My first headshots redone

[livin4lax09]

some of you may remember the first headshots I did, and they were alright, but I recently worked with the same girl, and finally got around to photographing my print (shot 35mm) and here it is. I think that needless to say, it's much better. looks even better printed.

[Ronnoco]

One main rule of portraiture, Brent is that the head and hair need to be visually separated from the background, as does the neck and shoulders in any great portrait. You also need to look closely at facial features that should be emphasized and those that should be de-emphasized. There is quite a lot of published work out there on tips and techniques for great portraiture. You should take a look at it.

Ronnoco

[livin4lax09]

yeah, i wasn't really going for the standard portrait here. It was more of a work with lighting. but thanks for the comment.

[GB1]

Brent - I personally love black backgrounds. But I agree that they're tough to get great shots on with brunettes (blondes take the cake in these situations). I think you got a good shot here - the smile, eye contact, and moody lighting all work. It's a little hard to understand what you're going for, but it seems to work.

Btw I would crop out the top negative space to just above the top of her forehead. The right side space is OK, but I just feel that eliminating the top makes for a better picture.

gb

[pez31]

Brent

I understand why you like this image. The lighting, composition, and subject matter all work together. My thoughts would be to add a reflector to bounce light back in on the top left of her head. This would create a little more separation from the background and lighten that side of her face. As was mentioned you might want to soften her facial features a little in PS or what ever post processing software you use. Some of her facial lines are a little too evident. The black background doesn't bother me. Nice attempt.

Regards,

Phil

[livin4lax09]

also I should just add this lost a bit when being converted. There's a lot more detail in the printed shot, and the contrast on this is lacking. And I know what you mean about the features, but this is one of those instances where if you knew her, you would leave the facial lines because they make her smile unique. as well as her scar. Good idea of the reflector though. I'll try it next time. This was basically just a shot with angled lighting for my chaos light order project, because I had to use up the film on my roll to develop it that day.

[gahspidy]

Portraits and headshots do not all need to follow the same "rules". I like the portraits that are coming out of the darkness, so to speak, as this. I would add a bit more light to the shadowed side of her head and face (reflector perhaps), but I would not want to see her face altered as I feel a persons flaws and imperfections is what is most appealing and interesting.

[Ronnoco]

I would not want to see her face altered as I feel a persons flaws and imperfections is what is most appealing and interesting.

Not, when minor imperfections draw the viewer's eye away from the eyes of the person in the portrait. Any true portrait specialist's goal is to emphasize the positive..the inner beauty...the character...the soul and to de-emphasize minor, distracting facial imperfections.

Ronnoco

[McMadCow]

This is a cool shot, and I'm definitely into the dramatic lighting. I think I would like to see the side of her nose lightened up a little bit, either with dodging or in-camera with a reflector. I don't mind many of her features hidden in shadow, but that shadow by her nose is a bit distracting here.
Also, what length lens did you use? It looks like her face is distorted a little bit, like you were shooting with a 50 or lower...
thanks for posting!

[Ronnoco]

This is a cool shot, and I'm definitely into the dramatic lighting. I think I would like to see the side of her nose lightened up a little bit, either with didging or in-camera with a reflector. I don't mind many of her features hidden in shadow, but that shadow by her nose is a bit distracting here.
Also, what length lens did you use? It looks like her face is distorted a little bit, like you were shooting with a 50 or lower...
thanks for posting!

Some good points. I like dramatic lighting too, but and the big but here is that the lighting has to positively contribute to the overall effectiveness of the image and it doesn't around the nose or chin area.

Ronnoco