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Shoot: Iconic Rocker Chick

Lesson 10 from: Commercial and Iconic Headshots

Lou Freeman

Shoot: Iconic Rocker Chick

Lesson 10 from: Commercial and Iconic Headshots

Lou Freeman

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Lesson Info

10. Shoot: Iconic Rocker Chick

Lesson Info

Shoot: Iconic Rocker Chick

So the next shot is kind of a rock and roller chick look let's say that she's going to the pageant she's going to be wants to be a country singer, a rockstar something along those lines so one of the cool things that I decided to do was to maybe find some old speakers she could stand in front of it lean against it some cool prop like that another ransom trash is another man's treasure again in some case like this, I would photograph that save it after before and after I shoot if you got trouble might as well say that make your own background make a lot of my own template as I'm shooting and use them again over and over again and keep him in folders I use the timeless too graphic authority template package, which is brand new used a lot shifted around, make different lots of different things happen with it that aren't traditional to what they normally would use it to. I'm going to show you some of that tomorrow when we get into the classroom set, so we're going to do something very simi...

lar this all three lights today we're going to move away from shooting with speed lice and go back into the boeing slides and these air strip banks they're basically going to do the same thing, but with more power there's going to be out in the front I'm going to need to be right where you are. In fact, I might need to spread the chairs there a little bit. So now that I've shown you the grid, we're going to use the grid to make a really moody, beautiful light on the top of her body, and we're gonna let the light fall to darkness. Then we're going to use the strip banks to help give us some shape and form to the side of her body, but just enough to make her sparkle that the emphasis of the shot is really going to be on her. Um, like, thank you, there was a stool really cool stool over there that we need a way, yes, that's a great idea, there's also a studio light and a stand, and you're right in there on the floor. So one of the things that I want to talk to you guys about now, we can actually use some of those old boxes, they're just used the boxes so that the whole set shows and they could be all kind of sitting around and they're believe one for her to put her foot on here. Awesome, this has so that was fun was a nice treat when that happens like that, finding the magic picture, so sometimes you're you have a vision in mind and then you're trying to recreate it and you have to be patient with yourself and not give yourself too much stress on you definitely don't want to let anybody see you stressing about anything, so at least knowing where you can go to kind of control the light to do something a little moody here is going to be something you're gonna want to know. I think sometimes we rely too much on photo shop to make the mood, and it doesn't need to be like that. You can make wonderful things happen in the camera would just a few extra little, you know, pushes and shoves here a little color in the background, just something simple like that. I use those gels kind of constantly and always have used jails when a shot for playboy used a lot of ceos, sometimes I doubled up the layers three and four times for the background in the back of the model, and the foreground was usually let with strip boxes and grids or folks will spotlight the whole time the model would be moving. We would have to chase her with those spotlights, so now what I do is that control instruct a little set and have them in that space the grid spot on the beauty dishes big enough that she can actually move around a little bit we're going for drama so shadow is going to be our friend here we're gonna have the beauty there's kind of high into the center and fill in on the sides with the same kind of split like we just did with the speed lights so the choice is yours I went when you leave here I want you to feel like you can take any of these tools and move that white light where you want it a golden light in this case I'm going to start pushing you mohr toward the mood of the light the image on the wall in the back there is more of a blue cast to it to help that move because she's also looks like a rocker chick so knowing what like you went to use it is going to be the key here we were closing just to goto lunch earlier and I started thinking about something as he was describing all the things he had learned from us today while we were here and I started thinking about it it's really not even so much what let you use but knowing when to use the right one to get the right look it's kind of like putting the right shirt with white tie with right jacket instead of it looking ok it looks amazing and something is a little is adding that jail changed the whole feel in the look of the shoot so you wanna have enough things with you to draw on, have your vision in mind and pull tour of that so behind us? Well, it looks great, you guys, so nineteen seventies revisited intel. It was a seventies kid, right? So what I want to do here start to build the shot, bring the beauty dish on over here, and I'm going to give her a place to work in, and I've got the fans set up here. I want to pull that down low. I want to be able to shoot her to the ground if I want teo. So I built a set and leave it open. We'll shoot the beauty shot first and there's something that I really wanted to share with you. You know, earlier, when I was talking about the makeup artist not being right there with me, I hate to be a diva, but if somebody's paying me to be there and the makeup artistry is done, it helps me so much I learned from what, having them there when they start touching the hair and they see the vision with me. If they're moving the hair with me, they come step away and leave after that, but, you know, we were talking about the cell phone thing earlier, I feel like we're all like addicted to this to such a degree that we can't even get our jobs done sometimes and for me I need to drop what I'm doing a focus hundred percent on that subject so especially she's paying me so I usually turn my phone off what I'm working and I check in in between shoots and nobody sees me do it and I'm just you know miraculously returned all my e mails and I talked to everybody and I made dinner plans and everything without being offensive to anyone so I kind of expect that for the young people that come to work with me and I tell them that before we ever get on the set I don't want anybody to know that I'm uncomfortable about anything while the show is going on everything's incredibly fabulous that makes sense so run your show and ronit graceful and beautiful and it will resonate all the way through from the pictures to the experience because it is as I started this morning it's how you make people feel while they're in your presence is well it's the photo shoot yourself so let's bring you on out and gland is our make wonderful makeup artist who has helped us create all these looks today okay so I'm gonna have you prop here on the little stool and you rest of foot up on top and let's position thank you let's move that sandbag and let's put this around you can actually use it beautiful way want to lower these down so they're not striking her face pull him back a little bit and then let him tip down they need to be in about um we've got this said it too why don't you start out with that one so beautiful I'd love to be gonna have this one light auster second position my way need money needs to be extended I can't do that there beautiful I think I want to exaggerate it kind of like really kind of way over get it all flipped over so it's kind of around in front of you a little bit yeah it's pretty and if you can push any of this over that'd be great is it safe? I can't tell if it's their caste that's great so do you see how different are here? Look just from that few minutes I don't wanna have to get up touch the hair that's not what my job is. I will do it if I have to like for example, if the makeup artist has to leave and I take the subject and we go and shoot somewhere but I love it when all this is going on this is is part of it not to mention I can't tell you how many times when you show the proof they're like why didn't somebody fix my hair? I paid the makeup artist so it puts all of that on you when they leave and go sit on the side and it should be like that. I don't think I don't go to the hairdresser and she sits in the other room, you know? You have to think about what's going on at the satin being control of that awesome. So the strip lights I have here on the side, they've been positioned so they're they're below her chin because you don't want sidelight on the face are first and main line is thie beauty dish here and it's going to eliminate from here to here when I shot for play way that's what we did to bring that forward, if highlight, comes forward and shadow recedes, your eye's going to go to everything that's highlighted. So when I shot for a playboy, we would highlight all the things we wanted you to notice with multiple lights, so I'm going to bring it down to a more reasonable analogy for you with three lights. We're not doing that same kind of thing here, but we might use enjoy the drama of what was created by that, so three lights is the most we're going to use today in that field, so I need my stool, you look amazing and put it up on the guitar. I mean upon the box and turn the strings toward me, bitch to be really careful not to drag it. We need to position these lights a little more forward. And can you sit on the front edge of the chair? Great, beautiful. Roll your toe up. We have that back here right now. I need it. Push her over a little bit. Won't you switch feet and then turn your body this way? Just switch our feet. Beautiful. Sit right on the front edge. Put your left foot down on the ground. Show me your foot out from behind that boggs. Beautiful. Put your foot flat and kind of roll your body up and sit with your tour. So kind of leaning forward like that. Great. And maybe stronger with your pose. Beautiful. Let your knee roll over like that. Roll your foot on the toes of both shoes and not on the hill. Great, beautiful. Now swivel the guitar around and keep pulling the top of it. And so it's a little closer to your body. Are you comfortable there? I think we need to work this pan thing you like just blow, blow, blow in the hair if we may have to move it in closer to get the hair to really blow. All right, keep your fingers and hands really delicate and then you're still shoulder strong and roll forward and your head very direct like you're looking right at me like you're gonna bring it every time right at me. The curve, your knee over a little more like this. Beautiful and then exaggerate your pose. Beautiful dispute. You hit it there perfectly. I'll shoot the closer. Ran if you just want to stay there blood the hair for a few just tuck your head down just a little bit. Really a lot of fan now bring the line free they'll bring the light bring the wind. There you go. Just let it blow crazy. Tip it up a little higher. There you go. And now, just a lot of energy into it. Good, beautiful, awesome way flash here. Looks great. Beautiful. Shan out. Relax your mouth for me. Beautiful. Awesome. Can you go get the stage light? That was in the background? Prop light and the stand it's in the other room at the end of the table. All right. Awesome. Put. This is kind of tangent. Can you have lain and into your body a little bit? Maybe put your arm around it. Let me keep it your hand on your leg there that's beautiful lean into it a little bit you can hold it with both hands if you need to turn your head into the light a little bit more beautiful pull your fingers together and your fingertips beautiful lift your chin up great flip all your hair around this way it's not working so the subtlety of what you're seeing here is the grid spots lighting from here up and although that little shadowy light there on her legs is coming from this split light here that's enough to define the outfit the clothes that she was very curvy this shadow over here would help you let things disappear into the background I'm going to have her pop in another stroke and get that back up so you can have a little bit of definition over here thea other option you could do is have another strip light with a grid running horizontally across the bottom to help fill in into her eyes. So tobin reminded me of something I said during photo week a camera that's placed on the ground never falls to the ground so I either put my camera in my belt and lock it or set it down on the ground because you can imagine what happens one of my assistants like his camera an ironing board with one of my clients was getting ready to iron she picked up the iron and it was like a catapult. So just go ahead and put it on a stable place if you can or hanging on one of these belts, I can tell you the belts are from spider. This is a spider belt, and they make one with two holsters. If you like to shoot weddings, you could put a camera on each side with different lens, which is amazing opportunity when you need to have your hands free to just a light stand or anything. And it's just right here on your side. These are some of my favorite tools. I have four of these. These are the ice lights. They have a tripod talking in the bottom and they're rechargeable led lights and great. So earlier, when we were doing the clam shell, there is no reason why you can't do the same thing with these so and then shoot through it. It's very intense, does very cool shadows. I mean, you could even also do this for a more edgy, artful look. I make a square box out of these and put them on the stand as well. When? The first time I heard how much they cost, I was a little like but I use it every day and like I said to me, if you're going to spend money on something you have to use it every day to justify it I'm then it's like guilt free pull it in a little closer to our for me beautiful so I'm going to turn this little guy off and switch overto ellie shooting natural beautiful don't you pull up the guitar and get a little closer into your lap maybe that's great get the fret up near your face soft pretty hands good beautiful chin down low good turn your head toward me again beautiful great beautiful closure lips completely for me and your fingers need to be a little softer good beautiful possum so how pretty is that like it's like you can't go wrong and you can turn around amusing for video so if you're working by yourself you can also put him on the stand and just screw them in here and move the men around and you could build the box by just attach it and with basically ponytail rubber bands to fill in a box but two is plenty for is great all right all right we're good job here's done thank you tobin beautiful all right, so now we're gonna have the full on light that we were looking for, so I'm going to jump back down because I'm sitting now lower because I'm shooting mohr off her lands goes to the face, then I jump back down. What? Um, heritage or you what's your nationality? Are you? I thought maybe I would say eastern european something check beautiful eyes. You have beautiful. All right, so we're going to try this little guy again. We have testing, flashing it's gonna make a big difference and how everything looks beautiful, awesome. Flip all you're here over again. Let's have our fan back all the bells and whistles. All right, so now we're going to close down a little bit. So now we have all that beautiful texture on both sides of the jeans she's popping off. And then we'll get the exposure down. Let's, rotate the guitar toward me just a little bit. So you have such a flair and angle it over again and bring one let's. Have less attention onto guitar itself. Beautiful. Yes, and roll your shoulder for what? So you have a little attitude. Turn your head into your shoulder like that beautiful chin down for me. Gorgeous. Beautiful let's. Give this a little better. A little too far, right? Let's, try one more. Beautiful. Can you hide your left foot behind the box for me, beautiful, gorgeous lot more fan than that. Beautiful, beautiful, but a little more tilt into your head. Beautiful. Let's. Have you stand now? And can we get somebody grab the stool for me? Pulled that away and you could just get right in front of the speakers. So what we're going to do now, she's moved out of the spotlight and you can see the spotlight's kind of aimed at the middle of her body. So you want to constantly be watching and readjusting beautiful. Alright, so stand with your feet really far apart. But like this really exaggerate. Put the guitar between your feet. Beautiful that's. Great. And then, just when you had this way, come back with my fan and you'll have to move to the side so I can shoot her to the full length. Yeah. Coming down on the ground. Beautiful. Can you scoot a little bit this way? Beautiful. Exaggerate your hips out a little more this way. Great, beautiful. And then put one hand up by your hair. Use your right one. Yeah, great. And keep your expression really intense. Beautiful fans in there. Just a little bit too much that's, all right. Do a little test shot while you're getting situated. Did you bring that stage like waste the stage like you went to get set up on the background so I can see it in the frame put it in there a little more in the background that's great! And can you scoot your pose for me this way? Just a little bit awesome. So you can turn that on and then close the barn doors that's perfect where it is, right. Exaggerate your pose again. Put your right hand on your hip and trump your head and shoulders in. Let me see your hand. Try not to turn your hand back or it's beautiful. Good, beautiful, awesome! Her hair is blowing beautifully. Alright let's just shoot through a few. Awesome right? You pull the box out this behind you and just sit there because the light is amazing just sit down on that box kind of a tomboy like uh nicole, can you come over here for me and lower this light? Watch your face illuminate. Sit with your feet apart like a tomboy with char between your feet put your elbows on your knees all the way out that's gorgeous, beautiful you need to stay here in the coal on the set for me thank you just stand right here beautiful but stunning spring your feet forward form a great love the hair and then lean it a little bit blow go with the wind good maybe put one hand on top and keep expressing with your face a little bit more can hear me just express with your eyes a little bit beautiful awesome alright let's lose the actual guitar and it's ok fans so loud would you lean in there a little bit let me shoot a couple beauty shots and then I'll let you relax perfect perfect lean in like this can you bring the chip the light down toward her face for me and your shiny board is on the bottom of the cart can you scoot that way just a little more right that's awesome could we maybe instead of the blouse just do the shiny top just pull that off so you just gonna put it underneath urchin shoot beauty put it up on her knees lean all the way down you can lay it out flat put your elbows on that lean into the light a little bit this way beautiful way close your mouth completely for me beautiful turn your head into your shoulder squint your eyes at me a little bit beautiful lift chin up a little bit awesome kind of with the air out of your mouth good squint your eyes and lean your head in this whale or more lean a little more good beautiful chin up tall, long like this. Beautiful, awesome, awesome, so beautiful. So, working through the scenario from full length into three quarter or starting there and then pulling away. So when the fan comes off, the here will be gone. So I usually don't turn on the fan to that intensity until I'm totally at the end, which we are. So, I think, that's it guys, you did a wonderful job, wonderful job. Thank you so much job by our model, tina, thank you so much. So I hope that was fun for you guys, just to show how you can minimize and get more out of it. Impact. So broader line for beauty, natural light for the classic head shot. So, hopefully now, you guys can have a little more power in impact in what kind of like you use on your set.

Class Materials

bonus material with purchase

Commercial and Iconic Head Shots Slides.pdf

Ratings and Reviews

Dianne N
 

Awesome class! Well worth the cost for advice and expertise from such an amazing photographer. Lou Freeman is an excellent teacher. She explains and describes in detail how she is photographing, why she is doing it that way, the equipment she is using and how to interact with your subject. I can use these headshot strategies in every aspect of my photography. Thank you Lou!

Kent Youngblood
 

Really enjoyed the class and thought Lou did a great job explaining her process with headshots. I've used her headshot approach with natural light on numerous occasions and came up with stunning shots.

a Creativelive Student
 

I love Lou’s teaching style and genuine desire to share her deep knowledge and experience. Absolutely my favorite instructor on Creative Live.

Student Work

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