Chris Sorensen
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 p.1 #4 · Acting Head Shots...first attempt | |
Some good stuff. Here's some things I think might work better next time. For acting headshots, the most important thing is having a natural, relaxed expression with life in the eyes. Nothing kills a acting headshot quicker than a posy look or a 'say cheese' smile. My specific comments:
1. Pretty good shot in general though I'd go in a little tighter. And the arm going out of frame draws your eye away from the actor. What detracts from it as a headshot is her pursed mouth. Tension in the mouth and jaw can wreck a headshot. Really need to watch for that in headshots, and portraits in general. Im always telling models/actors to have 'soft mouth.' Sometimes telling them to think 'lips together, teeth apart' can help since it's harder to have tension in the jaw and mouth if your teeth aren't together. But it doesn't work for everyone.
2. The pose ruins it. For a headshot, it should be a relaxed, natural pose. And she has the mouth tension.
3. The confrontational pose and stare doesn't really work for a headshot. A headshot should be open and inviting, drawing the agent or casting director into the eyes.
4. The flyaways would need to be fixed, but it's a nice relaxed expression and smile. The hand detracts though. It's distracting and also looks posy.
5. Mouth tension and squinty in the eyes. The body seems a little stiff, but not too bad, though I would get in a little tighter.
6. This could be really nice if not for the angle. It's too high which make the neck angle seem weird. And you don't want to be looking that far down on an actor in a headshots. I'd also open up your aperture. F2 is too shallow on full frame. You want the background to melt away, but you don't want your actor to be noticeably melting away. I usually shoot mine at F4 which blurs the BG while giving me the depth to carry both eyes. And maybe down to 2.8 if I need the shutter speed and they're not at too much of an angle to the camera.
7. Very nice relaxed pic of her and probably the best overall headshot. But the hat, scarf and bag strap all need to go. And I wouldn't put things in the foreground like the iron bar.
Not sure if there's supposed to be a #8 since there's a little ? icon. If so, I can't see it.
Hope that helps. You can check out examples of New York headshot photographers' work at the link below. (Reproduction is the largest headshot printer in NY and LA.) Some of the better known and popular ones on the link are Deborah Lopez, Chia Messina, Jeremy Folmer, Hoeberman Studio, Leslie Hassler.
www.reproductions.com/NYC/2008/
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