billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

At least a 100 mm lens if not 150 mm. You want a shallow depth of field so one stop down from wide open. ie. if your lens is a 2.8, use no more than f4. FOCUS ON THE EYES, THE EYES MUST BE IN FOCUS. Make sure any back ground is at least 10 feet away. You want head and shoulders max. Open shade. Good luck and keep on shooting until the end.

Brent Rowlett Loc: Atlanta, GA

I don’t see anything wrong with the lighting-what comes from the source is accurate. The only mistake I see is that her right eye is bigger than her left, and it is closest to the camera. This is common with most people-one eye or opening will look smaller than the other. Her left eye should be in the foreground to even them out.

Joecosentino Loc: Whitesboro, New York

FIRST. NO RAILROAD TRACKS, it's against the law, its trespassing and each spring photosphere and seniors are killed while shooting on tracks. And those photos are so 1990's. they have been done to death.

You said you had your lighting down, if that's the case you should know your settings too, because lights just firing off at no subject doesn't tell you anything.

Blurred background wider aperture, a lot depends on your lens, camera type (sensor size), and distance from the subject. Do you want it blurred to the point where it's just soft colors or do you want some definition in the background to give a feeling of place.

Time of day and where the sun is located in relation to your subject.

What kind of lights do you have, speed light (small point source) leaves harsher shadows, studio strobes, you will need power for them. What type of light modifiers are you considering small Softbox,octobox on a speed light is nice.

Inverse square law, learn how to use it to get the type of light you are looking for

Shutter speed. What is the flash sync speed on your camera?

This is just a partial list of what goes through a professional photographers mind and that's why you pay him/her.

Good luck

Notorious T.O.D. Loc: Harrisburg, North Carolina

Check out some of the Robert Harrington videos on YouTube. He is a headshot shooter and has some great ideas with simple equipment. Mark Wallace also has some good technique videos.

Best,
Todd Ferguson

Jaackil Loc: Massachusetts

I think you are going to find if you do not have the correct equipment and have to invest in it plus the time spent trying to get the right shot it maybe cheaper just to pay someone to do it. There are no right or best settings. The settings will be dictated by the lighting conditions at the moment you do the shoot and the look you are trying to get. It sounds like you have a point and shoot camera, while it takes nice pictures it is not going to be quite enough for a Senior portrait. On the other hand if you do invest in a DSLR and say a 50mm or 85mm 1.8 lens(both very reasonably priced) and get good at it you can offer to shoot her friends for a modest amount and recover some of that cost. What I would suggest is have a proffesional do the head shot for the yearbook then shoot your “memory” photo’s yourself. I did my sons senior photos myself I own all the equipment but shoot mostly sports. We spent many hours practicing with lighting poses and camera settings till we got what we wanted. When we were done they came out good enough that I did his girlfriend and several of his friends.
If you are going to shoot outside invest in some reflectors which you can use to either direct or block sunlight depending on your needs. They are inexpensive And you will need an assistant to hold the reflectors. You are also going to need software to retouch the photos. Even kids with the clearest of skin get a zit on picture day it is almost a teenage rule. No one wants pimples to show in their senior picture. Good luck and have fun with it.

yorkiebyte Loc: Scottsdale, AZ/Bandon by the Sea, OR

Simply this is a great start........

waldron7 Loc: State of Confusion

Barrett 50cal.

mrtaxi Loc: Old Westbury NY, Fort Lauderdale, FL

I suggest using a lens between 85-100mm if using a FF or the equivalent of a crop sensor. ( a 1.5 crop sensor is about 57-67mm). It’s best to have a fast lens of not less then f2.8 and keep the lens open enough so it separates the face from its background. This means good lighting. I use studio lights in large modifiers that is always bounced off the white ceiling and walls so it’s not harsh. Using natural light by a north facing window can also produce great results. I suggest about 2-4 outfit changes however head shots are not meant to be full body or 3/4 body shots so framing is mostly the head and between 2-8” below the neck but sometimes it can be more then just the headshot. Use spot focus on the closest eye. Hair style changes are normal and an extra person for hair and clothing adjustments during the shooting is really helpful. A great headshot captures the soul of the person. Take lots of shots with many different expressions. Talk to and get the subject comfortable with the shooting. If they are nervous it will show. Be calm and super nice to the subject, compliments on how good they are doing helps during the shoot to capture the right expressions. I suggest you google and YouTube top headshot photographers work, and get a feel for their work.

billnourse Loc: Bloomfield, NM

Here's a couple I did of my granddaughter. I used studio strobes on these shots and tried to match with natural light. Zoom lens in the 100 mm range, around f8, ISO 100.

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philo Loc: philo, ca

to me one of the most important thing is background. Check the background of your dog and it is too too busy. fill the frame with you subject. Use a tripod, 70x200 lens, lowest ap you can, off camera flash and be in touch with your subject. have fun.

billnourse Loc: Bloomfield, NM

Nice high key sepia.

Steamboat

This assumes you don't have a lot of experience and the camera is new to you?

Keep it simple
Set your camera on P and ISO on Auto (or around ISO 400)
Take your subject outside to Open Shade with a simple background

Focus and meter the little square on the subjects face
Fill the frame with your subject do lots of variations.

Hope this help.

Logan1949

Suggestions [right/left from the camera's point of view]: It is obvious that there are two distinct light sources (two shadows to the left of the nose; two highlights on the eyes). One light is much brighter and lower from the right; the other is fainter and from the high right. blurring the lights may soften the shadows.

This would be a great composition if it were not for the enormous expanse of scarf in the bottom foreground. Try cropping out the bottom so the distance from the bottom of the chin to the bottom of the picture is the same distance as the top of the head to the top of the picture. That is, center the head and eyes vertically. This is not a universal rule, just one to fix this picture. (Or open the shutter very wide for a shallow depth of field to take the foreground scarf completely out of focus.) I would suggest, when posing, to try and keep the scarf in or behind the same plane as the edges of the scarf surrounding the face. To eliminate the foreground bulge of scarf, under the chin a ways, bend the left fore-edge of the scarf to the right to be overlapped by the right edge of the scarf crossing it toward the left.

The current left to right composition is very good. The left outline of the scarf rises in a clean line to the top of the head; the left scarf fore-edge is just to the left of the eye; the right fore-edge is open, away from the face, leaving a broad shadow outlining the face on the right. This makes the scarf cowl appear to face 45 degrees toward the right, where the actual face is angled only 10-20 degrees to the right (see the nose and chin), but the eyes are peering straight at the camera. And, confusing as it is, the part in the hair appears to come straight toward the camera; so if the head is turned, is the part crooked? Just giving the viewer something to wonder about?

If she kept her eyes the same, but made her mouth smile just a bit more, the picture would have a Mona Lisa look (eyes that say: I have a headache; when the mouth smiles in fun.)

Steamboat

Great shots! Safe to say you have a lot of experience.
Really nice work!