Sometimes, teens just need a simple headshot – nothing in a field of flowers, no drum kits, no funky hats. E. needed a headshot for a school society she was nominated for, and they needed a photo within two weeks. Easy peasy.
There were a couple of things I liked about this shoot, besides my subject. 1) I was able to tether my camera. This has been a goal of mine for years, but this is the first time it’s worked with the client in the room. I like that we can look at the monitor, see what is great and what needs improving about the pose, lighting or angles. On the flip side, it can be a big distraction or make my subject feel more intimidated. Regardless, I always show my subject images on the back of my camera so they get of sense of what we are doing, and if we have time, I’ll connect to an iPad and look at images there to make sure we capture what my client wanted to capture. Visual imagery is so personal and can be difficult to communicate, so I think it’s an important step.
2) I started with my 24-70 (my go-to lens for portraits in tight spaces) but switched to my 70-200mm because I wanted the compression. The switch really made my subject pop.
3) Complementary colors – E’s orange shirt on the turquoise background was super cool. We added a fan for some dynamic movement, and she left with about 30 straight-out-of-the-camera (SOTC) images she could use.