Head Shot Help

[Laurie]

I offered my services to my dad who is on the board for the golf club we play at. they have a wall with head shots of the members of the board along with their names, and position on the board. the current shots look like they were taken with a P&S, printed on a 10 yr bubble jet!!!

I did some very, very quick sample shots for the golf club manager to look at and they didn't turn out as i would have hoped.
these were taken with 50mm, Sb800 pointed straight up with LSJP.II attached (no inverted dome) WB set to Flash (I think). no PP done at all!





Next time I will have a tripod & will be able to frame the shots a bit better, basically they want to at least see the embroidery on the blazer pocket.
The main thing I am worried about is the shadow to the right of his head and under his nose.
I only have the equipment in my sig available.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Cheers
Laurie

[Reschsmooth]

It could be my crappy work monitor, but the WB seems a little warm.

Firstly, move your dad further away from the wall. This will soften the shadows behind him or eliminate them altogether.

On my monitor, the walls look a creamy colour - is that correct? If, in fact, they are white, then if you can find a white corner wall - behind and to his right, you can bounce the SB800 into the ceiling corner to give some side and top lighting.

Also, watch out for the detail - his right shirt collar is tucked into the jacket collar - I know this is a trial, but practice now to make spotting these minor things a habit

Incidentally, the shadow under his nose is not necessarily a problem (again, as far as I can tell on my monitor) - it is a result of having the main light source directly at the model's front and slightly above head level. Generally called butterfly lighting because of the shadow caused under the nose (others will correct me if I am wrong).

[Oz_Beachside]

just a thought, if this is a golf glub, why shoot against a boring wall?

perhaps with a longer focal length (closer to 85mm), but not essential, shoot on a cloudy day, early morning (as golfers do) with thier prize green, or fairway as the backdrop. Not to feature the grass, but contextualise the shot, as members of the club. That would complement the desire to capture the logo well.

as said above, move then say a meter away from the wall (until the shadow fades/softens/disappears).

[Laurie]

It could be my crappy work monitor, but the WB seems a little warm.

Firstly, move your dad further away from the wall. This will soften the shadows behind him or eliminate them altogether.

On my monitor, the walls look a creamy colour - is that correct? If, in fact, they are white, then if you can find a white corner wall - behind and to his right, you can bounce the SB800 into the ceiling corner to give some side and top lighting.

Also, watch out for the detail - his right shirt collar is tucked into the jacket collar - I know this is a trial, but practice now to make spotting these minor things a habit

Incidentally, the shadow under his nose is not necessarily a problem (again, as far as I can tell on my monitor) - it is a result of having the main light source directly at the model's front and slightly above head level. Generally called butterfly lighting because of the shadow caused under the nose (others will correct me if I am wrong).

yes WB is fairly off, the wall is cream and thanks for the point about moving him away from the wall, I had it in my mind that closer meant less shadow!
Thanks

just a thought, if this is a golf glub, why shoot against a boring wall?

perhaps with a longer focal length (closer to 85mm), but not essential, shoot on a cloudy day, early morning (as golfers do) with thier prize green, or fairway as the backdrop. Not to feature the grass, but contextualise the shot, as members of the club. That would complement the desire to capture the logo well.

as said above, move then say a meter away from the wall (until the shadow fades/softens/disappears).

I dont have 85mm (though i would love to), and I cant see us getting onto the golf course to take photos, it would be a great idea and I will put it to my dad and see what happens.

though i still have questions regarding what settings to use, both on the camera and on the flash. which mode should i use? when ever i set it for Aperture and set it at about 5 or 6 the shutter drops to below 1 second!
which settings should i use to get the sharpest and brightest image??
cheers

[gstark]

when ever i set it for Aperture and set it at about 5 or 6 the shutter drops to below 1 second!

That's because the camera thinks you're metering in A mode, using the available light.

Which you're not.

Set the camera to M, 1/125, f/5.6 or f/8, and see where that takes you.

As noted above, locate your subject further from the background, and take note of the colours of the walls and ceiling, as, especially if you're bouncing the flash, these can have an effect on the outcome.

[mattyjacobs]

mate, you've got pocket wizards! some of the stuff on strobist.com has blown me away - overpowering daylight with some flashes/a flash, something to reflect light and pocket wizards, kind of like this shot can make interesting profile photos.

low angles, out on the green in the full golfing kit (with blazer of course) could be really interesting.

but then, being a golf club, they may be into the big conservative thing, and just want straight profile shots.

[Laurie]

mate, you've got pocket wizards! some of the stuff on strobist.com has blown me away - overpowering daylight with some flashes/a flash, something to reflect light and pocket wizards, kind of like this shot can make interesting profile photos.

low angles, out on the green in the full golfing kit (with blazer of course) could be really interesting.

but then, being a golf club, they may be into the big conservative thing, and just want straight profile shots.

I, unfortunately, have not mastered the pocket wizards yet, and I think I need another SB800 to take advantage of them and maybe make them into more studio lights.

I spoke with my dad who said they just want straight profile shots, plain background and all.

[mattyjacobs]

I spoke with my dad who said they just want straight profile shots, plain background and all.

fair enough!

I, unfortunately, have not mastered the pocket wizards yet, and I think I need another SB800 to take advantage of them and maybe make them into more studio lights.

I'm far from mastering photography, let alone mastering off-camera flash! though even playing with one off-camera flash is fun, bouncing it off a wall etc.

EDIT: just a thought - this strobist.com post shows how off-camera lighting and 'specular highlight controlling' can make far more effective 'profile' shots. Scroll down to see a nice example.

Also, if you look through the drop-down list in 'Lighting 102 Archive', you'll find some helpful articles there.