Headshot Photos

The dreaded headshot! Nothing is worse than sitting in front of a total stranger to have them duplicate one of the most precious things of your life, your ego, your mojo! Yes your head! Though the beauty of the digital age has enabled us to immediately see the results immediately so all is not so bad. Engage with your photographer to see the images throughout the photoshoot to see how your gesture, posture is affecting the photograph. Subtle changes can alter the entire photo and the results will be rewarding! The other advantage of todays headshot is the photographers engagement with aftermarket software to tweak the photo to enhance the beauty of the photo.

Whitening teeth, adding volume to hair, enlarging the pupils are just a few things that can be done to embellish your look. The need for professional make-up is really not a necessity as many things can be tweaked to your desire. Furthermore, look for a photographer that will offer multiple outfits for one photoshoot. It is nice to receive a variety of photos wearing at least a couple of outfits. This way your picture can change within a few months to keep a fresh look as opposed to a branded 10 year old photo!

Many Linkedin, Facebook, Dating Portofolio or Professional headshot photos require very little thrills with pure white or black backdrops. Blue backdrops, as seen below can be a unique overall look too!

Most people I have photographed in my studio actually enjoy the session with some vibrant music to add to the vibe of the photo session.

Overall make your session memorable and fun! Don’t be afraid to change up your photos frequently with new outfits and with new seasons. If you find a photographer that can do this at a reasonable price, this uplifting image update is both rewarding and motivating.

Sometimes You Get Lucky

Sometimes You Get Lucky

I am not referencing the lyric from a Bob Dylan Song, however if you have never heard the song

“Idiot Wind” I highly recommend it. This was a recent photograph I took during a winter whirl in Milton Ontario. I have photographed this location hundreds of times but sometimes you get lucky.

From the rolling waves and the snow on the tree and the blue tint in the sky made for a beautiful picture. Looking at the picture the immediate snow dripping from the rustic bridge and the formation of icicles embellish the entire look.

However, this was not a random lucky photo altogether. For this photo we were outside for about 18 minutes and the bride’s bare shoulders were near the threshold of tolerance. I came prepared with waders knowing during the snowfall this would be the photo I would like to capture. I have been in the Wedding industry for over 29 years and I count on both hands the amount of times it actually snowed on a Wedding Day. Although there are implications such as snow interfering with the clarity of the photos, extreme cold weather and mobility I was determined to convince this lovely couple that this pose was worth taking. We walked about 500 meters to get to this destination through the deep snow and cold weather. Sliding on some waders and jumping into the river was the only way to capture this picture. Was it worth it? Absolutely! This will rank in my top ten for sure.

The Master of Light!

The Master of Light

Only when you can manipulate lighting can you really become good at photography. I am not talking about strobe light alone, but using available light and creating and eliminating shadows to assist you to create something that otherwise would be flat and boring. Over the past 30 years of photography, I have had many amazing opportunities and the latest has been working with Models in our “Meetup” group https://www.meetup.com/Toronto-Photography-Meetup-Group/

Understanding Light spring loads one into a creative realm of creativity that otherwise may be limited by their inhibition to experiment. My latest challenge, that I wanted to experiment with, was implementing LED Lighting with Strobe Lighting. LED Lighting would be the constant light in the background. This is what I measured first to adjust my scene because I wanted to ensure the deep reds in the picture were saturated. Secondly, I placed my strobe (AD200) off to the side (subject left) to create a dramatic look as opposed to having the light set to the centre of the subject. Using a honeycomb grid an CTO gel to match the candle light in the photo, I was extremely pleased with the final results of this combination.

My main thrust in photography is Weddings. I most definitely will be using the LED lighting with Strobe in future events. Now some of you may be asking, could you not ascertain the same results if you used gels in multiple flashes? The simple answer is YES, absolutely and that would be a very vibrant picture too! The workflow using LED is simpler especially with a mirrorless system. I am impartial to mirrorless cameras as I have many colleagues who use Sony and Canon systems. I am using both the Nikon Z6 and Nikon Z6ii. Being able to see the LED lighting and just adjusting the flash is a very quick way of manipulating the overall look. Using gels would mean adjusting the power of each flash in the background and then adjusting the main light illuminating the subject. CONS- if the room is not in darkness, LED lighting may be almost useless because the ambient light will wash out the saturation that the LED’s can produce. In essence, having multiple sources of lighting is a “wish” thing for me and over time as a photographer I have acquired many products to enhance the experience. Is LED a necessity? Well not really but it is very handy in the darkness of night when photographing on the streets or within a dark room. Would I encourage you to get a light wand or LED Light! Absolutely! The immediate opportunity to dial in your colour and obtain great results have never been easier.