THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HEADSHOTS!!

Let's talk about the MOST important element of your shoot. Is it clothing? No. Hair? No. Good skin? White teeth? Location? No, no, and no. You can have all the "right" stuff like great hair, fabulous makeup, a rockin' bod, and a great attitude going into your shoot, but if you don't have GREAT LIGHTING then you will NEVER get the best shot that you can get. If the lighting is bad, then it's all bad.

Do you think for one second that Angelina Jolie, Tom Cruise or Jennifer Aniston would consent to be in a film that didn't have a great lighting person working on it, let alone NO lighting person? Not a chance in Hollywood! So why would you even consider shooting headshots while traipsing around outside hoping for a "good" day or a lucky break in the clouds?

When a film crew is shooting a "natural light" scene, there is a huge daylight light, blasting through a diffuser to light the actors face brightly but softly from the front, and then "sunlight" is created in the background or on the hair, as called for. Real natural light, as in unfiltered daylight, is incredibly unpredictable, changes from moment to moment, and is rarely in the right place for your face. If it's too bright, it makes people squint and brings out lines and wrinkles in the skin. If it's too flat, the eyes lack sparkle and there's certainly nothing going on for the hair. In order to illuminate your eyes, it needs to be coming directly at you, not from above (where the sun is for most of the day). I can't tell you how many outdoor shots I have seen where the eyes are so heavily shadowed by the brow that you couldn't even tell if someone's eyes were blue or brown. People tell me all the time that they have never truly seen their eyes before I photographed them. Flecks of green and gold, bronze and orange, silvery blue. One recent client had a small birthmark shaped like a heart inside of her left eye!

The fact is, I can do whatever I want with my lighting, whenever I want it. I can create a "sunny" day when it's raining or snowing out, even at 8pm in the winter. Conversely, I can create any kind of moody drama even if it's noon on a bright summer day. I put it where it needs to be to make each person look their best. I've been referred to as "the best natural light photographer in New York City" on several acting blogs because I can make it happen any time, any day, all day. There is NEVER a bad lighting day at Hoebermann Studio!

I went to a photographer a few friends had recommended in New York to get my headshots done. When we started the shoot, I mentioned how I thought there would be lots of lights set up...but there weren't. Not ANY. He told me that he didn't mess with lighting because he could fix it all with his computer when he did the "retouching". I was shocked when I got my photos. They looked dull and just like any other picture--not to mention they didn't capture me or my personality at all. Then I went to Kristin. It was the exact opposite situation! She was a JOY to work with, and seemed to be there to make me comfortable and to help me look my best. She used several different lights and set-ups throughout my shoot and gave me tons of options. She made studio light look like natural light. She also let me see my photos as we went along which was so important. Her use of light and her direction were incredible, and it really shows in my shots. I hardly needed any retouching. I won't go to anybody else in the future!!!

Hadley

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