i'm about to do a headshot for a guy who has a larger nose, a lazy eye and pretty much not so photogenic. it's for a book that he's authored and i want to nail it. does anyone have any inspirational sites or shots that i can draw from to think outside of the book shot box.

help and thanks,

jim davis-hicks

Here are a few of my favorites:
Kevin Major Howard
http://www.headshot-photography.com/portfolio.htm

Theo and Juliet
http://theoandjuliet.com/logset.html

Kenny Pang
http://www.kennyheadshots.com/detected.php?page=&pass=

thanks david,

i loved the first two, not so much of a kenny pang fan but i liked the first two alot, especially theo and juliet, thanks again.

You are welcome. Kevin Major Howard is my favorite of them all. His angles and consistency are the best.

+1

If you look around his website there's a little tv piece that he did and it shows his set up - seriouly simple - a garage, a reflector and, well that's it. He gets some awesome results.

It would be a headshot if he were an actor. This is a portrait. You have three choices: shoot up close, but use dramatic lighting to mask those features; shoot an environmental portrait to make them too small to be noticeable; or retouch.

Those are some amazing links! Thanks for posting those. I'm preparing to launch a new brand that focuses on headshots. Those links are humbling and inspiring.

Cheers,
Zack

i guess your right, but the book pix i've seen look more head shotish than portraitish, anyway, i can't see it looking right on the back of a book to have much environment.

hmm, i'm gonna have fun with it and just experiment a bunch with it.

thanks again.

jim

mark, i checked out set up! i have a garage, i have a reflector, oh and a camera!!!! looks like i'm set. now all i need is a bunch of incredibly hot actors asking me to take their pix!!!! just kidding. thanks for that notice of his set up, so simple!

I agree! I just started doing some headshots recently and look to those for inspiration. It is VERY humbling! :-)



Send some of them my way too! hahaha

Hey, you're welcome, but you've got to let us see some of your results.

To get good headshots you need:

a great looking subject
great hair
great makeup
a great big light source

Realistically, it's hair and makeup that are the problem. Unless you are doing volume work, it's going to be a pain to get a good makeup artist and hairstylist - and it's even harder to convince the kind of clients you usually get that it's worth it (unless you are in Hollywood or NYC). So you end up having to fix all the problems in Photoshop - and not getting paid enough to make it worthwhile.