Headshot Photography Techniques |  |
- Headshot Photography Techniques
- Photographer Working Inside an Active Volcano to Document Lava Up Close
- Behind the Scenes of a Photo Shoot with an Academy Award-winning Actress
- Digital Photography Printing for Wall Art: Introduction
| Headshot Photography Techniques Posted: 21 Sep 2013 09:57 PM PDT Peter Hurley believes he has the coolest job you could ever have. He arrived at his headshot photography career through trial and error. Just like most anyone picking up a camera for the first time, he didn’t know anything about aperture, light, or flash sync speed. He started from scratch. Over the years, Hurley has made a name for himself by developing a distinct style. Learn more about his headshot photography techniques here (for those of you reading this by email, the video walk-through can be seen here): Hurley started his portrait photography simply. He used a south facing window as his light source, adding diffusion panels on sunny days. He’d stand between the window and his subject, and he loved the results of this lighting setup. Later, when he moved into a studio with no windows, he faced a huge problem. How would he achieve his preferred lighting style without his natural light source? His solution was to set up continuous lights in front of his subject and then shoot through the lights, a style for which he’s now known.
He achieves his look with the following equipment:
Peter Hurley uses the equipment he uses because it’s what he’s accustomed to, and he is confident using it. But he stresses that the gear and technical details of a headshot are less important than being skilled at working with the people you’re photographing. When working with subjects, Hurley makes them comfortable. A former model himself, he doesn’t assume that models know what to do in front of the camera. Instead, he has developed his communication skills in order to capture true expressions. He thinks of his job as coaching. He must constantly give his subjects direction to eliminate any stiff, unnatural interactions that ruin a headshot. Shooting tethered helps Hurley coach his models. After taking a few images, he can show his subjects the pictures and give them specific directions on what to do differently in the next shots.
One key directive that Hurley uses with all models is to bring the jaw forward. Drawing the chin forward tightens the skin on the jaw and neck to flatter all face types. He then divides the face into four quadrants and gives the model information about what to do with each facial feature. Meanwhile, he thinks about how he wants light to fall around the different parts of the face. When all of his techniques work together, Hurley gets just what he’s looking for: people who look like they’re engaged with the photographer, not simply staring through a camera.
Though his headshot photos make him look like he’s mastered this art of working with models, Hurley says he’s still always working on improving and fine-tuning what he says to people while he’s shooting.
Clearly, there’s more to portraiture than technical skills. Once you’ve learned how to use your camera and lighting properly, there’s still a lot to learn about working with your subjects. Peter Hurley’s headshot photography techniques are useful to any portrait photographer with a drive to keep improving. Go to full article: Headshot Photography Techniques |
| Photographer Working Inside an Active Volcano to Document Lava Up Close Posted: 21 Sep 2013 05:23 PM PDT The Weather Channel doesn’t only exist to tell you the temperature, or which direction storm systems are moving; they have recently branched out into actual programming. Particular to today’s story, they have a new show called “Lava Chasers”, which documents scientists, researchers, and in this case, photographers who seek to study, capture, and understand the behaviour of molten rock as it creeps slow and deadly down from the peaks of Hawaii’s famous volcanoes. In this short clip, a photographer identified only as “Bryan” tries to capture a time lapse of the oozing liquid earth, which is just as difficult as you might expect (for those reading this by email, the video can be seen here): The video cuts unfortunately short, leaving us wondering what to take away from it; I guess that’s how they get us to watch the whole episode. We’ve identified the photographer as Bryan Lowry, an accomplished lava photographer whose portfolio can be seen here. We see Lowry and his assistant, Robbie, struggling against the elements to get the shots they’re after. The focus, naturally, is on the weather (it is The Weather Channel), but there are many other things to consider when trying to photograph lava (yes, it is possible for any of us to go to on a volcano tour).
The lingering pace of lava flows have lured many unsuspecting admirers to disaster. It seems to move so gently, but its speed and direction can change in an instant, which can trap a person in an isolated area – a potentially fatal situation. The first thing to know about photographing lava is to use common sense and be very, very careful. Cooled lava is essentially broken fragments of rock, and is extremely sharp; always wear sturdy, close-toed shoes. Make sure to bring gloves, and keep lots of water with you. Lava can reach up to 1200 degrees Celsius, and being near temperatures like that will suck moisture right out of you. The weather is extremely volatile in Hawaii, so come prepared for intense wind, rain, heat, and humidity. You’ll be arriving at the volcano by boat on a potentially violent sea, so if you get seasick, be ready for it.
It’s best to use a decent camera with a metal chassis and some weather sealing – something that will stand up to the harsh conditions. A high-quality tripod is important, too – the lava glows with red heat through its own ashy crust, which means that flash has little use in volcano photography, and thus you’ll likely be using entirely ambient light. As with most types of photography, the lighting will be best right after sunrise and right before sunset. Frozen action can certainly have its place, particularly when the lava is especially active and shooting sparks. Most of the time, though, a long exposure will do the best job, accentuating the flow’s motion and blurring it ever so slightly into a soft, brilliant stream. Pay special attention to the colours, and try to juxtapose the burning lava against the blue of the surrounding sea and sky for a photo that erupts with natural beauty. Go to full article: Photographer Working Inside an Active Volcano to Document Lava Up Close |
| Behind the Scenes of a Photo Shoot with an Academy Award-winning Actress Posted: 21 Sep 2013 04:07 PM PDT Cover photos for well-known magazines tend to have an air of sophistication. The talented photographers creating them must be highly skilled at working with models and shaping light, and they must work under pressure to please their editors. Mario Testino was assigned to shoot the cover for Vogue’s September 2013 issue, which features Jennifer Lawrence, the actress most recently known for her role as Katniss in The Hunger Games. Take a quick peek behind the scenes at the photo shoot at Cornelia Guest’s home in Templeton (for those of you reading this by email, the behind the scenes video can be seen here): While meeting and photographing celebrities certainly includes some glamour, hours of time and work go into these types of fashion shoots. In this case, Testino worked on a team that included a fashion director, set designer, makeup artist, and hair stylist. And there are still hours of post-processing to worry about after the excitement of the shoot itself.
Photographers who want to get into the fashion magazine scene need to prove their skills with a strong portfolio that lives up to images such as those created by Mario Testino. With enough hard work and experience, fashion photographers are rewarded for their troubles when they see their images featured prominently at the newsstand. Go to full article: Behind the Scenes of a Photo Shoot with an Academy Award-winning Actress |
| Digital Photography Printing for Wall Art: Introduction Posted: 21 Sep 2013 12:56 PM PDT Photography and printing are two very different things. Although they are closely related in how they depend on one another, they take two very different sets of knowledge. Just because you can take amazing photos, doesn’t mean you can make amazing prints, and vice versa. In this video, Robert Rodriguez Jr explains many of the technical aspects and forethought you should consider when thinking about printing your images (for those reading this by email, the seminar can be seen here): Factors to Consider Before Printing:
 Robert Rodriguez Jr explains many of the technical details of printing including the confusion between dpi and ppi
Go to full article: Digital Photography Printing for Wall Art: Introduction |
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