I have one of my first professional photo shoots this weekend and I am asked to do a head shot. I would love some advice! Any tips on what lense to use, how to get even light with natural light, back drop ideas, getting a subject to relax...etc
Thanks so much! I really do need some help with this one!
Personally, I find shooting with a telephoto, even out to 200mm, gives me flexibility to step back and not to be in the subject's face and not to worry about any semblance of facial distortion. As Tom mentined above, 85mm is one classic choice for portrait photographers, although I find longer much easier. Here's one pretty straight forward example shot at 200mm. I was 10 feet back from the subject.
If in natural light, don't shoot directly into the source and don't have your subject look into it at the other extreme. Even in full sunlight, don't be afraid to use "fill flash" to even out the light on the face which will probably be necessary if you have the sun coming in at an angle.
Most important, and especially if you are relying on autofocus, focus carefully on the eyes. Focus is another reason I find telephoto shot from several feet away makes life easier; no drama getting the whole face in the strong focus field.
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If in natural light, don't shoot directly into the source and don't have your subject look into it at the other extreme. Even in full sunlight, don't be afraid to use "fill flash" to even out the light on the face which will probably be necessary if you have the sun coming in at an angle.
Most important, and especially if you are relying on autofocus, focus carefully on the eyes. Focus is another reason I find telephoto shot from several feet away makes life easier; no drama getting the whole face in the strong focus field.
http://fstoppers.com/fstoppers-original-peter-hurley-exposes-the-perfect-headshot http://fstoppers.com/peter-hurleys-google-keynote-how-to-take-the-perfect-headshot