I’m a natural light kind of photog, but when shooting people, a little flash fill goes a long way. A long way. For me then, Strobist is a wonderful resource.
I’ve fallen out of practice with it, but I think this is one horse I’m climbing back onto okay. To help, David Hobby has started up a second round of Boot Camp, and the first assignment was a two-part head shot.
I take a head shot of someone, they turn around and take a head shot of me. Being a photographer, this goes against the grain: I much prefer being behind the lens!
That didn’t stop me from wanting to do it, however. But with my schedule, and admitted blondness, I forgot about it. Until the day before it was due!
Bribing my brother with a free breakfast, I found myself a willing, last minute, model. He also happens to fit within the assignment idea/parameters… he’s currently unemployed. He’s one of the many previous ABX employees from Wilmington, Ohio affected by the DHL pull-out. I’m sure you have all heard about that little company and the effect it is having on the people of that small town.
The goal of the day was to get a head shot, but I found myself wanting to document his situation, even if I got only one frame. I feel that I accomplished this goal with the above shot of him resting with his guitar, his Boxer pup, Toby peeking his head out of the door.
You can see in this image to your left, just how simple the setup was: Jerell on the front stoop, a bare SB-800 up, behind and to his left (camera right). It was on full power and zoomed to about 70 to 105mm, if memory serves correctly… really pushing it out there.
Toby popped up, click, done.
Then it was on to the actual assignment: head shots. We moved over to a clear area under a tree, and Jerell faced the bright, mid-morning sun. I put the SB-800 to his left, threw on my small white satin shoot thru umbrella and took a step back. Again, it was full power and zoomed out. I didn’t want the lighting as harsh as it was in the above shots, but I didn’t want it too soft, either. It could be argued that a little fill on the right would have done something for it, but I think I would have lost some of the “rocker anger” in his face, had I brought the bounce reflector in.
His back was to the road, and thus the guardrail became a horizon issue… it went right through him. Much like it is going right through me. I crouched down, angled up and got the shot I wanted. A few, actually. Whether they are technically “head shots”, I’m not entirely certain, but I’m happy with the pure fact that I took the time to do this. I’m not shooting for me enough!
Final shots for the assignment:
Again, I prefer to be behind the camera! But this was more about my brother. He’s a musician, trying to find his voice. And, out where he lives, well, no one can hear you scream. We’ve all tried.
His music is good, and this is coming from his little sister, so trust in that. You can find his music on MySpace under the artist name Parker Grayson. He’s a rocker, so keep that in mind when viewing the page.
