More Portrait/Headshot Techniques

More Portrait/Headshot Techniques

by William Lulow

I have published articles like this before, but some people have told me that they are really helpful, so here is another one.

Many people don’t have their pictures taken often, and usually don’t like having a “formal” portrait done. Everyone has become hyper-used to having snapshots taken by other people’s camera phones, or they may even be used to taking “selfies,” but sitting for a portrait with all the lights, tripods and the rest of the trappings of a studio shot is a lot like going to the dentist for many folks. They feel scrutinized by the photographer where every little imperfection they’ve lived with all their lives is somehow put under a microscope.

Contrast these feelings with the photographer’s job which entails looking at all those features, not mentioning them to your subjects, but knowing how to hide or de-emphasize the obvious flaws in order to produce an image that will look like the subject but make them look their best. Here’s an example of someone I had to photograph for a company website, which is what I have been doing a lot lately:

This is someone who probably hadn’t had a studio photograph done since he was in high school. Now his law firm needed a shot for their website. As a portrait photographer, my job is to make my subjects relax enough to let some of their personality, whatever it may be, come through and be reproduced on the two-dimensional format of a photographic portrait. I do this by learning something about the person from my conversation with him or her and by explaining what I am doing with the lighting, poses and other directions as I go along. I try to make people aware of what I am doing enough to involve them in the process. This usually elicits various types of responses and it is then my job to capture those expressions in order to produce a great image.

It’s kind of a patter that I have developed over the many years I have been doing this, that has become somewhat second nature at this point. One of the things I have always loved about my job is that each person I photograph presents a different personality that I must somehow delve into just enough to be able to elicit certain responses. Here’s one of the final images, all cropped and retouched, from this shoot:

This image has all the hallmarks of what I like to call a “finished portrait.” The lighting, attitude, cropping and tone of the picture is just the way I like it, and this client loved the shots. I have found that a really great portrait or headshot is all in the subject’s eyes. If there is a certain “twinkle” in the eyes that says I’m having fun or I feel good, that’s what separates a real portrait from just a mug shot. That’s really the main thing about this business. The client needs to be satisfied and really love the images. Actually, it’s usually the final judge of the picture who needs to be satisfied. I have actually made images for art directors that loved the images, but the subjects themselves, weren’t always equally as enthusiastic about seeing themselves in print. So, one of the caveats in commercial portraiture is to make sure you know who the final judge of the pictures will be and what they are expecting.

My technique also involves taking enough frames to ensure that I have sufficient material to work with and that the clients have enough shots from which to choose. I then retouch the images and crop them in such a way as to make them really shine. I can usually accomplish this with the client sitting next to me as I do the edits. It’s also kind of amazing to listen to their reactions as the image is color balanced, cropped and retouched to perfection. Most people aren’t aware of the whole process so it is quite revelatory! And it also brings me a certain amount of satisfaction as well.