Acting Headshot

[JWJ]

So, I had to do this with extremely limited resources. This shot was taken in my garage with limited lighting, so let me know if I did enough in pp to bump up the brightness. Any other critiques would be appreciated.



Camera: Nikon D60
Exposure: 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 175 mm
ISO Speed: 800
Exposure Bias: +5 EV
Flash: No Flash

[SusanH1970]

It still looks pretty underexposed. Wish there was some light in his eyes, too. Is the BG supposed to be white? It looks bluish-grey. Focus is a bit soft, too. Keep shooting, though, you're off to a good start.

[starrylaurie]

I agree the focus is soft. Have you tried taking his shots outside or near a window? Some of my favorite headshots are those that are out-of-studio. The natural light looks really great, too and would help with the coloring. Maybe (if you retake the shot) you could shoot from above him - a head tilt would be flattering here.

[SusanH1970]

I see you replaced the original with a re-edit. The exposure on him looks better, but the BG still looks off. It is white now, but it looks a little funny around the edges of his hair.

[JWJ]

Originally Posted by SusanH1970

I see you replaced the original with a re-edit. The exposure on him looks better, but the BG still looks off. It is white now, but it looks a little funny around the edges of his hair.

Yeah. How can I get the white bg without making his hair look like that? The hair doesn't look like that in full res though

[SusanH1970]

Honestly, I don't shoot on white BG's, so I'm no help there. Hopefully someone else can chime in to help you out.

[falafelicious]

The focus is definitely a little soft on his eyes, which is a big no-no for headshots, and it still feels underexposed. It's also a little noisy. Was this shot on a white background or did you PP it in?

I'm with starrylaurie here - I love natural light headshots with more interesting backgrounds (so long as the composition draws all the focus to the subject of course). Personally I'd reshoot it and try a different location and different angles. Having been on the other end of the lens for this type of photography I know that a great headshot can make or break you so it's worth the extra effort for the perfect picture.

If you can't reshoot I'd say reduce the noise, bump up the exposure a little more, and brighten up his eyes.