Abe & Louie’s – Sommelier Extraordinaire

One of our favorite shots while on location a few weeks ago  – and although I normally fancy myself the headshot guru, Kendra nailed this one!

What is it about getting that perfect headshot that baffles so many photographers?  Well, it’s many little things that add up:

• Lighting – the obvious big one.  For this portrait we were fortunate enough to have some strong directional window light.  Making sure that the background light hints at restaurant ambiance while not overtaking the foreground is also key.
• Pose – 95% of the population looks awful when photographed straight on.  Get that body at an angle and then bring the head back to you!
• Atmosphere – not just the restaurant – it’s how you carry yourself!  Your subjects will never be at ease if you aren’t: it’s important you get your lighting figured out before you start shooting so you can spend time connecting with your subject and not fiddling with buttons.
• Leading lines – Notice how the wall mural tilts towards Ben and the line of out-of-focus background lights leads right to his eyes?  It’s not an accident.  Lines and visual cues tell us where to direct our attention.
• Practice – ten years of doing this helps us, but you need to educate yourself.  Study images and figure out what works and why.  Ask those who you believe have knowledge worth sharing and have been doing it awhile ( and then go mess up – ALOT ).  Try stuff that doesn’t work and learn from it.

Not to mention, Ben just simply did a great job – thanks for working with us!

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