BH Photo Event Space Next Week

Tags

beauty, Beauty Headshot, Beauty Photography, BH, BH Event Space, BH Photo, Black hair, Model, modeling, Nikon, off camera flash, Photoflex, Photoflex Umbrella, SB800, Single Light, Single Light Portraits, Small Flash Photography, Sony, Sony A7II

Hi Everyone,

I apologize for not posting for a while.  I’ve been busy and have neglected the blog.

Next week on December 28, I’m heading to BH Event Space to run a presentation from 1-3 on the Humble Umbrella.

BH Event Space

I just received the new Photoflex Diffusion Screen for the 45″ convertible umbrella.  For those of you who know my work or work in photography education, you know that I love this umbrella.  Now, with a diffusion screen, this umbrella system is now complete.

Here is the link to Photoflex:

Photoflex Umbrella Diffusion

I’ll be at BH to demonstrate this wonderful piece of gear and to get a handle on it.  I’ve not shot with it, so we’ll all learn something that day.

I’ll be shooting with the incomparable Tatiana, who worked for me at the Nissin Booth this year at the Photoplus Expo:

Register at the BH Event Space site and join in the fun!

Hope to see you there.

The Importance of Styling

Tags

Beauty Headshot, CT Headshot Photographer, CT Model Photographer, Headshot, Model, modeling, natural light, NYC Headshot Photographer, Sony, Sony A7 II

Hi and welcome back.

I took last week off during the lazy days of Summer.  I’ll be posting only a few times a week until September and the kids are off to school.

For today, let’s take a look at the importance of styling.

If you are a going to a photoshoot, no matter who you are or what your need, styling is very important for a few reasons:

1. You look great after pro pampers your face and hair
2. It makes the photographer’s or retoucher’s job so much easier when post processing
3. If you are a model, male or female, and you can do your own styling, you will sometimes get hired over other models who can’t do this.  So as budgets shrink, learning to do it yourself is beneficial.

Now on to hair, makeup, and nails.

For hair, if you are doing a concept shoot or beauty shoot that requires you to have crazy hair, then keep it simple and clean but add body so if a fan is added you have the volume to move around.

For makeup, stick to neutral tones that enhance your eyes and overall tone.  Again, unless you are doing something specific, keep it simple and elegant.

Nails are a pet peeve of mine.  Keep them clean, manicured, and use a neutral or light tone color on them so they disappear in the image.  Don’t arrive to your shoot or job with broken nails or chipped neon purple nails.  If your hands wind up in the image, you’ll be happy you had your nails done and ready for the shoot.

Here is a proof of a shot I did a while back.

Notice how the tones of her lips, face, and around the eyes are even and neutral.  Her hair has had a blowout at a salon so that there is volume to it, even though you can’t see too much of it.  But most importantly look at her nails.  They are in great shape and the color on them blends with her skin tone, so they disappear in the image and don’t detract from her face:

Because her skin is evenly toned, her hair is controlled with product, and her nails blend perfectly, retouching is easy.

Here is a final retouch done by my retoucher:

If you are learning to style yourself, here is a guide I got from InStyle Magazine that will help you choose colors for your skin tone:

That’s it for today.  Till next time, happy stylin’.

Getting Creative without Breaking the Bank

Tags

beauty, Beauty Headshot, Bowens, Bowens Softbox, california sunbounce, Creative Headshot, CT Actor Headshot Photographer, CT Beauty Headshot Photographer, Expoimaging, fun, Nikon, OCF, off camera flash, Rogue Flashbenders, Sony, Sony A7II

Hi and welcome back.

Last Saturday I ran a workshop at Theia Studios in North Andover, MA, just outside Boston.

It went great!  I taught the Headshot with speed lights only.

One of the looks we did really showcases how you can get creative on a slim budget, of course, that is only after spending your inheritance to get to this point with cameras, lenses, lights, soft boxes, reflectors, etc, etc, etc…  As this IS photography after all!

But once you reach that point, you can get creative easily and without spending a lot of cash.

For this shot, I went to Dick’s Sporting Goods and purchased a roll of purple sports underwrap:

Dicks Sporting Goods

I simply wrapped the model like a Mummy and shot the look.  For about $6.00 and $20.00 for Sephora Lipstick, which the model already owned, we got a super creative look and had a bunch of fun.

Here is a straight-out-of-camera raw to jpeg proof:

Here’s how I shot it.

Key: SB910, Bowens 60 x 90 softbox with Interfit S-Mount Ring for speedlights

Reflector: California Sunbounce Micro Mini, silver side up

Back: 2 SB800’s with Large Rogue Flashbenders as flags

Then, after we set the lights and exposure and shot the look we wanted, I had Amanda, our model, have fun with her facial expressions!  She just rocked it and knocked it out of the park!

I wanted to take the traditional beauty shot on white to another level, and for only a few bucks, we shot an awesome and fun look.

Well that’s it for now.  Till next time, stay creative!!

 

 

Natural Light; Natural Beauty; No Photoshop

Tags

beauty, Beauty Headshot, CT Beauty Headshot Photographer, CT Headshot Photographer, CT Model Photographer, CT Natural Light Headshot Photographer, Headshot, Model, Model Photographer, modeling, Natural Beauty, natural light

Hi and welcome back.

I’m heading to Boston this weekend to teach The Headshot using all small flashes, but recently I’ve become addicted to natural light, natural beauty, and NO Photoshop.

Here is a pic I pulled from the archive that totally exemplifies that look.

Stacey worked for me a while back at a workshop and we shot in late afternoon sun.  This time of day, also known as the Golden Hour, is best shot right before, during, and right after sunset.

This shot was taken just as the sun dipped below the houses to camera left.  The light bouncing off of the sand, as we were on the beach, coupled with the cool background, produced a simple shot without any external modifiers.

When I shoot this kind of look, I choose these settings:

Aperture Priority between f/4 and f/5.6

ISO boosted to give me a good working shutter speed.  I have no issues going to ISO 1200 or more to get a shutter of at least 1/125 so everything is sharp.

Also, I’m into natural beauty.  This image had a contrast adjustment in Capture One and that is it.  NO PHOTOSHOP at all.

While speed lights and strobes are awesome, why pay for and lug all that gear when natural light does the job every time!

That’s it for today.  If you are coming to Boston, I can’t wait to meet you!

Till next time, keep it natural!

Photoshop Friday on a Friday!

Tags

Adobe Photoshop Lesson, Beauty Headshot, CT Headshot Photographer, Glamour Headshot, Nikon, Photoshop, Photoshop Friday, Photoshop Tips, Sharpening in Photoshop, Sharpening technique, Sony

Hi and welcome back.

I’m going to give you a quickie lesson today on sharpening soft images.

Sometimes you get an out-of-focus image.  Sometimes that softness is really cool and you just leave it for artistic reasons, but other times the soft image you shot is the final image choice of your client.  Now, you have to work on it to sharpen it for print output.

One great way to sharpen and then move forward in retouching is using the High Pass method.

Here is a screenshot of a soft headshot:

To repair the softness and begin to sharpen the image, I went to Filter>Other>High Pass:

When you choose the effect, you need to test a few times to see how many pixels to choose to sharpen the image.  Here I chose ten.  You can see the new layer on the layer palette on the right and the entire screen has gone gray.  This is the effect happening on the image:

Here is the new layer not the left:

Now go to the Blending Mode and scroll down to choose Soft Light.  This will produce a sharper image overall:

Here is the final sharpened proof ready for retouching.  I normally sharpen after I’ve retouched, but here the image needed a bit of help before beginning to soothe skin.  

Here is a before and after side-by-side:

That’s High Pass Sharpening.  This is a great way to sharpen and image before or after retouching.  Here, my client wanted this image, so I sharpened it so it looked better before heading to retouch.

Next time, I’ll show you how to soften skin using this method with a few extra steps.  It works amazingly well and allows you to selectively apply softening and sharpening at the same time.

Till next time, stay sharp!

Saturday in Boston at Theia Studios

Tags

beauty, Beauty Headshot, CT Actor Headshot Photographer, CT Beauty Headshot Photographer, Dark Beauty, Edgy Beauty, Model, Model Photography, NYC Beauty Headshot Photographer, NYC Headshot Photographer

Hi and welcome back.

Just a quick post today on Saturday’s workshop.

Theia Studios Registration Link

I don’t know how attendance is yet, but I’m planning on doing at least one super creative look.  I’ll show you how to get amazing results with something I bought at Dick’s Sporting Goods.

This is the look.  If you are planning on attending, plan on learning how to create this look with 3 speed lights and some sports tape:

Hope to see you in Boston!

Till then, happy Spring!

The January 10th Beauty Headshot Workshop

Tags

Beauty Headshot, CT Beauty Headshot Photographer, CT Headshot Photographer, CT Headshots, CT OCF Workshops, CT Workshops, Expoimaging, Nikon, OCF, OCF Workshops, Phottix, Rogue, Rogue Flashbenders, Rogue Grids, Rogue XL Pro, Sony, Workshops

Hi and welcome back.

On Sunday, January 10, I’ll be running a beauty headshot workshop.  The beauty headshot is one of my absolute favorite things to shoot.

We’ll be shooting two different beauty looks: one clean and one with a bit harder, more direct light and creative makeup.

I’ll show you how to get amazing results with just a few speed lights and modifiers.

Here are the details: 

Location: Studio 52 North, Middletown, CT

Date: January 10, 2016

Time: 12-3

Looks: First look is clean beauty, second look is creative beauty with creative makeup

Cost: $160.00, use the link or the Paypal link on top of the page.  

Our first look is clean beauty using: 

Phottix Luna Beauty Dish

Our second look is totally creative using: 

Rogue Grids

Rogue XL Pro with the strip grid

Our model for the day is Laina:

This workshop will run slightly differently.  Laina will be in hair and makeup from 11-12 so we can shoot from 12-1.  After the first look and hour of shooting, she’ll head back into styling for creative makeup and hair while we set up the second set of lights.  The second look is a very specific lighting, so we’ll all engage in setting it up to shoot and learn how to do it.

Don’t forget, all my workshops are shooting workshops so don’t forget your camera, lenses, batteries, and cards to shoot, shoot, shoot, this amazing look.

Any questions, email or call:

bob@robertharringtonstudios.com

203-540-8221

I hope to see you there!

 

Photoplus Expo Day 2

Tags

Beauty Headshot, CT Actor Headshot Photographer, CT Beauty Headshot Photographer, CT Commercial Photographer, Key and fill light, Nikon, NYC Actor Headshot Photographer, NYC Headshot Photographer, NYC OCF Workhsop, OCF, off camera flash, Ring Light, Triangle Light

Hi and welcome back.

On day two of the PDN Photoplus Expo, I went commercial with my lighting looks.

In the first look, I did a two light commercial magazine cover on white.

Key: SB910, Rogue XL Pro with diffusion screen

Fill: SB800, Rogue XL Pro with diffusion screen

It is important to remember that this look, like the cover of a Cosmopolitan Magazine, is done with over and under lighting for key and fill.

The fill light is 1 to 2 stops less than the key in order to open the shadows on the bottom of the image but not overpower the exposure on the top.  If you have a bright or white floor, put a black or dark piece of fabric on the floor in front of the subject to absorb some of the light and not create too much light on the foreground.

For my second look, I went with the three light triangle.  This looks like a ring light without the fuss and muss of a ring light.  You can see the triangular catchlight in her eyes.

Simply set all three lights into a triangle and set your power to the same setting, usually I start at 1/8 power for each light.

Keep in mind that the lower light may need to have the power lowered depending on how the light interacts with your subjects skin.

Key: 3 speed lights in triangle formation with Rogue XL Pros and diffusion screens

For my last look of the day, I went with clean beauty with just two lights in the over and under or clamshell setup.

My key is set high and above and my fill is set below.  I shoot right in between the two lights.  You can see the over and under catchlights in Julie’s eyes.

Remember here too that you need to keep your fill light 1 to 2 stops below the key to control up shadows on the face.

Key: SB910 with Rogue XL Pro and diffusion screen

Fill: SB800 with Rogue XL Pro and diffusion screen

Well that’s it for today.

You can do a lot with a little, and that is always my goal.

Till next time, happy shooting.

 

Shooting with the Lastolite TriLite MK II

Tags

Beauty Headshot, CT Actor Headshot Photographer, CT Beauty Headshot Photographer, Lastolite, Lastolite TriLite MK II, Nikon, NYC Headshot Photographer, Phottix, Phottix Indra 500, Phottix Odin, Studio Lighting Techniques

Hi and welcome back.

One of the pieces of gear I used to use a lot, which for some reason was relegated to the store room, is the Lastolite TriLite MK II.

Link: TriLite MK II

I’m shooting with the Phottix Indra 500 and the 36″ silver lined beauty dish with diffusion cover installed.

Link: Phottix Indra

I dug it out the other day while cleaning the studio and decided to break it out once again.  I also dug out a few images of me using it a while ago.

The TriLite MKII is an amazing reflector system.  One of the best features of it is that it breaks down quickly and stores in a compact bag for easy travel.  This is one of those tools that can really change the look of your work, especially if you are only using one light source.  With the ability to use all three panels for a beauty look or dropping one or both side panels, you can add or subtract shadow detail.

Here is a proof image of Kelsey:

Here are two shots of the setup.  You can see how the TriLite wraps your subject with beautiful soft light for filling in all those facial features.

The Lastolite TriLite MK Ii found its place in my shooting repertoire once more.  You’ll be seeing a lot more of it in my work, so stay tuned!

That’s if for now.  Till next time, happy snow shoveling!

 

 

Photo Plus Expo this Weekend

Tags

Beauty Headshot, Beauty lighing, Expoimaging, Luna, OCF, off camera flash, PDN, Photo Plus Expo, Phottix, Presentation workshops, Rogue Flashbenders, Speedlights

Hi and welcome back.

I’m back from Ohio and gearing up now for the Photo Plus Expo in NYC Thursday through Saturday.

Photo Plus Expo

This is the Northeast region’s largest photographic trade show.  I’ll be there presenting with Expoimaging and Phottix, so swing by and say hello!

Expoimaging:

Thursday 12:30-1

Friday 11:30-12, 3:30-4

Saturday 11:30-1

Phottix each day from 2-3

I’ll be covering speedlighting with Rogue Flashbenders, Phottix Triggers, and the Luna Beauty Dish.

Hope to see you there!!