Antonio: As a member here, I am fortunate to have such great mentors in portraiture, post processing and photography in general. My hope is that I have learned a lot here, although I...

Quickflash Loc: Loganville, Ga

As a member here, I am fortunate to have such great mentors in portraiture, post processing and photography in general. My hope is that I have learned a lot here, although I still have a long way to go to.
I did some portraits of a man here that I would like you all to see and give me some serious C&C. Tell me how I can improve.
Thanks in advance.

Dave

lalezo Loc: Gainesville, FL

What happened to the rest of th head? It looks like a truncated head. Not everyone agrees, but I prefer the 'portrait' framing. Otherwise a nice image.

Lloyd

kubota king Loc: NW , Pa.

I'm curious what the studio photographers will think about the bright white backgrd. It is hard on the eyes in my opinion . I mainly shoot out door items like wild life , landscapes , etc. The rest of your photo looks ok my my monitors.Tommy

twindad Loc: SW Michigan, frolicking in the snow.

The top of his head?

Quickflash Loc: Loganville, Ga

I actually cropped it that way on purpose. A lot of people don't like that idea, and I am not 100% sure that I do. I actually learned that from a tutorial by Peter Hurly, who is a popular headshot photographer who does most of his head shots in 'high key', with the top of the head cropped. I thought I'd try it. I think maybe I cropped a bit too tight in retrospect. Thanks for looking and I appreciate your comments.
Here is another similar shot with a bit more of his head showing.

Dave

lalezo wrote:

What happened to the rest of th head? It looks like a truncated head. Not everyone agrees, but I prefer the 'portrait' framing. Otherwise a nice image.

Lloyd

Quickflash Loc: Loganville, Ga

I actually cropped it that way on purpose. A lot of people don't like that idea, and I am not 100% sure that I do. I actually learned that from a tutorial by Peter Hurly, who is a popular headshot photographer who does most of his head shots in 'high key', with the top of the head cropped. I thought I'd try it. I think maybe I cropped a bit too tight in retrospect. Thanks for looking and I appreciate your comments.
Here is another similar shot with a bit more of his head showing.

Dave

lalezo wrote:

What happened to the rest of th head? It looks like a truncated head. Not everyone agrees, but I prefer the 'portrait' framing. Otherwise a nice image.

Lloyd

Quickflash Loc: Loganville, Ga

This is considered a 'High Key Headshot'. I know not everyone likes this, but I think a dark skinned person stands out with this kind of background. I too am hoping that guys like Capt. C. and Bobby Deal will put their opinion on here.
In any case, I think you for your reply.

Dave

kubota king wrote:

I'm curious what the studio photographers will think about the bright white backgrd. It is hard on the eyes in my opinion . I mainly shoot out door items like wild life , landscapes , etc. The rest of your photo looks ok my my monitors.Tommy

Quickflash Loc: Loganville, Ga

Lelezo basically said the same thing. Please see the 2nd shot and my reply to him (or her). Anyway, I appreciate your reply.

twindad wrote:

The top of his head?

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

I see no problem cutting off the top of the head. BUT you need to cut off enough to ensure it looks intentional. The second example looks like sloppy framing. The first one is better - I might cut it even a bit lower.

In this case, his head is almost in a feminine tilt. Men should not tilt the head away from the body, tilt it toward the body. Getting the right tilt can make a huge difference.

Quickflash Loc: Loganville, Ga

Capt, I was really hoping to get your input on this. I should have noticed the tilt of his head being wrong before I took the shot, and he did it in 6 shots before I got him to change it. As for the crop, I am still trying to earn and get used to the idea that a missing 'dome' is a good thing, and how much to chop off is correct.
My thanks to you for your comment and for all you have taught me over the last few years I have been reading your posts. You have proven that an old dog really can learn new tricks!

Dave

jonsommer Loc: Usually, somewhere on the U.S. west coast.

In regards to the top of his head, nothing is really 'happening' there, in either crop, we all knew what the 'missing' part of his was like, so, I'm with Cliff on this one, I would crop even more off the top to leave more room for his face, which is well lit, nicely exposed and seems to show a gentle, kind hearted man. On my iPad, it looks like he has a bit of a shiner in the inside corner of his right eye, but it might just be a shadow. I like the high key look, bye the way and I think it works well for this portrait. It would have been very interesting to see how the tilt of the head would have changed the mood of the photo.

Quickflash Loc: Loganville, Ga

Jon,
Thanks for looking and commenting. The Capt. is always right. I guess this is a style (cropping heads) that a lot of people just are not used to, or don't like.The shadow on the eye is just that, not a shiner. Antonio is a minister and a very nice guy. The best part of this photo is that his personality seems to show. The head tilt would have been an improvement as you & the Capt. said.
This is the 1st time I used a monolight. I think the result of the lighting was good. I was very concerned about the lighting, but should have paid more attention to the pose.
Thank you and everyone that commented.

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

Here is something to think about: For Caucasian and all light-color skin, the shadows define the face. For dark skin, the highlights define the face. This is more important for the low-key images, but always something to keep in mind.

Quickflash Loc: Loganville, Ga

I never thought about it like that, but of course that makes perfect sense.
Thanks Capt. I will try to remember that.