head shots and portraits
Developing a photographic style
My commercial portrait work has a definite vibe. It’s typically well lit; there a sense of emotion and I always want my subject to look beautiful. It’s a style I’ve fallen into over the years. When I first started out in photography I heard about the need to have a style, but didn’t know how to get one. Without knowing it, my style found me. In most cases when I am shooting portraits I want emotion over everything else. I want sexy and sultry yet still commercial.
Every once in a while I look at other photography and ask why cant mine look like that? I’m drawn to moody, uncontrived photos; very spur of the moment, filled with life or mystery. Sometimes I go out and deliberately try to shoot in a style that’s not my own. But there’s this force-field that pulls me back. My experience, knowledge and what I know resonates with the people I have photographed pulls me back to my comfort zone – well-lit and pretty.
This happened on my shoot with Taylor. I’ve known and been working with Taylor since 2006 . Unlike our previous shoots where I was driving the shoot, she called me with a concept that suited her needs as an artist and musician and the direction was out of my norm. When a client approaches me with a job that is a different style from what I do I always ask for reference photos. When I saw her reference images I thought quirky, edgy, snap-shots. Even though that’s not my style she felt comfortable enough to come to me with her concept knowing that I could take her input and produce photos that matched her goals.
The rules of photography portfolios and websites
When I started to get serious about my photography I took a class/seminar about building a portfolio. This was in 2005. I had been shooting long enough that I had amassed a body of work that I thought was worth showing and wanted someone else’s opinion on how best to present my work in hopes of booking jobs. The class was worthwhile and I left with some good information; I also left with some misinformation. I don’t remember hearing much constructive criticism during my portfolio review. One note was that I was shooting too many landscape images and if I wanted to shoot for magazines I should shoot more portrait shaped images to match the layout of magazines. When I think back to my “skill” level in 2005 and look back at the photos I was making around that time, most of them were shite and it makes me wonder about the validity of her advise during my review. Did she not want to tell me my photos sucked because I payed for the review? Or because I was in a “class” with other photographers on the same level were mine were slightly better than the rest?
The photography industry is rife with people ready to give advise and tips. Some of the advise and education is free and invaluable. Some costs money yet is still a huge value. Look to CreativeLive and Strobist for great and usable photography know-how and education. One is free the not really free but a huge value. Along with an industry of photographers trying to sell me advice there are tons of trade magazines with full of industry “standards” and suggestions…How to show your work, what to put in your portfolio, how much to show.
In that portfolio review in 2005 the photography consultant cautioned about showing more than one image of the same person in my portfolio. Up until recently I adhered to that but as of late I call bullshit. Case in point; Devon. I met and first shot Devon in 2009. In the past four years we’ve shot together six times and every time we’ve worked together we both come away with great images.
There are a handful of other actors and models that I share the same experience with. When I’ve got a relationship with someone and we work well together I tend to work with them over and over since I know the results will be great. Why not show multiple images of the same person in my portfolio or on my website? That rule was dumb.
I bring this up because as I grow and learn about myself and my photography I have begun to make my own rules based on my own experience and information.
As much as I hate updating my websites I’m due for an overhaul. Stay tuned and plan on seeing more than one image of the same person. Especially Devon.
June 2009
October 2011
November 2011
June 2012
July 2012
February 2013
2012 A Look Back
A few years ago I made a slideshow using photos from every assignment I shot during the year. The idea stuck and has become a great way for me to reflect on what I did right and what I did wrong during the year. 2012 was both challenging and incredibly rewarding. All of those experiences brought one theme to the forefront – Family is Everything. And by family I’m not limiting myself to the family I was born into or married into. It’s the people that I have chosen to surround myself with. This year we have had the warm blanket of family wrapped around us when we needed it and we were able to be that same blanket of warmth and strength for others when they needed it. This year was life-changing for so many of our friends and loved ones.
Over the past couple years I’ve skipped using photos of my family in the slideshow, after all they weren’t paid assignments and so many were just snapshots. This year I’ve included them because my wife and kids are my world and are definitely the most photographed subject in my life. I also opted to include more than one image from the assignments. Limiting myself to one single image per shoot didn’t represent the scope and the fruits of my labor.
As with every slide show I always struggle with music. Each year I want to use a song that I fell in love with during the year. This year there were a couple of contenders.
Mumford & Sons – I will wait
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – Thrift Shop I dare you to not bounce your head while listening to this song. I was bouncing my head for a couple weeks before I even listened to the words.
Ryan Adams – From The Ashes In January NPR streamed a pre-lease of this entire album. I listened to it over and over until the day it was released. Go buy it directly from his label/website.
Walk the Moon – Anna Sun This is probably my favorite song on the album but I opted for Tightrope becaue it matched the tempo I wanted for the slideshow.
For those of you that supported me and helped me create this year I owe you a world of thanks. Without you I’d be stuck behind some desk.
Year End Review Slide Show 2012 from Chuck Espinoza on Vimeo.
Environmental Portraits for Creative Professionals
I am a firm believer that professionals should have a good head shot. For executive professionals the image is usually used for speaking engagements, annual reports, websites and newsletters. Most executives come to me because they need a head shot. I think it is even more important for service-oriented professionals to have a great head shot. Creative professionals tend to come to me because they want a head shot. That was the case with Tina. She wanted a head shot for her new website and marketing materials.
Tina came across my work in an ad I ran in a local theater production. As opposed to using safe and family oriented photos, I used images that were unique, interesting and fun. Those photos got me noticed. Tina is an interior designer and professional organizer. She also grew up in a family of photographers and knew what type of head shot she didn’t want; she didn’t want a typically business head shot. Business head shots are usually warm and presentable but very static. There isn’t a lot of room to introduce personality in that type of photo. Tina wanted a head shot that showed her personality in addition to being warm and personable.
When we talked about the shoot we narrowed down what she didn’t want. That was easy. The challenge was finding the right balance of creative + professional + personality. In order to make sure we were both on the same page in regards to the final look, I pulled some images I had shot for previous clients as well as examples from magazines to use as a point of reference for what I felt she was asking for. Once I knew we were on the same page the next step was to scout the location. Tina works out of her home and has a studio space that she wanted to be photographed in. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts shooting in homes always has it’s challenges. The location scout was to make sure I was prepared for and could overcome those challenges. In addition to seeing the space and the light I was able to shoot some test shots. The test shots allowed us to look at the photos and decide where to focus our efforts on the day of the real shoot. Going through this process before the actual shoot saves time and also prepares the client for the real deal. They get a chance to see what they will look like on camera. It also gets them thinking about wardrobe, styling and about prepping the space for the real shoot. Trying to shoot tests in addition to preparing the space for a photo shoot on the day-of is a stressful situation for both me and the client. Not only do they need to worry about their appearance, but now they have to worry about cleaning, de-cluttering AND making decisions about which photo will suit their marketing needs. By scouting the location and shooting some quick tests shots we have saved time and reduced stress.
Location scout – test shoot – environmental portrait of Tina Studier. K. Marie Design
The location scout was early afternoon and she warned me that later in the afternoon the sun blasted through the west facing windows in the background of the frame. As far as spaces go, the studio was perfect for the shoot; it showed clients her work-space and her personality. Her unique wallpaper is such a creative and fun detail in the room. You can paste pictures and inspirations to your heart’s content and have it look interesting and planned out. Since the wallpaper was new we both realized it would need to be filled-in more for the shoot. We also decided that a landscape photo would show too much of the space and not feature Tina enough. The final shoot was a couple weeks later and we ended up with these two final images.
Tina – K. Marie Design – environmental portrait
Tina had prepped the space using the notes we had made with the tests. She filled in part of wallpaper that would be in our frame and she switched out the lamp in the corner. The coffee table was removed and we paired down the objects on the cabinet camera left. We shot a couple different outfits but kept coming back to this jacket. In order to give my clients variety and images that will be useful across all of their marketing platforms I knew we also needed to shoot a traditional head and shoulders portrait. The environmental portrait would not translate well on websites where the size of the image was limited. A head shot will scale down and look great on sites like LinkedIn where you are limited to a one inch photo. We both were happy with the results.
Tina – K. Marie Design – head shot/ portrait
Beautiful transformation with the help of hair and makeup styling
This week I had Devon in for another shoot. This is the sixth time I’ve worked with Devon over the past three years. I love working with her because she’s amazing at what she does. When someone is that good in front of my camera it makes me look great. For all our previous shoots Devon did her own hair and makeup. Most models have enough exerience that they know what’s needed to get a certain look on camera.
A few months ago I saw some dramatic before and after glamour photos from photographer Sue Bryce. Sue’s business is a bit different than mine in that she is a modern-day version of glamour shots. Remember the store in the mall that your mom or aunt went to? Sue’s take is modern and beautiful. Real women + great hair and makeup + an amazing photographer and her clients leave with amazing and timless glamour portraits. Hearing Sue speak and seeing her photos sparked enough interest in me that I wanted to do something similar. I wanted to see a transformation. My starting place is quite a bit different than Sue’s “average woman” client. I chose Devon because she is amazing in front of the camera. She epitomizes what I want from every model I work with; confidence, beauty, emotion and sex-appeal; and she’s got all that without the fancy hair and makeup.
I enlisted the help of Sura Radcliffe to help with hair and she recruited her friend and colleague Stacey Ellis to help with makeup. My reference point and inspiration was the glamorous portraits of both modern-day and past film starlets like Scarlett Johansson and Bridget Bardot. We wanted a vintage feel to start with; knowing that we could build on the hair and makeup and bring it to a modern day glamour look. The following images reflect the progression of the day.
During the 45 miinutes that Devon was getting her hair and makeup done I shot some behind the scenes video. The following shows the progression from start to finish.
Devon Ogden – Beauty photo shoot from Chuck Espinoza on Vimeo.
The Future of Magazines
I love magazines. I love flipping through and looking at the images that inspire me; images that motivate me and push me to create. Unlike most people that subscribe to magazines for the content I subscribe to look at the photos. The editorial content is icing on the cake. I subscribe to magazines because of the photographers they hire. Want to know why I subscribed to Fast Company? It’s because of Jake Chessum. I was browsing a copy in a doctor’s office and loved his portraiture. It was fun, it was real, it was honest and personable. It turned out that I really liked the editorial content of Fast company. It’s smart and current and educational and despite the fact that I don’t see Jake’s name in the magazine any more I still subscribe. Why subscribe to Vanity Fair? Annie Leibovitz. Why would I, a straight married guy, subscribe to Elle and Vogue? Testino, Thompson, Richardson, Lagerfeld, et all….
In our house we subscribe to a lot of magazines. ( PDN, Rangefinder, Fast Company, Inc, Esquire, GQ, Interview, American Photo, Real Simple, Parenting, Us Weekly). If my wife had her way I’d be limited on how many we get. Why? It’s not because of the expense…magazine subscriptions are generally pretty inexpensive. But I have stacks of magazines scattered throughout the house and in my car. I even have magazines dating back a few years that I plan to look through. For me it’s more than the act of flipping through. I rip out pages and keep them for reference. Think of it as old-school Pinterest. Having tear sheets around during photo shoots helps to communicate a vibe, emotion, hair or makeup style that I might not otherwise be able to put into words.
So what’s the asnswer? NextIssue. A new app for my iPad that gives me access to magazines for a flat monthly fee. At first glance it seemed novel and cool. For a monthly fee ala netflix I can get access to ~40 magazines. A 30 day trial and and upcoming vacation motivated me to give it a shot.This is based on my 12 hour review of the app and so far I’m stoked.
Before NextIssue, my experience with iPad versions of magazines hasn’t been spectacular. The idea of paying an additional subscription fee doesn’t interest me and some of my experiences with iPad versions of magazines has been disappointing. Lately I’ve found a few magazines are coming around and giving me access to the iPad version if I’m already a print subscriber. Amazon is even packaging print + Kindle subscriptions. With NextIssue I now have access to a ton of magazines in a convenient, clutter-free, eco-friendly and beautiful package. I might actually be able to stop ripping pages out of magazines soon.
Screen shot of NextIssue app
NextIssue screenshot - Bruce Willis – shot by Yu Tsai for Esquire
NextIssue screenshot – Emma Stone – shot by Mario Testino for Vogue