Monday, November 5, 2018

While packing my belongings

  Even if I kind of love to get out there and make a few dramatic portraits in let's say for example some old abandoned buildings, there still is something in that lazy me who enjoys staying at home. If there is a good reason to shoot inside the four walls, why not! Technically I wouldn't say that my home is a very dramatic backdrop for any image. Just plain white walls and a few furniture. But as we are at the moment in the process of moving, I thought I'd execute one idea I've had already for quite awhile. Now when moving your stuff from place A to place B, it means that there's a bunch of boxes around, at least that's how the situation is here, and that means you could make a backdrop from those already filled or to be filled boxes, and that's precisely what I did. Piled the boxes, placed a small carpet on the floor, added some props to show what's our next destination, and then finally had my model, a.k.a. my wife to sit down on the floor. Nothing very ingenious, but a lot of fun and a good break between packing. To light my scene I used one speedlight with minimal power setup shot through an umbrella, and this from up and camera left. The main light was an orange geled speedlight, softbox and a grid combination, from camera right and a low angle. Here's the resulting image...



    

Friday, November 2, 2018

Heading for a head shoot? Why you should!

  When did you have your head shot last time? If the answer is ”Recently!”, that’s good. But as it is, most people don’t even think of finding a professional photographer to make a head shot of them. So why consider to do it? There’s quite a few situations when you need an image of your face. The most obvious nowadays is probably a profile picture for social media, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. Then there is the possibility that you need to write a CV,  and it might be a good thing to ad a picture of yourself to your resume. And then your own website, ID-cards, just to mention a couple more places were we might have to place a picture of our beautiful face. Some might argue that they don’t need a payed photographer to make a picture for them, they do have plenty of good images of them self on their computer or in their mobile phone. Just pick up a picture you like, post it like that or crop it if necessary and there you are. So what could there be possibly that a hired photographer can give you more? A good experience! Working with a professional can be and should be a nice empowering experience, which can be fun and you will have good memories. Good images! A pro knows which lens to choose, that means good sharp images, with no distortion in your face. He knows how to use light to flatter your facial features, bringing the best out of you. He chooses the background with care, no distractions or poles sticking out from the head to take the attention from the your beautiful or handsome face. Education! From a photographer you can learn how to pose for photos, so you will have an advantage of your photo shoot even next time when someone makes images of you. So in the end you will benefit quite much of hiring a photographer to shoot your head. And if you are a pro then it's even more important that a pro makes your images, for professional appearance. Here's a couple samples how a head shot could look like...