Headshots are one of those things that looking from the outside in seem simple, and you can make them simple if you choose. But I’m into photography not just to make something simple and easy but rather to make something cool and interesting. That being said every time I shoot head shots I want to find something new and interesting, something that can separate my shots from those of everyone else or at very least to give me the look a feel that I wanted going into the shoot. I’m going to try to give you a glimpse into some of the posing and lighting styles I try to incorporate.
##Posing -
So this is still the toughest part of the shoot for me but I think I’m getting better and that’s all I can ask for. I feel like the biggest part of posing actually isn’t positioning the person your photographing, it’s more about creating a comfortable and natural rapport with your subject. If you can do that the position of the person becomes less and less important as your subjects will look better and more natural.
After you get comfortable working together it’s time to start posing, I have a couple of staples I use which we’ll cover here -
###Sitting
Start with your subject sitting on a chair facing you and then turn them about 20 degrees in either direction so they are not looking straight onto the camera. Then have them lean forward resting one elbow on their knee in front of them. This causes them to raise their head which should reduce any double chin they may have. Also it will force the subjects shoulders to be at a slight angle which leads to a very pleasing look.
###Standing
Again start with your subject facing you and then turn them slightly, this will make the appear thinner and the shoulders less broad. Make sure their posture is good, if they end up slouching even in headshots you may see it and more often then not it’s unflattering. Once you have them placed it’s up to you to see where to put their hands, if you want to thin them out further it can sometimes be beneficial to place their hand naturally behind their backs, think in the back pockets or somewhere they find comfortable.
###Shoulders
I think the shoulders can be one of the biggest things you need to watch. If you have them level all the time or have them facing the camera dead on you will see that the shots look both boring and you make the subject look bigger then they actually are.
##Lighting -
So there are staples in portrait lighting that most photographers would be wise to follow, just make sure you mix some of your own style in too. Usually you want to work with two lights on the subject a main light and a highlight or fill light depending on the shot. Depending on the effect you may also want a backlight. The fill light can even be as simple a reflector card to bounce lighting back on the subject from the main light.
Shooting the shots you see here, I was using with a single flash on a radio slave with a small soft box and some natural light coming through a window to act as my fill light. I was planning on using two flashes for these shots but one of my radio slaves decided not to work (more on that coming later). This turned out to be a great setup, I was slightly bouncing the main light off the ceiling and letting the natural light soften the feel of the shot. There are plenty more lighting options but for shooting headshots this seems to work the best for me.
Last but not least have fun, if your not having fun you need to re-think how your doing it.
