Advice on simple headshots

valve90210

valve90210

valve90210

Soldato
Joined
17 Jan 2006
Posts
4,288
Hi All

For all my luck I've been asked to take photos of all the staff members where I work, these are to be simple head and shoulders type portraits just for use on our internal portal etc so they don't have to be the ultimate in portrait photography but they do need to be reasonable and quick to take as I don't have a huge window of time to take the photos and quite a lot of photos to take (something like 450 staff members...)

Normally these would be done by a professional company but they've decided I can do it (oh joy)

I have found a reasonable location to take the photos, a large room with huge windows on two sides and an area that I can set to have a chair placed so that light falls nicely on the subjects and doesn't give me horrible shadows.

I should mention that I will be using an EOS 600D with a Canon 18 - 135mm lens as that is what we have...and I will be relying on natural light (yes I know) because we don't have any lighting etc.

I have done a few test shots today while the light outside is pretty poor and the room is fortunately bright enough to give good results even on a dull cloudy day like today, so hopefully it'll be ok on the day...

I will be shooting in Aperture priority mode with as low an F number as I can to give the background a little blur so the subjects stand out but does anyone have any additional tips they can give me

Any help very much appreciated as I am rather dreading it!!!
 
Not a professional but remembering our staff portraits - keep the background as plain as possible but possibly not solid white with too harsh lighting as it can show people off in a bad way - where we had one lot done had a lot of white walls which reflected the light and very unflattering - quite a few people came out looking like they were dying of cancer. (EDIT: I suspect the fact they hired the company that gave the cheapest quote also has something to do with it).
 
Last edited:
  • Uncluttered background
  • Tripod
  • Get an assistant to hold a reflector or a large piece of white card to get some light in areas of shadow.
  • As much distance between subject and background as possible. This should allow you to close the aperture down a little more to get sharp in focus shots from back to front while still offering nice bokeh e.g. f4 - f8 depending upon light but i'd be tempted to push the ISO up to get the f stop up.
  • Don't have people square to the camera as it makes them appear wider than they are. Start with their stance pointing 45 degrees away from the camera and turn their neck to looking back towards you.
  • If you're doing head / upper body shots try and use a longish focal length and move back yourself. It'll prevent the background creeping into shot and compress features which is generally more flattering.
Oh and practise! Get a colleague and spend time getting it right before you have 400+ people to shoot :)
 
Last edited:
Thanks some useful tips there.

Back ground is pretty uncluttered but I'm contemplating hanging a plain (not white) sheet or something so it's completely uncluttered...

Tripod is part of my plans already.

I will have an assistant who will be marking off who has been taken and the order, they may have to do some reflector holding too.

That's a good point re distance to background and the aperture good have people actually in focus! :)

I was planning on doing exactly as you say the the 45 degrees away from me and looking back.

The longer focal length with this length will limit the aperture size a little but that'll help with the focus so should be ok.

I've done a few test shots with a lamp and some cushions taking the place of people... will do a few test shots with actual people tomorrow hopefully!
 
valve90210 said:
Hi All

For all my luck I've been asked to take photos of all the staff members where I work, these are to be simple head and shoulders type portraits just for use on our internal portal etc so they don't have to be the ultimate in portrait photography but they do need to be reasonable and quick to take as I don't have a huge window of time to take the photos and quite a lot of photos to take (something like 450 staff members...)

Normally these would be done by a professional company but they've decided I can do it (oh joy)

I have found a reasonable location to take the photos, a large room with huge windows on two sides and an area that I can set to have a chair placed so that light falls nicely on the subjects and doesn't give me horrible shadows.

I should mention that I will be using an EOS 600D with a Canon 18 - 135mm lens as that is what we have...and I will be relying on natural light (yes I know) because we don't have any lighting etc.

I have done a few test shots today while the light outside is pretty poor and the room is fortunately bright enough to give good results even on a dull cloudy day like today, so hopefully it'll be ok on the day...

I will be shooting in Aperture priority mode with as low an F number as I can to give the background a little blur so the subjects stand out but does anyone have any additional tips they can give me

Any help very much appreciated as I am rather dreading it!!!
Click to expand...


Don't shoot wide open, stop down to f/8 and just increase separation to the back. You don't won't out of focus it too shallow a focus.
 
valve90210 said:
Thanks some useful tips there.

Back ground is pretty uncluttered but I'm contemplating hanging a plain (not white) sheet or something so it's completely uncluttered...

Tripod is part of my plans already.

I will have an assistant who will be marking off who has been taken and the order, they may have to do some reflector holding too.

That's a good point re distance to background and the aperture good have people actually in focus! :)

I was planning on doing exactly as you say the the 45 degrees away from me and looking back.

The longer focal length with this length will limit the aperture size a little but that'll help with the focus so should be ok.

I've done a few test shots with a lamp and some cushions taking the place of people... will do a few test shots with actual people tomorrow hopefully!
Click to expand...
All sounds very good.

I wouldn't worry too much about a white sheet as it can make shots look a little sterile and security pass / photo booth like. In an office environment you would expect to see some contextual elements providing no one has a coat stand coming out the top of their head you should be ok. It'll also be more natural especially if you can get the light right :).

If you have a cable release / remote trigger that would be useful as well. It makes life easier as you don't have to be behind the camera at the point of the shutter click, pixel peep afterwards. Or hook up a laptop with USB and have the images pop on that.
 
Rroff said:
Not a professional but remembering our staff portraits - keep the background as plain as possible but possibly not solid white with too harsh lighting as it can show people off in a bad way - where we had one lot done had a lot of white walls which reflected the light and very unflattering - quite a few people came out looking like they were dying of cancer. (EDIT: I suspect the fact they hired the company that gave the cheapest quote also has something to do with it).
Click to expand...

Sounds like our place, the last lot did it with a video camera and took three attempts to get it right (probably the reason I look annoyed in my photo) and the time before that the supposed pro (she called herself such and such photography and had a pop-up backdrop so I guess that's all it takes) was taking the photos with a point-and-click held at arm's length tourist style.
 
Still not sure about the back ground, the location I've got has a bit old wooden door and I'm wondering if the panels of it will look odd coming out of peoples heads?

This is one of the test shots I did yesterday afternoon (no people helpers about so had to ask a lamp for help...lol):

IMG_7992_zps51683c60.jpg
 
Last edited:
Do you have a wall or a poster with the company logo? When I did our company phone book, the board wanted a consistent look, but we anticipated all the girls complaining about the photos and insisting on submitting their own, so we dictated that the shots had to be done against a specific wall with a (visible but out of focus) logo. I used a 50mm on a 40D with a tripod and a bounced flash to try and get a consistent look.

Don't pack up your kit immediately afterwards- Anticipate having to do a few again when people complain they they look horrible!
 
Ooooh...just had a thought, we recently produced a massive roller banner, I could potentially use that as a back drop, though it might be a bit too reflective...

Might give it a whirl today if I can rope in a few 'volunteers' to help out, there's only so many photos one can take of a lamp!! lol

I'm sure that there will be loads of people that don't like them but there won't be time for everyone have a look as they are taken so they'll just have to put up with what they've got until the pros come in September (I don't know why this project can't wait until then to be honest but there you go!!!)
 
Right got to do this tomorrow, not looking forward to it but hopefully once I get going it'll be ok.

'm slightly concerned that the focus on a couple of my test shots is a little soft, both with manual focus and auto focus. Is there any thing I can do about that?
 
What settings are you using, can you post an example pic? I'd stop the lens down to f/8 at about 80 to 90mm, tripod, live view to focus on the eyes and go from there. Best thing is just be confident with people and act like you know what you're doing even if you are bricking it. Chances are they will be nervous getting their picture done too.
 
Here's one of my test shots:

IMG_8012_zps3f46b0df.jpg


settings:
F/8
ISO-200
1/10 sec
Exposure Bias +1
Focal Length 135mm (standing back and zooming into help with background separation)

I will probably drop the exposure bias down a little as this is a bit bright but it does need a little else the right side is a bit dark...

She is also a bit too front on in this one!
 
In my (amateur) opinion I think the background works but the horizontal panes in the background aren't straight even though the vertical one is(ish). It makes it look a little weird (to me).

Are you shooting at an angle to the backround?
 
Up your ISO as the shutter speed is causing you issues with sharpness (if that is 1/10sec) and take off the exposure compensation. Better to have minor noise which when the image is resized down will be barely discernible vs an out of focus shot.

.edit.
Also you need some shadows in the chin area as no one will thank you for making them look like they have no chin! Get creative and try blocking out a little light from the lower body, it'll help define the shape and contours of the face. Or if you've used a whitecard / reflector reduce the impact of it a little.
 
Last edited:
Thanks I'll give the higher ISO a that a whirl tomorrow while setting up.

I hadn't really looked at the chin, your right it does need some shadow. That's not going to be easy due to the way the light comes in, I might as you say have to get creative...

As I'm not using any reflectors or anything to get the light as it is (we don't have lights or flashes or anything, it'll probably be having to block out the light with black card or something.
 
Don't worry too much about it being black card, just anything that gets in the way of the path of light to under the chin.

Once people have chins and you've eliminated subject movement by upping your ISO thereby increasing your shutter speed you'll have a really nice portrait shot. Cracking effort tbh, pose is good / looks natural, background given what you've probably got to work with is good and without probably realising the fact your sitter has glasses and you've got no issues with reflections is excellent.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom