Re: Advise on Potraits

[cruzcat01]

My wife was looking to update her LinkedIn profile with a newer headshot so that she appears more "Senior". She talked to a couple of freelancers through CL and they are charging $200-$250 for a portrait session. I persuaded her to give me a chance before she went ahead with the professionals .

Took a few trial portraits over the weekend. I got one of those cheapo Studio in a box kit which came with a black/white background and a couple of softboxes. Any advice on light arrangements and posing would be great. I think I get only one more try before she decides to go with a proper professional.

 

[mmhendrie]

I think it's a nice shot. I wonder if a different background color would help contrast more, as it gets a little lost with the hair color? But hair/background aside, I think it's a nice shot. Did your wife not like it?

Could you post a link of the studio in a box thing you purchased, I might want to give that a try myself...

-Matt

 

[dlkeller]

Agree with mm. Beautiful sot although you might try a lighter background. Also take a look at the color balance at it looks a bit bluish to me. Maybe go a little warmer. Of course this could just be a difference in uncalibrated monitors.

 

[Chimere]

Very nice portrait of a beautiful face, indeed. Not worth it to go to pro. Spend the money saved towards a portrait lens.

Improvements: try to reformat, cutting off the background a bit. Just my opinion.







--
Chimere

 

[nandbytes]

Wow, I spend nothing on my linkedin profile. Didnt think it even mattered that much and I have actually got jobs through it!

I dont think her clothes (the black top) and the background helps tbh. Its a good shot but I think you need lighter background and a neckline that compliments her complexion, nice silky black hair and the background.

 

[cruzcat01]

This is what I got. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Photography...535?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4855945807

Kinda cheap and plasticky but fine if you dont plan to move it around a lot. The softboxes were a pain to assemble and I found the best option was to mount the lamp holder first and put the soft box around it.

They have some cheaper kits as well and there a few ebay sellers listing similar stuff so you can shop around a bit for the best price.

 

[cruzcat01]

Thanks for the comments.

I have a couple of uncalibrated older (4+) yrs LCD monitors and colors seem different on both of them. I have tried using calibration tools but dont think it helps much for the older TN panels.

The colors actually seem warm on my current panel and typically I go by what I see on my Lumia 920 4.5" screen to go back and calibrate the colors

I hope to upgrade to a 27" 2560x1560 IPS panel sometime this year.

 

[cruzcat01]

Mate depends on what line of work and position you are applying for. My wife is applying for VP level positions and in her line of work all contacts are solely made through her LinkedIn network.

$250 is a mere drop in the ocean to get ahead .

 

[cruzcat01]

Well its not that she didnt like it. This was not an orchestrated shot and I just managed to get her to pose for a few mins before she headed out to meet her friends. I wanted to get a sense of the lighting and what poses work well etc.

Next weekend is the actual shoot (if you can call it that). I will try with the white background and lighter colored clothes.

 

[nandbytes]

Mate depends on what line of work and position you are applying for. My wife is applying for VP level positions and in her line of work all contacts are solely made through her LinkedIn network.

$250 is a mere drop in the ocean to get ahead .

I know and I understand. Its one of those things you know about but then you actually hear it happen and it still surprises you for some reason lol.

And assuming things about my position are we?

 

[mmhendrie]

well I think you did a great job and if you can avoid the hair/clothing/background clash, I think it'll look like a real pro shot. Actually, I think if you showed this to your average person, they'd think it was a pro shot. Can you post when you re-shoot? It's really interesting to me to see the results your getting with $120 lighting studio setup. How many people do you think you could comfortably shoot in that little studio? Large enough for family shots 3-6 people?

-Matt

 

[dolbyscat]

Mate depends on what line of work and position you are applying for. My wife is applying for VP level positions and in her line of work all contacts are solely made through her LinkedIn network.

$250 is a mere drop in the ocean to get ahead .

Even so... that photo is fine for LinkedIn, spending $250 isn't likely to improve on it.

 

[lehill]

I'm just beginning in portraiture so I'll suggest trying your question in the Studio & Lighting forum here at DPR. But I can offer what little I know. Here's a barebones website with portrait lighting examples.

A small light shining down from above to highlight the top of her hair will do wonders. I'm thinking you can use the third box for a hairlight. Maybe only use one bulb out of the four available. You don't want to light up the top of her head, the hairlight is there to just barely add a little tiny bit of light.

Are you using the cover over your soft boxes? I see you have the silver lining on the inside of your ebay boxes and the lighting does seem just a touch harsh.

These boxes are *really* small (16x24), I'm just starting out and my umbrellas are 30" and 40" diameter! Try experimenting with very close distances to the subject to soften the light. Position both boxes horizontally for more light spread.

Finally if you can find another small light to shine on the background. This background light forms a brighter spot on the background that makes a halo around the subject's head. Or you can use it to make a gradient across the background.

--
Lance H

 

[cruzcat01]

Tks for the advice. Will give it a try and see if I can improve on the results.

I positioned two softboxes on each side with 2 bulbs around 3 feet away and the third one at 135 deg looking up around 5 feet away. Typically, how close should you position the softboxes to the subject ?

 

[cruzcat01]

Matt,

The backdrop frame is around 7.5 ft wide but the muslin background that came with the kit is only 5 ft wide. IMO you can accommodate max 2-3 people comfortably. I guess you can always spring for a wider backdrop to fit in more people.

 

[MrChristopher]

Very nice shot and the lighting is great. You don't want it to look too sexy (she's gorgeous) so the white or even light blue backdrop might look more professional and less glamourous, unless she's a professional model of course.

I take lots of glamour shots of my wife but I tone them down for her work related photos. What lens did you use?
--

Chris Curnutt Photography

Documenting what I see and experience. Based in Wimberley Texas

chriscurnutt.tumblr.com

 

[Ed at Ridersite]

I'm no portrait photographer, but IMO, there are ways to improve it. I agree with the WB comment above. It doesn't look quite right - maybe not warm enough. Lighter clothes would probably help. It looks like the focus is in front of her eyes. Going straight for the eye usually works best. The lighting seems to fall off significantly just above her eyebrows. Maybe raise it up a bit.

Also, the crop seems too close on the left side to me.

Stopping down more will likely help sharpness a little, but I see you already have a pretty slow shutter. And, I wouldn't go higher with the ISO.

Best of luck with the job search.

 

[mmhendrie]

good question on the lens - looking at his gear listing and the EXIF, it looks like the Sony 16-50mm 2.8 - he also has the 85mm 2.8 - I've heard from others that the 85mm 2.8 has a great reputation for portraits, but I don't know enough to comment on whether it'd give much different results in this sort of controlled environment?

-Matt

 

[lehill]

Tks for the advice. Will give it a try and see if I can improve on the results.

I positioned two softboxes on each side with 2 bulbs around 3 feet away and the third one at 135 deg looking up around 5 feet away. Typically, how close should you position the softboxes to the subject ?

Assuming you use the same pose as your original photo. I'd start with a simple two light setup, one main light with 4 bulbs on left, fill light using only one bulb on right ("short lighting"). Then add a hair light that just grazes the top of her head (if you position it right maybe the rest of the light will fall on the background and serve as a background light).

If you want to try something else try this setup

You distances seem about right, maybe a little closer?

Really though, this is getting complex for a LinkedIn portrait shot. Those shots are what? 150x150 pixels? Just add the covers to the boxes, add a hairlight and you'll be 90% there and no one will know the difference.

 

[digitalshooter]

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