Category Archives: headshots

Self-portrait

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Category : headshots Portraits

Dean Farrell, Photographer, Orcatek Photography, Phoenix, Arizona

Creating a self-portrait is a learning experience for a photographer.  There are two key things I was reminded about making this portrait.

First, it is very important that I make sure that I make my clients feel comfortable.  Having no one to interact with made it hard for me to relax for the camera.  Once you relax, your photographs can begin to show the real you.   Music is a great way to set the mood for boudoir and modeling clients, so I tell them to bring their own if they would like.  And of course a steady stream of conversation.  It doesn’t really matter what you talk about, just something to keep the focus away from posing for the camera.

The second thing I learned was how hard it is to choose a photograph.   I went through and selected my ideas and then had my family make their selections.  It was interesting to see that they picked different photographs from me.  In fact they didn’t really care for my favorite.  It showed me how difficult it is for my clients to make decisions, and why they sometimes don’t choose the photos that I believe are some of the best.

Now I have developed some techniques in the studio for choosing the photos.   I have had several clients tell me how much easier it makes the choices.  Hopefully I will be able to find a way to put this process on-line for my clients.

Every photographer should create a self-portrait every once in a while.  It helps to put things back in focus.  (yes, cheesy photography pun.)

Summer is here, keeping busy

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Category : headshots modeling

Busy week this week. Had fun maternity photography session, some headshots and couple of amazing boudoir photography sessions.

One of my favorite shoots this week was one with a young model named Jillian. She wanted some photographs to start her portfolio. She was very interested in creating a fashion look. Working with young models is always fun as you never know how they will be in front of the camera.

Some are shy and others are just bouncing off the wall with energy. Either way, my job as a photographer is to bring their personality out in the photographs and also push them in new directions to create a diverse modeling portfolio.
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We shot both in studio and on location. We had to get an early start as summer is here and we don’t want to be outside much. Jillian was a trooper and we got some great outdoor shots. We then moved to the cool studio for the remainder of her shoot. Music and AC make for a fun shoot.

Later this week I am doing a shoot for Flashes of Hope, a great organization. Check back as you will want to read about this shoot.

Rock On

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Category : headshots Portraits

Had a great week this week. A fun group of clients. Some amazing women came in for their boudoir photography sessions. Some future stars updated their actor headshots. A glowing mom to be got her maternity photographs done. And several models came in for updates to their portfolio.

One of those models was a young lady named Jonell who wanted a variety of looks for her portfolio. One of my favorite themes from her shoot was the rocker chick photo.
Model Portfolio Photography Phoenix Arizona Musician Band Photography
Creating a faux environment in the studio is always fun. Of course we had the stereo cranked up to create the proper mood.

Next week looks to be fun too. It’s great when your job let’s you have so much fun.

Irena – Pageant Winner

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Category : headshots pageant Portraits

I had the chance to week to photograph a very fun young lady. We had a lot of fun creating different looks during her time in the studio. She is very interested in fashion, so we did some shots that you might find in a models portfolio.
Model Portfolio Photography Phoenix Headshot photographer arizona beauty pageant photography scottsdale
As a photographer, I always love it when my clients aren’t afraid to be a bit silly as it often yields some amazing photography. Irena was one of the those girls who just had fun with it. Come back next week for some surprises.

Kaidynce – Future Star

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Category : headshots pageant Portraits


I found Kaidynce at a pageant a few weeks ago, and she was just full of personality. So I brought her into the studio to get some shots of her to see if it carried through on camera. As you can see from these few samples, it did.

Kaidynce was a real pleasure to work with. I asked her to show me some different expressions, are these are a few of what I got.

Model Portfolios

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Category : headshots modeling photography

So you want a modeling portfolio.   A model’s portfolio is her resume.  It shows what she has done or is capable of doing.  Before going out and getting a portfolio done, contact the agency you want to work with and see what they prefer to see.  Some don’t want anything more than basic photos showing what you look like. 

A portfolio should include at least a casual head shot, a fully styled head shot (hair and make-up professional done), body shot (swimsuit is ideal, or lingerie), a fashion shot, action/lifestyle shot and even an editorial or catalogue shot.   Key is not to put styles you don’t want to work from in your portfolio, ie don’t have several lingerie shots if you don’t want that type of work.  Include at least one B&W shot.Fashioin-Photography-Phoenix-9-14

Over time you replace old photos with new ones.  Best of all is to add tear sheets from work you have done.  Tear sheets get their name from pages being torn out of magazines showing a model’s work.

Your best two pictures show be the first and last.  If the first shot doesn’t catch their eye, they may not go much further thru your book.  And you want the last shot to be remembered so you close on a high.  Very often the first shot is the made-up headshot.

It is better to have fewer great pictures than a lot of average pictures.   Standard book prints are 9×12 and contain a max of 20 photographs.   It is better to have only 10 great photographs, as quality is key.   Yes, I’m repeating myself, but it is an important point.

You need a mix of environments.  This means some location work and some studio work.  Don’t use two shots of the same outfit.  Pick the best one.

You need two good headshots.  One should be the made-up shot mentioned before and the other with minimal make-up and retouching.  Ideally your hair will be back on the second shot as they really want to get a good look at your face as you are naturally.

Beware of agencies that want you to pay them or their photographer to get your portfolio made.  If they won’t let you use your own photographer, run, run away fast.  It is fine for them to have suggested photographers.

Modeling can be a fun and rewarding career.   Photographs are a major expense that you will be paying.  Be sure to get what you need, when you need it.

Orcatek Photography – Phoenix, Arizona

Professional Make-up for Photography

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Category : boudoir glamour headshots photography Portraits

Professional make-up for your photo shoot has many benefits for both the client and the photographer. I include make-up services in a lot of my packages and in others I let the client decide.

There are several benefits to the photographer. First is the reduction in the amount of time spent retouching. A good make-up artist (MUA) can make their skin look almost perfect. With wedding makeup, flamboyant isn’t really a word that comes to mind, but it’s still very rewarding for the bride to see the pictures afterwards, knowing that she looked her best – here is an elopement wedding photographer to look at for some examples. This is a golden example of a time to hire a professional. Additionally they keep the shine off the skin that some people get on their faces (both men and women). I hate retouching the shine off skin.

Now even if a client knows how to do their make-up (many are quite good), a professional MUA will be able to do things beyond this. Airbrushing the skin is one technique that yields awesome results that they provide. Additionally a MUA will be able to create specialized looks that fall outside the range of normal make-up. Classic pin-up is an example; another would be fashion make-up for model portfolios.

Fashion Make-up

One of the benefits to my clients is how easy it is to just come to the studio and have everything handled for them. Many find it very relaxing to have their make-up done for them. We chat and joke around and get to know each other before the shoot. This puts the client at ease prior to the shoot, settling some of those pre-shoot jitters.

The MUA’s that I work with also travel to my location shoots. My clients love it when everything comes to them to make their shoot special. We’ve gone to client’s homes, hotels and even the middle of the desert. Every time the results were worth it.

Many MUA’s work in salons in addition to working with photographers. I have a team of MUA’s that I have used that provide incredible work. Having several on my team allows me to always have proven talent available when needed.

Orcatek Photography – Phoenix

Headshots

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Category : headshots photography Portraits

Headshots can be a challenge.  They are not merely a portrait as they rely on the person and not the environment to make the image.  A portrait often takes liberties in presenting a person as the want to be seen, whereas a headshot needs to portray the person as they actually are.  Nothing is worse for a performer than not looking like the headshot that got them the call in the first place.

 

Hence the reason why headshot are often frequently updated.  If the performer changes their look they will need return to the photographer for an updated headshot.  The photograph used for the headshot shows the performers age, style, look, etc.  Any major changes in these will require an update.

 

Headshots are currently shot very tight.  Seldom do you see a head and shoulders headshot anymore.  Crop is typically 8×10 just below the chin and into the top of the head.  The performer often faces slightly off to one side, but not in profile.  A straight on shot is also used for headshots, much more than in portraits.

 

Both high key and low key are used for headshots.  The low key shots tend to be the serious, non-smiling shots and the high key shots tend to be the warm, smiling shots.  Models often go for a more glamorized photograph for their headshots, more along the lines of a beauty shot.

 

The goal of the headshot photographer to produce the series of headshots the performer needs.   The minimum that a performer will need is a smiling and not smiling shot.  The photographer needs to make sure that the eyes in the shot are alive and bring you into the shot, smiling or serious. 

 

A great headshot does not take a fancy set-up.  Some of the best headshot photographers work with a single light source and a reflector or two.   The key is knowing how to use those simple tools create the look that gets them noticed.

 

A headshot is often seen by a casting director for a few seconds before in moves to pile A or pile B.  Great headshots will get into pile A much more often than a poor one.  The rest is up to the performer.

 

Orcatek Headshot Photography – Phoenix, Arizona

Headshots in Black and White

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Category : headshots photography Portraits

Kandiss Black and White Headshot
Kandiss Black and White Headshot

With almost everything being in color in photography today, the fine art of a great black and white headshot is slipping away. It seems that photographers are usually reserving it for fine art photographs. Whereas I include it in my glamour and boudoir work, black and white also has a place in portraits and headshots. Particularly when it comes to business portraits, black and white offers a sense of traditionalism and as trends come and go, a black and white headshot is sure to remain timeless without looking out of place among the most trendy business web pages. Headshots like this can bring an air of professionalism and may get you to stand out more from the crowd. Using a Booth for Professional Headshots to get you the right pictures for your portfolio, is a smart choice and will set you apart from those who take it themselves.

The tonality of a black and white image adds a special depth to the images that just can’t be done with a traditional color photograph. It is even more important that the photographer control the light with black and white to create those moods. Photographer Olga Topchii (you can see her work at olgatopchii.com), for example, understands the importance of tonality in her photography. She has black and white images that focus on composition to generate the appropriate mood. Not enough photographers focus on in this day and age. Often many photographers try to boost their colors too much.

Color has become a crutch for some photographers, so worried about the perfect red that they overlook the other key elements to photography. Black and white, with the constraints it poses, forces the use of all a photographer’s skills to get a great image.

Digital photographers have it even tougher. A portrait / headshot shot in black and white digitally does not have the same available range as film. Some of the typical techniques to work around this in landscapes such as HDR, do not work practically with a person whose expression and eyes are key and move just the slightest bit between the frames.

There are other techniques that a skilled digital photographer can use to work around this, but it is a skill that takes time to learn.

Orcatek Headshot and Portrait Photography – Phoenix, Arizona

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