Kevin Howard

[james_martin9]

I know this is silly, but I really like the look of his images. Not so much to

pose or the makeup, but the crisp clean almost white to slightly overexposed

look. Can someone please tell me how he achieves this look or at least a

direction to experiment in.

 

http://www.headshot-photography.com/index.htm

[glen kingman]

it ain't rocket science, but it helps having beautiful women to begin with! he appears to be using a huge window to light these subjects. probably a huge north-facing slider or something. that is why the background is as lit too. there might be flagging and what-not going on too (the catchlights in the eyes show an odd shape), but the huge light source is the main reason.

 

the rest is contrast controls, easily done with curves and levels in photoshop.

[james_martin9]

I need some help with curves I think

[glen kingman]

open up any image in pshop. then open a curves layer. from about one third of the way up or down from the top, click a point, then pull or push (depending on which end you are) the two points until the line looks like an S. don't over do it, and make sure the curves are set for RGB. also, i forget which way they default, but the dark tones should be at the bottom of the graph.

 

basically, you will be adding more contrast to the photo. when you get better, you can do that to specific areas inside he photo, and get control of what we film dudes used to call local contrast.

 

it really is the most useful tool in photoshop...for photographers that is.

 

also, keep in mind that those photos appear to be scanned medium format shots. they have a lot of resolution.

[glen kingman]

holy crap! he was rafterman?! what a great character! in one of my fav movies of all time. how funny that he was a shutterbug in that flick. i wonder if kubrick influenced him in photography. kubrick was a very accomplished photographer as well as one of the great directors.

 

lol...who knew?

[savagesax]

Lots of retouching and makeup went into this. Comparing her neck to her face says a lot.

[savagesax]

A example of before and after<div></div>

[savagesax]

grrrr the after won't upload

[savagesax]

after, another try...<div></div>

[glen kingman]

actually, if you delve deeper into his site, you see he shoots in his driveway! and his garage. hence, the big catch lights. see, lighting is the most important thing to these shots, and everyday light is his signature. he knows exactly what he's going to get, and utilizes it.

 

a lot of the shots he must be on a ladder for. it keeps the background simple, and he blows it out with the lens anyway.

 

very nice, simple, elegant way of shooting. who needs a studio?!

 

he has a great cast of characters with him too. makeup, hair, etc.

[derek_stanton2]

As GK says, watch the video attached to the site. Indirect sunlight, with the background in

shadow. He seems to be using a 180mm 2.8 lens on the Nikon film body. He has established

a 'formula' and i'm sure he knows how to manipulate the results a bit to get what you see.

[d_g5]

I do the same thing with a very similar setup. I use an 85mm f1.4 lens that I set to F2.0. I just back up about 8-10 ft from my subject (because of the crop factor of my Sony Alpha A100 which makes it frame like a 127mm F1.7 lens).<div></div>

[d_g5]

The pervious post was done in my garage studio. Its south facing and It gets lots of harsh sun for about 90% of the day (bounced from the concrete just outside of it and it bounces into the ceiling and then all over. Its just 16ft deep by 11ft wide by 11ft high. I put a silver piece of vinyl behind him thats blends out the way you see it now.