Lessons

Lesson Info

Shooting Male Headshots

You don't want to shoot I wanted to do sheldon because he's got some scruffy why don't we do that children come on uh that would be good all right man you ready all right cool so what we have to do I'm not going to measure this time guys that was just for the first time so with guys I immediately I don't need my buddy phil all right and I'm set up actually oh she's um I'm gonna take phil out and I'm gonna show there you left your writing let me see real quick go knows this not your hand but your face let me see knows that way oh go back the other way oh boy he might be in writing we're going we're going to start off right you think you're a righty guys do a one eighty for him sheldon get out there and then you guys tell me uh what am I doing? I'm going like this what do you guys think what do you guys think he's not auntie facial it's only like three percent of the population there's no way that multiple people in the room rmb facial it's not gonna happen I'm going to go right because ...

I'm set up with my I always go opposite side kicker so see I set my fourth my fourth light back there up I set it up is a kick I got my four lights I'm gonna take this light and I'm going to drop it down and this is gonna be my key light. So sheldon, come up here now he's taller than the average male. Well, my backgrounds a little bit love stand up straight. Let me see. I might have to raise the pro boarder touch and I'm gonna I'm gonna use this line I'm gonna keep it vertically and then I'm going to start to mess with light because I want to shape his face and he's got the little scruffy he's also. Now, if this is my key light who's this become my buddy I feel so phil's here and now I got mean control over phil so I can just simply I go center center of the, uh basically basically I want the centre of light about where's. Your ear is is that about close? We're not measuring now we got thirty one percent on here and what we have is that film yeah, hold on, let's. Start with phil just ofthe really fill off now fills off, but you guys what's attention to detail, right? If I make that background go white what's gonna happen, the strobes gonna hit it, where's it going to go when it comes off that board, right it's going to bounce, and then where is phil set up is phil white do you think phil is gonna bounce into him? I'm going to get you guys have to realize this I'm going to get some bounce from phil so I'm going to turn on my stroke because we're going to want that we're gonna get him going. John let's raise this board a little bit and let's raise these like sheldon just stay there. I'm just eyeballing it. This is all eyeballing eyeball it is this maxed out? I got to go here. All right. You ready? You with me? Stop fooling around. Sheldon's tall. All right, get your clamp on the bottom. You're going through the clamp in, so I used a super clamp there's a hurley pro pro board. It's my product. Goto hurley, pro gear dot com you want to get one, um, super clamps up top and I use the little one of those calls spring clamps, a client's, whatever regular everyday clamps on the bottom, it just works well that way. All right, sheldon, we're gonna eyeball the height of my camera, right? All right, come forward a little bit scooch a little bit. This is a very simple set up. Why do I shoot guys with shadows that's a question I get it, I'm accentuating jaw lines, but I really do because I think it makes him look cool when I was a model I never got shot with shadows I was like the commercial guy like shadows so I just started doing it with guys so sheldon come forward a smidge more I'm gonna open up this light a little bit that's it I'm going to bring actually you step back a snitch I'm going to bring I'm going to bring my key light forward so that I can work fill a little bit better all right, come forward get in there. What do you doing scooch a little bit this way you guys everybody knows the inverse square law I'm not teaching it today I do of course quite illuminating the face where I teach I'm not teaching but I like my people close to the source of light because I want complete control I want to get that contract I want that fall off to be severe off the side of his face working nostrils towards this light you see, I didn't say anything funny really but I did say something funny didn't I know you're not laughing you didn't have to laugh all right how's the collar on that shirt let me see here he can't see it kenny guys I like the collars even he fixed it though it's much better that way so it's better that way right now I didn't tell him anything what do you do? He did not he didn't do anything he's got the out to lunch itis look right now I did strobe the background john you get another battery for this? Weren't one on this thing um these I mean it's fine, but I just I just wanna make sure it's where a four point on that all right? We're fine. All right? We're going to go so I got a nifty remote I could go. So four point out was enough to get me get me even near white so I'm going to raise slowly till I get there. Sheldon scooch a little bit that way. Good. There you go. Hold down, chin down, less misery. What do you doing? Good. There you go. That's better, right? So we did the reaction well in the mouth got were what is that? We're a five point o I'm going up to six point. Oh, I can see and I can check my numbers on my screen I could see I'm not there yet children go this way and I think it's too much shut I want you to work your nostrils towards the light more there you go, chin down eyes here yeah, there you go, watch the difference in the shadow on the side of the nose in that shot compared to this shot, I'm limiting those shadows I'm also getting the background white so this is about where I wanted six point got it there, so I'm happy with that I now got white now my kick, I'd like to have a kick in the back sheldon is like a medium I would say a medium skin tone in terms of how brownie is so well I don't know he's got a supple, gorgeous little skin tone to him whatever the point is is that kalk it like if it was me, I would need more kick, darker skin tones away, more reflective so he needs less kicked in me all right? Someone even darker needs less kicks he needs about a medium kick, so I wanted to actually I want to make sure that that was point I'm looking at that highlight now his he's blocking the kick with the beard a little bit, but I'm going to amp up to kick I'm a thirty one let's just bring it up a little bit and see if we could bring it upto let's just go crazy let's go to fifty percent on the kick. All right, sean, put it together now hold that! No, no, no don't put it together, you're gonna need fill your mouth is all over the place what are you doing? Do you see this is harder than it looks all right let me let me give him some phil because there's too much shadow on that side so I'm going to go up tio I'm gonna bring in like let's go like fifteen resent phil anyway you were going to change the picture relax you signed it you signed up for this well that small thing just see how weird he gets when he's trying he's trying look at that now what did I do? I added phil now I got my kick I got my fill I'm happy sheldon turned hard this way for me turn your body stop fooling around there you go good step a little bit underneath that you got it that's my key light you can't mess with that one all right there you go hold that don't close mouth tiny smile there you go better that was a micro expression right at the moment alright guys we're going three to one should bang this right are we should bang then shot that's a shebang come on can we should bang should we do with loud should we do a whisper any but it would have been a slow motion should bang you ready slow motion three two one should get in there do you like that sheldon? I like it compared to everything else we've got getting there where you going? I'm not done with you yet I'm not done with you yet I think ah it could be I mean I'm looking at it I think we can get it better maybe I my man why, you know jump too quick and tissue bank all right get in their step this way scoop back so guys how much stuff moves on your fate? What moves the most are out of all the things you could move on your face what moves the most absolutely you with me highest percentage of the time the mouth is going to mess with you it's gonna be a problem it's going it's going to cause things that it's difficult to deal with so there's a whole slew of things then you can do to work it out which you're in the book so you gonna buy till that this way there you go nose a little bit that way there you go hold that now squint it up and jam your forehead out jam your florida even though he's got a beard I want that john line ten so jam your forehead out like a maniac chin up a little bit a good till karate chop it there you go hold that I got him on the angle I want I want to squint I'm waiting for it pull the corners of your mouth toward your ear lobe slightly please go hold it chin down a little bit fortune for it out hold that right there hold on a second let me see if I can get this hold on you have to go on manual focus for this hold on a second I think I got it there you go he's going toward you he's almost there all right don't say the s word get creative and figure out what you could do when I do that with my clients were not when I'm with guys and I'm alone in the studio I start doing that stuff is totally lost oh that older but it's all about well I like now once he's flying serious flying right now no he didn't get now he started to compose himself seen his conscious mind did you see his conscious mind was starting to kick in when that happens you've got you've got to get him going again but when I did that it gave me all these shots were there just behaving and yeah I get the smile like shots there but the real reason to do that is because immediately how do you feel now from when you first stepped in there a little more comfortable yes yes thank you awesome I love that stuff I actually want to do it a book on all my laughter that's crazy like that all right, go ahead hit me you know, can we just take some some questions about the gear that you're using for your asking about the lens that you're using to this type of work where you focusing again you were were you auto focusing all that? I usually it depends my focus changes like I was just I just went on manual because I don't like tio I always put my focus point wherever, eh? I always focus on the front I so if there are lefty, I'll put the focus point, I use a cannon five mark three I'll put the focus point up into the right a little bit because generally I'm going to hit the hit there, their left eye because I'm shooting the left side first, so he was right, so I was going to his eye if you see I do this a lot, I'm moving the camera, focusing and then shooting, I'll do that, but when I did the leg thing, I didn't want to move the camera, so I just went to manual focus real quick, so I'll do it just depends most the time I'm doing the auto focus auto focus on these things this phenomenal, so you could you could do it, but if you're comfortable manual focussing that's great, I always shoot my head shots I went with the hundred millimeter macro I just liked that lens I've always felt comfortable with that lens this thie, ellen's, it's, it's awesome and I like the macro ability I've never been more frustrated when you were trying to photograph somebody and and you're on auto focus or and you're trying to focus became the camera won't shoot because you're ahead of where it can focus too it's so annoying so I like the macro so if I want to die then I can if I want to get back out I can um but it's great, you know it's a great set up I was wondering what the reason for the curvature of the backdrop is there's one okay, so the wise the backdrop curve because I take it with me and you know I could pull it is straight as I want but it doesn't matter it's going white sometimes I do curve it more if I didn't have my kick to hit the cheek then I could curve it more and get it closer to my subject blow the strobes and and use it as a kick but usually it's a curved board I like bringing the board with me I used to buy scene bring seamless paper but it's bulky it's big I can't take it on a plane it's you know and then I got a hanging and stuff I might as well I'd rather have a board so I traveled everywhere with this I've also got a blackboard john, can we put up a blackboard to have somebody help you with that I want to put the blackboard up I want to shoot andrew on black and I want to show you that separation of the black with the black board so I got a blackboard in a whiteboard um somebody help john put up the board while I'm talking somebody who's come on, sheldon get it together you're gonna help him he's gonna tell you how to do it okay, so I'll answer questions while this this extravaganza is going on I go ahead you go ahead no I was just talking about the curvature of the board alright let's get audio taken here that we've got a question here in the front uh what do you like about capture one versus light room or where something's I used I have limited use of light room so I don't really know it that well I've been a capture one shooter so for me the work it's all about workflow and getting the job done question do you talk a little bit about your work flow in any of your videos using capture one yeah I mean I pretty I don't know I when I did my first video I was I was shooting a different camera system and it was using focus software through hassle blood so now I don't shoot house about anymore I'm shooting cannon somebody's in capture one with it a couple more questions a lot of people are asking about do you always just shoot horizontally and then also what about cropping? Yeah, I get these questions on twenty I just really like holding a camera like this and I think I feel really it's very rare that I do this even though I have the capability it's very rare that I ever go portrait even in my portrait work I just like landscape so what I tell my clients is crop it vertically if you want if you want to crop it portrait go not so I leave enough space that you could do that if you want it's fine, I actually on my website if you look at peter hurley dot com you can see the crop factor the way I'm doing it. So these air these of the head shots on my website if I go in my all business section uh, my cropping like this so they there actually kind of they're not quite a square, but I like that I like the way it looks and that could be considered put nobody and you wouldn't know which way I shot that I don't think that's the way I do it, I keep it like that so I really care about my my comfort level in focusing and my whole operation is like this these cameras are ridiculous and detail like and and and I'm chomping at the bit to get my five gs which I'm gonna have next week I hope but you know I can zoom crop do whatever I want no problem if you're leaving enough space yeah don't believe enough space so why do I chop the head off? Because I like proximity to my subject I think the crop is one of the most powerful things in and shot I think it gives it the look you could see it in this particular image. This is one of my favorites. I love it for mike is the opener to my corporate paige I just think you know it's it's japanese amazing. He was just so phenomenal to shoot but and good looking guy but great in front of camera he owned it. He gave me this picture I coached him towards it but he gave it to me and if I had moved him down to see the top of this head then I would have to chop the bottom of the knot off, right? So what's more important the bottom of the knot or the hat top of the head to me the bottom of the knots. More important, everybody knows the top of his head's up there what he laughed at my job and I would I would presume peter that if you had people that were coming to you say for a fortune five hundred company and had specific specs then you would take those into considering of course if somebody's coming in yeah I have that I get a whole checklist and I had I just had a company hey you've got to leave the top of the head I shot an author for simon and schuster and I was in my head shopping mode and I stayed in my head job mom we finished the shoot and barnes and noble want to run one of the pictures up like a calm in the store and there's no way they could they couldn't extend the background they couldn't do anything with it because I had cut off I didn't give them any of that so ever since then normally on I will ask the clients I will for actors I always chop the head because I like I believe it they have five seconds in front of casting director I want to be in tight I think that the composition is key it's my work I want to compose the way I want to compose and that's it for an art director telling me hey afterwards we're going to do the crops and just give me some space it's a totally different ball game and I'm going to let that go because I'm working with an art director that's got a vision that I have tio you know abide by