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Actor Style Headshots

We have been given the task of producing portraits in the style of actor headshots. We will be required to shoot two studio shots and one location shot, each shot using the same style. The set up for the studio shots will be a three-light set up, being a key light, hair light, and background light. These will be shot from shoulder to head – avoiding passport style photos, so remember to position your model accordingly.

I have been researching various photographers who do headshot portraits, to give me an idea of what kind of image I will set up for. One photographer who produces work I have admired for a couple of years is Michael Wharley. I love the use of lighting in his images and how soft his images appear. I will insert below a few examples of his headshot work;

All above images are copyright of Michael Wharley Photography

Another photographer I found during my research process was M.A.D Photography. I found that in these images, the subjects features are accented more and more of this photographers images are shot in black and white. I will insert examples of the work below;

All images are copyright of M.A.D Photography

Personally, I am looking forward to shooting the images for this brief as I feel I can produce a good image of an actor style headshot. I have had experience shooting headshot style portraits in the studio and on location before and found this experience to be a positive one. It was challenging and took a lot of time before I was happy with the results, however, it is vital to experiment with different lighting etc. The most important thing about shooting portraits I have found is that you have a good connection with your sitter, because once a good connection is established, the sitter then becomes more relaxed and natural, which comes across in the images.