Today I am happy to give you some insights into my Headshot Project of my Master Online Communication (MOK) class. The main reason for this project arose from my professor of Online Marketing. He asked me to check out the new photography equipment, which turned out to be a whole photo studio. After a year full of landscape, city and architecture shots I was pleased to improve my portrait skills in a personal project. The final result should involve all students and professors of my course. The Headshot Project was born.


Studio Setup

Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography.

George Eastman

This initial elation did not last for long: How shall I take 33 quality shots in the middle of a busy semester; especially when every portrait should fit into a specific pattern?

Easy solution: a simple and quick light setup. I chose my Walimex Ringlight to get a remarkable circle in the eyes and a good illumination of the faces. The background had to be grey for a neutral look, which is flexible in terms of retouching and doesn’t distract the eye of the viewer.

The key advantage of this light setup is time: The quick construction made it possible to complete the shooting in two days without any loss of quality.

Walimex Ringlight 65W

Light Setup: Walimex Ringlight 65W


Retouching Process

My post-production always starts in Lightroom. The first step consisted of a simple raw development. I prefered a low color temperature for a cold and blue background. This look supports the straight expression of the model.

Afterwards, I edited some details and cropped the headshots to provide an equal ratio of all the faces. The final step included a soft dodge and burn in photoshop to outline several parts of every face (i.a. eyes, beard, hair). The whole process took me nearly two days.

 


Final Result

After all the effort it felt great to put all images together. I chose a simple layout to emphasize the faces and to set the focus on the each model. According to the motto “less is more”. I am satisfied with the result and the course of this project. Thanks a lot to all the participants!

 

Headshot Image of all Master Online Communication Students

Headshot Project of all Master Online Communication Students 2016/2017