18 year Realtor/40 year camera nerd here. It's hard to find a photographer with such good skill and direction. One photographer did so much editing to my head shot that I was often asked at my open houses if they should contact me or the lady in the flyer (edited photo of me). I usually end up either just taking 30 shots of myself and picking the best one. It really is a skill to capture someone at their best, while still having an image that looks like them. Great job with the photos and YT video.
Now THIS is the best headshot vs editorial I’ve watched in the last 6 months, and I’ve probably watched everything out there, at least on UA-cam. Bravo. Now it makes sense.
Smart and straight to the point. I'm not in the business of teaching people how I do my work, but this is essentially it in a nutshell. I don't do headshots but I've taken a thousand portraits in various styles on location. One key to this type of work that may not be apparent in the video is that you have to be able to see the image that you're looking for and then know how to achieve it. Basically you have to have vision and that other comes from just being an artist or just training again and again and again. Unless you have a lot of people with a lot of free time it's tough to get that training. And then you got to edit those images because what's being shown is definitely not ooc. Is going to be a lot of people in this video trying to copy the same thing and then you run into a face or a head shape that this does not work for. That's where things get tricky. I wish I had some studio space so I can keep practicing, there's a lot to getting your photography business up and running and then anything kinds of consistent. A lot of these videos teach you how to make the images but trying to maintain photography as a business is a whole nother stinking ball game and it depends a lot on who you are where you are the people around you, and yes your skin color too because people can be very racist and discriminatory in particular. Markets love to choose favorites and you'll see those guys getting all the jobs. Try to sneak your way into the door however you can because things are not fair and hard work is not always the key to success. Cheers all.
Thanks for the feedback! I completely agree that it's important to have a vision for what you want before the camera is even in your hand :) BTW - all of the photos (with the exception of the edited one at the very end) are un-edited. I have a custom color correction being applied as I shoot in C1, but otherwise completely untouched.
I assisted top wedding / portrait photographer Monte Zucker who was a Zen Master at analyzing faces and then using lighting patterns and facial angles to make them look more slender and symmetrical - the two traits which models have which make them desirable as models. The challenge taking 'head shots' is that a full face view creates the most sincere, trustworthy, friendly body language message but it is for many people with wide round or lopsided faces not as flattering as an oblique view. What Monte taught me about lighting patterns is that making the FRONT mask of the face contrast the most with clothing and background and putting the wider side of an uneven face will cause the viewer's brain to 'tunnel' in on the highlighted parts and never notice the face isn't slender and symmetrical - you just need to make the highlighted part on a dark background look that way. That's even easier in an oblique pose. A person photographed obliquely and looking straight ahead looks detached and unapproachable. Looking straight at the camera they look 'shifty eyed' and insincere. The trick I learned from Monte is to first pose the face at the 45° oblique angle, shooting into the shadow side with key light 90° away at the opposite 45° THEN without them moving the head have them follow a hand until their pupils appear centered in the eye socket which occurs when they look halfway between straight ahead and camera. I learned more from him in the space of 18 months than I would have figured out on my own in years. Why he was the top PPofA photography instructor for over 20 years
Monte is an absolute legend, I have one of his books and he signed it for me when I was a teenager! My first course in photography was with his friend and also photography guru, Frank Criccio - changed my life. Thanks for the detailed response!
I asked him this question before a few years ago, back then he used click prop, storm backdrops, and Owen’s original backdrops. I don’t know if anything has changed since then.
Almost any printing store can do it nowadays. Just ask for canvas, not vinyl or any material, not reflective with a pocket to fit a crossbar on the top. Kate backdrop is the most common place to buy any type of background.
I have found when directing people that it's hard to direct them how to move. They usually move way too much and get nervous if I keep telling them "not so much". I like how you said "just a centimeter", that gives a better idea. It's really small adjustments, but they don't know that unless I find a way to tell them.
I used to do it in inches but people still moved too far! In the US, nobody knows what centimeters and millimeters are, they just know that they are tiny, lol
Awesome tutorial. Still learning new things here. How on earth can I achieve the process of this editing style? I think it suits to my style and I really want to kniw how can I edit my headshot photos in a similar way.
You many not want to sully this brilliant presentation, but I'l ask anyways - you spoke about providing (at least) two different captures/angles per employee . . . how do you structure your charges? Per session? Per image? And if the latter, how many images per subject do you provide?
Hello! great video! A question, what flash model, modifier and arm model are the ones used to light the background? they are not in the list of equipment in description.
It's a custom background that I designed. It will likely be available to the public at some point in the near future. You can email my studio for more details info@hughesfioretti.com
This was an awesome video. Are all of the subtle head and body adjustments something one picks up with experience? Is it standard technique that is taught?
Great question! Most of it I picked up just like everyone else: watching people do it. I have found that everyone has a few things they do that work really well, it's just sharing knowledge that helps you get your own style down.
@@GaryHughesOfficial Well I saw your video with Taylor Jackson on your headshot workflow and setup and I loved the work. The gradients in particular. So I bought some additions to my setup to emulate yours a bit. Except I don’t have as much room so I struggled with getting a good soft spread gradient. Always very spotlight like. I’ve seen your approach with a snoot and saw others with a reflector dish which is what seems to have the best results for smaller space situation. I have worked out a bit of my kinks since I posted this comment but would still love any guidance.
It's a custom background that I designed. It will likely be available to the public at some point in the near future. You can email my studio for more details info@hughesfioretti.com
Not sure if this helps, but that background is a custom one that I designed. I believe that it will be launching at Imaging USA in Dallas next month :)
When there's an attractive subject, it almost doesn't matter how it's shot; the results will usually still be good. I'd love to see this with an old frumpy overweight bald guy that's impatient, doesn't care about the photo, and reminds you how much he hates being photographed on every frame. Every corporate headshot photographer out there knows what I'm talking about.
That describes about 90% of my clients, lol. I hear you, and I do a lot of that at in-person workshops. For YT, unfortunately it’s hard to get people to click on that. Good suggestion though, I’ll give it some thought :)
just want to point out, this person is a VERY accommodating subject. While it would be nice to do different poses ans set-ups with clients... in reality with corporate clients, most often you have 30 seconds of attention span from them, and there already thinking of work they should be doing and have checked out. Just reality. I accept this, and aim to get one shot, get them in out fast. If they want different images, see you in a fortnight time. With another booking, session and edit fee 😉👍
I have had some folks like that, but in-general my experience is that people are pretty accommodating when adding a second look. This idea was designed for exactly the scenario you suggested. Imagine how quickly I could get it done if I wasn’t explaining it to the camera. Thanks for watching and for the feedback
He said he moved the key light, but actually moved it a tiny fraction. Practically brought it back to same position. He just twisted the subject which was a good move. But he did not drastically moved the light!
Isn't that the point? You don't need to move the light drastically. It's supposed to be easy :) Like I said in the video, if it were a location portrait I might not move anything and just change my position to get the same effect. Thanks for watching!
I can't wait until Glow redesigns an eye-lighter to be as user friendly as their softboxes. I would love to take a quality eye-lighter on the road without having to dread putting it together once I get there / lol
I have the Glow version and the Westcott. Westcott made a HUGE improvement to the product in the last version. Adorama sells those and I highly recommend them. If not, GLow will likely catch up in a newer version. Interestingly, they are pretty much the same price.
Hi, Zoran1899! We have this video by Ab, where he uses the Godox LiteMons Series of Bi-Color and RGBW COB lights: ua-cam.com/video/bDSx1crDpWg/v-deo.htmlsi=rBb5302DeqD_NGvX. We hope you enjoy watching it! 💙
Funny enough that’s a real office :) I took the photo of it myself while shooting headshots there because I thought it looked nice and made a background out of it. Technique works well on any background, though, no worries!
It's a custom background that I designed. It will likely be available to the public at some point in the near future. You can email my studio for more details info@hughesfioretti.com
you know I go back and forth on this. I wonder if you hadn't seen it made, would you feel the same? I have taken shots in that actual room (that's where I got the image for the background) as the results are pretty similar (depending on how you light it).
everybody need that background.. adorama, please add this ..will sell like hot cake..
Yes indeed!
And the Seth Miranda Pizza Box, which would be great as a reflector and a prop
18 year Realtor/40 year camera nerd here. It's hard to find a photographer with such good skill and direction. One photographer did so much editing to my head shot that I was often asked at my open houses if they should contact me or the lady in the flyer (edited photo of me). I usually end up either just taking 30 shots of myself and picking the best one. It really is a skill to capture someone at their best, while still having an image that looks like them. Great job with the photos and YT video.
Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment!
Now THIS is the best headshot vs editorial I’ve watched in the last 6 months, and I’ve probably watched everything out there, at least on UA-cam. Bravo. Now it makes sense.
He knows how to direct to get exactly what he wants..........very impressive. Background is great, lighting is great and the model is great.
Smart and straight to the point. I'm not in the business of teaching people how I do my work, but this is essentially it in a nutshell. I don't do headshots but I've taken a thousand portraits in various styles on location. One key to this type of work that may not be apparent in the video is that you have to be able to see the image that you're looking for and then know how to achieve it. Basically you have to have vision and that other comes from just being an artist or just training again and again and again. Unless you have a lot of people with a lot of free time it's tough to get that training. And then you got to edit those images because what's being shown is definitely not ooc.
Is going to be a lot of people in this video trying to copy the same thing and then you run into a face or a head shape that this does not work for. That's where things get tricky.
I wish I had some studio space so I can keep practicing, there's a lot to getting your photography business up and running and then anything kinds of consistent. A lot of these videos teach you how to make the images but trying to maintain photography as a business is a whole nother stinking ball game and it depends a lot on who you are where you are the people around you, and yes your skin color too because people can be very racist and discriminatory in particular. Markets love to choose favorites and you'll see those guys getting all the jobs. Try to sneak your way into the door however you can because things are not fair and hard work is not always the key to success. Cheers all.
Thanks for the feedback! I completely agree that it's important to have a vision for what you want before the camera is even in your hand :) BTW - all of the photos (with the exception of the edited one at the very end) are un-edited. I have a custom color correction being applied as I shoot in C1, but otherwise completely untouched.
Wow! Beautiful photos and woman.
Thank you, Gary and Adorama for the educational and helpful tutorial! Good luck!
No problem, thanks for watching!
I assisted top wedding / portrait photographer Monte Zucker who was a Zen Master at analyzing faces and then using lighting patterns and facial angles to make them look more slender and symmetrical - the two traits which models have which make them desirable as models.
The challenge taking 'head shots' is that a full face view creates the most sincere, trustworthy, friendly body language message but it is for many people with wide round or lopsided faces not as flattering as an oblique view. What Monte taught me about lighting patterns is that making the FRONT mask of the face contrast the most with clothing and background and putting the wider side of an uneven face will cause the viewer's brain to 'tunnel' in on the highlighted parts and never notice the face isn't slender and symmetrical - you just need to make the highlighted part on a dark background look that way. That's even easier in an oblique pose.
A person photographed obliquely and looking straight ahead looks detached and unapproachable. Looking straight at the camera they look 'shifty eyed' and insincere. The trick I learned from Monte is to first pose the face at the 45° oblique angle, shooting into the shadow side with key light 90° away at the opposite 45° THEN without them moving the head have them follow a hand until their pupils appear centered in the eye socket which occurs when they look halfway between straight ahead and camera.
I learned more from him in the space of 18 months than I would have figured out on my own in years. Why he was the top PPofA photography instructor for over 20 years
Monte is an absolute legend, I have one of his books and he signed it for me when I was a teenager! My first course in photography was with his friend and also photography guru, Frank Criccio - changed my life. Thanks for the detailed response!
awesome!
very nice video.
Thanks!
Can you share where you got that office backdrop? Love it!
I wanted to ask the same question. It looks really good.
I asked him this question before a few years ago, back then he used click prop, storm backdrops, and Owen’s original backdrops. I don’t know if anything has changed since then.
What is the name of the backdrop called?
Almost any printing store can do it nowadays. Just ask for canvas, not vinyl or any material, not reflective with a pocket to fit a crossbar on the top. Kate backdrop is the most common place to buy any type of background.
Yes, please tell us where can we buy it!
nice one Gary glad to see you over here!
Gotta say-this is one of the best videos y’all have produced. Great description, direction and background explanations!
Fabulous video, very instructive! How the tiny movements and the light make an enormous difference!
Hey thanks for checking it out :)
impressive. love how the tone changes just with that slight turn and light adjustment. stealing
Thank you Gary and I will see you in February in Massachusetts!
See you then, my friend!
Gary is the best! Thank you for providing such great content with the best in the industry!
very kind of you to say, my friend, thank you.
gary hughes is such a nice guy and a beast of a photographer
What an amazing video. Appreciate you taking the time to share your expertise with us
Let’s go Gary! Love it.
Appreciate it, my friend!
Your direction is top tier and that backdrop is a must-have! Thank you for sharing.
Excellent advice, thank you Adorama and Gary!
appreciate you watching, Pete!
Do you have a link to that backdrop?
Holy cow. Gary, that was brilliant.
Thanks Marie!
Shout outs to the model for making his lighting and directives look good. 🤩
Where is this backdrop from? Great video - thanks fo sharing this ☺
Great idea! Thanks, Gary!
Works like a charm, hope it helps you!
An extraordinary presentation! Nicely done!
Well I'll take that, thank you!
Fantastic, very helpful video. Thank you!
Excellent video, thank you, Gary!
Thanks for watching :)
Great video, Gary. As usual.
Thank you, kind of you to say :)
Beautiful photos, I need to start grabbing more of these for extra picks. Love those 1x3 backlights.
Variety keeps these sessions fun for me. Love those ParaSnap strip boxes :) Thanks for watching!
Nicely done Gary!
Thank you, my freind!
Great video!
Thank you, Marc! 💙
Love this! So simple but I still wouldn’t have thought of it! Thank you!
it's the simple things sometimes, right? Thanks for watching
Beautiful work!
hey thank you :)
Thanks for sharing, this was a fantastic video tutorial,
Thanks for watching! 💙
Great video Gary!
thanks buddy!
Great content. Gary is da bomb.. Thanks for sharing.
much appreciated
This tutorial was very helpful. Thank you!
thank you! It was fun to make
This was really GOOD! Great, to the point teaching by example. Great work.
Thank you!!!
Nicely done, Gary.
thank you Andy!
I love that background
use ai in photoshop for backgrounds
Fantastic video. Great content 👍
Thank you, @cr_phot0s! Make sure to subscribe to see more! 💙
Great video, thank you.
Excellent tutorial
Great Video!
backdrop ?
great shots
thank you. TO be fair, Mod is an easy target to shoot, such a pro!
I have found when directing people that it's hard to direct them how to move. They usually move way too much and get nervous if I keep telling them "not so much". I like how you said "just a centimeter", that gives a better idea. It's really small adjustments, but they don't know that unless I find a way to tell them.
I used to do it in inches but people still moved too far! In the US, nobody knows what centimeters and millimeters are, they just know that they are tiny, lol
Awesome tutorial. Still learning new things here. How on earth can I achieve the process of this editing style? I think it suits to my style and I really want to kniw how can I edit my headshot photos in a similar way.
great video!
much appreciated
Great tips. What flash settings are you using?
All set to manual and metered with the main light set to put out F5.6 and the strips set to F2.8
Hi, great pro-tips! Also, can you link your office backdrop please ?
Tysm 👍🏼👍🏼👏🏼
Great video
THank you, my friend!
You many not want to sully this brilliant presentation, but I'l ask anyways - you spoke about providing (at least) two different captures/angles per employee . . . how do you structure your charges? Per session? Per image? And if the latter, how many images per subject do you provide?
YOu can see how my pricing is structured on my website here hughesfioretti.com/business-headshots/
that snooted light above the model is lighing up the background?
Yes indeed! Flashpoint XPLOR AD100
Hello! great video! A question, what flash model, modifier and arm model are the ones used to light the background? they are not in the list of equipment in description.
Flashpoint XPLOR 100 Pro and Flashpoint C-Stand with boom stem extension (comes with the c-stand kit)
Amazing video what were the settings
Main light metered to F5.6, edge lights metered at F2.8. Camera set so F5.6, 1/125 at 125 ISO WB set to 5600k
i love that backdrop
Please do add the link to of the background used, that is a major game changer here .
It's a custom background that I designed. It will likely be available to the public at some point in the near future. You can email my studio for more details info@hughesfioretti.com
Thanks
This was an awesome video.
Are all of the subtle head and body adjustments something one picks up with experience? Is it standard technique that is taught?
Great question! Most of it I picked up just like everyone else: watching people do it. I have found that everyone has a few things they do that work really well, it's just sharing knowledge that helps you get your own style down.
Where is the link for that backdrop?
What is the purpose of the snooted AD100 boomed in from the top right?
Just adding a little bit more light to the background. Without it, the background would be much darker :)
Hey Gary! Could you do a video on different approaches to getting gradients in camera??
very possibly! Can you be more specific?
@@GaryHughesOfficial Well I saw your video with Taylor Jackson on your headshot workflow and setup and I loved the work. The gradients in particular. So I bought some additions to my setup to emulate yours a bit. Except I don’t have as much room so I struggled with getting a good soft spread gradient. Always very spotlight like. I’ve seen your approach with a snoot and saw others with a reflector dish which is what seems to have the best results for smaller space situation. I have worked out a bit of my kinks since I posted this comment but would still love any guidance.
Are you using both diffusion layers on the main strobe?
Yes indeed, good question!
Where can I get that backdrop?
Could you elaborate on the background? Thanx :-)
It's a custom background that I designed. It will likely be available to the public at some point in the near future. You can email my studio for more details info@hughesfioretti.com
Clicki has the backdrop out of stock... wonderful.
Not sure if this helps, but that background is a custom one that I designed. I believe that it will be launching at Imaging USA in Dallas next month :)
Yessss!
When there's an attractive subject, it almost doesn't matter how it's shot; the results will usually still be good. I'd love to see this with an old frumpy overweight bald guy that's impatient, doesn't care about the photo, and reminds you how much he hates being photographed on every frame. Every corporate headshot photographer out there knows what I'm talking about.
That describes about 90% of my clients, lol. I hear you, and I do a lot of that at in-person workshops. For YT, unfortunately it’s hard to get people to click on that. Good suggestion though, I’ll give it some thought :)
Thumbnail says I'm saving the world tomorrow. That's too much 😂
just want to point out, this person is a VERY accommodating subject. While it would be nice to do different poses ans set-ups with clients... in reality with corporate clients, most often you have 30 seconds of attention span from them, and there already thinking of work they should be doing and have checked out. Just reality.
I accept this, and aim to get one shot, get them in out fast.
If they want different images, see you in a fortnight time. With another booking, session and edit fee 😉👍
I have had some folks like that, but in-general my experience is that people are pretty accommodating when adding a second look. This idea was designed for exactly the scenario you suggested. Imagine how quickly I could get it done if I wasn’t explaining it to the camera. Thanks for watching and for the feedback
He said he moved the key light, but actually moved it a tiny fraction. Practically brought it back to same position. He just twisted the subject which was a good move. But he did not drastically moved the light!
Isn't that the point? You don't need to move the light drastically. It's supposed to be easy :) Like I said in the video, if it were a location portrait I might not move anything and just change my position to get the same effect. Thanks for watching!
Where’s that backdrop!?
I can't wait until Glow redesigns an eye-lighter to be as user friendly as their softboxes. I would love to take a quality eye-lighter on the road without having to dread putting it together once I get there / lol
I have the Glow version and the Westcott. Westcott made a HUGE improvement to the product in the last version. Adorama sells those and I highly recommend them. If not, GLow will likely catch up in a newer version. Interestingly, they are pretty much the same price.
Absolutely beautiful pics. You know what you’re doing
Not loving that flat backdrop though
Thanks! Yeah the background may not be for everyone, but this technique works well with any background. I mostly use a white wall :)
Wow Jim curry
All of your videos are using flash. Please do some tutorials using COB lights.
Hi, Zoran1899! We have this video by Ab, where he uses the Godox LiteMons Series of Bi-Color and RGBW COB lights: ua-cam.com/video/bDSx1crDpWg/v-deo.htmlsi=rBb5302DeqD_NGvX. We hope you enjoy watching it! 💙
Nice pics and tutorial. Dont love the backdrop, seems too AI empty soulless office to me. Apparently that makes me the minority 😅.
Funny enough that’s a real office :) I took the photo of it myself while shooting headshots there because I thought it looked nice and made a background out of it. Technique works well on any background, though, no worries!
you guys do know that we all desperately need that backdrop, right? i mean i'm not the first one to mention it soooo....
It's a custom background that I designed. It will likely be available to the public at some point in the near future. You can email my studio for more details info@hughesfioretti.com
I spy Wall Control
yes sir! I got caught up in the craze a couple years ago like a lot of us. I stand by my decision :)
Background looks fake imo
you know I go back and forth on this. I wonder if you hadn't seen it made, would you feel the same? I have taken shots in that actual room (that's where I got the image for the background) as the results are pretty similar (depending on how you light it).
Great video! Thank you for your expertise.