting of her lips she could have come across pretty fierce. Also, the way she is holding her strap seems almost as if she's afraid her dress will fall down and she's holding it up (coupling into her expression). The same hand position without the straps between her fingers has a completely different feel to me.

Just my opinions, take them or leave them.

Cheers,
Rob

Thanks for your comments.

Seeing this was a fashion shoot, I did not want the photos to be about the models, but to show the clothing instead. I have collected a lot of fashion photos over the years that I like, and had shown them to the models of this shoot. In this shot, she was emulating the pose of one of the models in one of the photos I had shown her.

I would not normally have taken a headshot on a shoot like this, but when I saw her hair, I just had to do it.

Here is the uncropped shot from the camera. Now that I see the images together, I wish I had posted this one first even though her eyes are low in the image.

[Studio7Four]

Thanks for posting the wider shot, I much prefer it to the originally presented crop. Think of the hairdo as an ornate headpiece -it would be the focus of such a shot and the model only the means of supporting it and giving it some context. In that case I don't think anyone would complain about her eyes being low in the image. For that matter, I think you prejudiced yourself by calling this a headshot, in which the intent is typically to show off the person, rather than just thinking of it as a more tightly cropped fashion shot.

It's pretty interesting how just a little bit more space, so that you can see the extents of her hairdo, make this shot so much about the hair that I don't feel the same way about her expression as I did in the tighter version. Here I think it works.

Cheers,
Rob