Light as story teller

Tip :
Light as story teller

A lot of you probably already know that I’m always teaching my students not to only create good light but also try to add something different to a picture, I call this “story telling”. During the New York workshops I hit the jackpot by shooting the almost perfect example.

One of my students, a really nice guy with an open face (friendly) stood in front of my camera during the part of the workshops where I shoot some head shots from the students to let them experience what it means to be in front of the camera.

I will use whatever light is available for these shots and in this case it was only a varistar wide reflector for the Elinchrom, they already packed all the rest of the gear. It’s actually only meant for the realization what a model goes through in front of the camera, if we end up with something the students can use that’s an added plus 😀

By angling it I got it to create a nice vignette on the background, but… the light was relatively high up, no problem for the purpose of this segment, but when step a bit too close something “funky” happens, a lot of contrast in the face.

Normally you end up with a deletion of the shot and ask the subject to stand one step further away, but in this case……

You have to realize as a photographer that the shoots you take are very important for your client, it can literally mean the difference between getting a job/gig or not.

As mentioned this student has a very friendly face, very open and I would hire him on the spot…. but with this headshot…..

So the next time you shoot realize 2 things.

1. You can give someone a fighting chance of a job by shooting the right shot.
2. You can get yourself an awesome storytelling shot by playing with your light.

 

Because really the difference is just inches.