Heather Headshot
Heather giving me that wonderful flirtatious look.
Heather giving me that wonderful flirtatious look.
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NIKON D700
Aperture 45/10 ISO 200 Shutter 1/100 Focal Length 850/10 
Sacramento, California, US
Jan, 2023Views
372
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Awards
Flawless Summer Award
Spring 23 Award
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Outstanding Creativity
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in downtown Sacramento, near an entry point for a midtown park. It is a place I like to shoot often because of the versatility it offers as far as background options and natural evening light goes.Time
This image was shot during evening golden hour; outside.Lighting
The image was shot in natural light, and I had her pose in a concrete entryway where evening golden hour light casts nicely. Light bounces off the walls nicely in this area, so I just posed her with the sun to her back-left and let the reflections from the walls fill in her face.Equipment
For this image, I used a Nikon D700 camera along with a Nikkor 85mm 1.8 lens. The image was shot handheld with using natural ambient light.Inspiration
The client wanted edgy headshots. So the inspiration was to have the makeup artist give my subject smokey-dark eyes and put her in a leather jacket and hot pink brasier. We all loved the results.Editing
I try not to go too hard in post processing for headshots, but I did do some minor blemish removal and eliminated a few flyaway hairs that weren't going in a good direction. I also did some very light dodging and burning.In my camera bag
Right now I am using Panasonic gear. I have an old G7 I travel with, but my Lumix S5 is my true love currently. I have a 20-70mm 2.8 and 85mm 1.8 Lumix lenses, and I just recently purchased the Sigma 105mm 1.4 ART lens and that glass is LEGIT. I really like what Panasonic has been doing lately. I still have a couple of Nikon bodies and glass, but that stuff is catching dust right now -- unfortunately. I am already planning to pre-order the S5 IIx that is releasing in May (2023), and I couldn't be more excited.Feedback
My advice for shooting a headshot like this is very simple. Flat light is great light! Just be sure to find an area where light is balanced nicely. Somewhere where there are natural sources, like light-colored walls, that will reflect natural light softly. You want to find that good medium where you can utilize your primary light source directly and the light-balancing elements around you and your subject to soften the scene. Try to avoid just shooting your subject in a shaded area where flat light exists but there is no evidence of the primary light source. You can certainly get some good photos doing that, but if you are shooting vibrant colors on your subject... You are not really giving those colors a chance to come to life and your frames will just look muted and gray. If you are interested in talking about this further, shoot me a DM.
