Client wanted a decent headshot for professional use (web, LinkedIn, etc.). Had an issue to work around that limited his range of expression, and I'll explain more about that once I get your initial reactions.
What might you have done differently -- lighting, posing, etc.? He's very happy with the results (he chose these two from the collection for editing), but I'm interested in your opinions. Mosier in particular, if you happen to see this.
I prefer 2 by far--the processing is better, his pose and expression are much less stiff, and his clothing is less formal, which I like.
I don't know what kind of work you did on his eyes in 1, but it looks like you dodged them quite a bit so they look strange to me... too glowy or something. It also looks like your main light was a bit low.
I was wondering whether I went too far with the eyes in 1.
Lighting in both was two strip lights (1x3), one on each side centered about chin level, and a beauty dish above and a bit in front. On #2, he just got closer to the camera-left strip, which became key.
Ahh I see... even though you say the dish is your main, the strip lights are dominating in 1. I'm not a fan of that look for this kind of shot, but of course that's just me. If I had to stick with that setup, I would've raised them up and bit (in terms of height) and powered them down more, allowing the beauty dish to truly be the main light. It's just a sort of light that is too even and unnatural, while the light in 2 is brighter on the camera left side.
Prefer the pose in 1 more, but the upper part of his nose is so bright that it lacks depth. At least that's what I see, otherwise looks like a fine portrait. Don't like the shoulders at all in #2, or should I say shoulder? I do like his shirt though!
I prefer your 2nd less bright version of #1. Agree with others about the body position in #2. Too much angle. Fall off on background does not bother me.
