It's All About The Jaw!

[Lou_Meluso]

<p>NYC headshot specialist Peter Hurley talks posing technique in this brief video <a href="

Nothing really new but a nice tutorial with live and still examples.</p>

<p>His other video "It's All About The Squinch" is also interesting found <a href="

Enjoy!</p>

<p> </p>

[garypeck]

<p>"The Squinch" is amazing - tons of attitude. Love it!</p>

[Tim_Lookingbill]

<p>Zoolander should be watching this but I think he already has both the forward forehead lean in for accentuating the jaw line and squinching (or the "trying to suppress a fart in church" look) down pretty good.</p>

<p>Portraiture tips guaranteed to make everyone look the same. Has capturing spontaneity now become an undesired and/or difficult goal in portrait photography?</p>

<p>Just offering an alternate POV.</p>

[lex_jenkins]

<p>Glad I watched that one. I almost didn't, after watching that atrocious "squinch" video a couple of weeks ago. But I picked up some good tips on minimizing that dreaded neck-roll. On the other hand, one more "Shabang!" and I was gonna call Emeril Lagasse and tell him to come kick Hurley's butt up a notch. I realize it's all about branding nowadays, but the "squinch" video was like the Mrs. Dash of posing seasoning - just the right amount of wrong for almost everybody who isn't a professional model. But the jaw video made up for it.</p>

[Spearhead]

<p>The jaw video works well, it helps with things that a lot of portrait sitters care about. Or the people using their portraits. It's not about looking the same at all, it's about usable commercial work. Anyone that doesn't care about that should ignore it.</p>

[garypeck]

<p>If you've ever cursed your results for having "dead eye's" you'll appreciate a vehicle to enable the sitter to connect with the camera. As the examples demonstrated - it's an excellent means to an end. Dead eye's or dead face require training to see it, some never do, and the work suffers for it.</p>

[Lou_Meluso]

<blockquote>

<p>"The Squinch" is amazing</p>

</blockquote>

<p>In the "old" days we called this "smiling with the eyes".</p>

<p> </p>

[lex_jenkins]

<p>"The Squinch" video wasn't bad because of the concept. It was painful to watch because of the smarmy hard-sell "secret sauce" execution. It was demonstrated better by Tyra Banks as the "smize", and even years earlier by Morgan Fairchild when she self-deprecatingly explained the secret to her look as just an upside down eye-smile, a technique she modeled on Marilyn Monroe's.</p>

<p>The jaw video was watchable because he pulled back the smarm to a palatable level. It was still way too long - I fast forwarded through the first few minutes and skipped the entire last few minutes. Hurley's a charismatic fellow, he doesn't need to sell it quite so hard.</p>

[Tim_Lookingbill]

<blockquote>

<p>It's not about looking the same at all, it's about usable commercial work.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I guess I should've assessed spontaneity toward the photographer's creativity over a what appears to be a formulaic approach to portraiture.</p>

<p>I can't believe the same inflection of the eyes and tilt of the head could make everyone look commercial/professional on a wide range of people of various ethnicity with different eye shapes, bushy to thin brow lines, bulbous foreheads, oval, triangular, square, narrow and wide shaped heads.</p>

<p>It reminds me of a mid '90's standup routine by comedian Tom Papa getting a big laugh striking the same pose he said he used back in his teens in order to look cool anytime someone took his picture. With his receding hair line and rather pronounced forehead and baby faced large eyes he leaned forward and I swear he looked like every teen jock trying to pathetically look cool despite the shortcomings of the rest of their features. </p>

[lex_jenkins]

<blockquote>

<p>"...what appears to be a formulaic approach to portraiture."</p>

</blockquote>

<p>That's what the headshot is. The formula changes a bit every few years, but it's always a formula.</p>

<p>When I had my actor's headshots made during the 1980s there was a formula - my agent told me what to get, what to wear <em>("layers", they said, which resulted in some wannabe actors wearing two Izod shirts at once)</em> and suggested a couple of photographers who knew the formula. Very similar directions, including variations of the jaw and head tilt, and even the "squinch", although this was mainly advised for the guys who wanted to look like <a href="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m56wqilsQw1qgapm9o1_1280.jpg">Sonny Crockett</a> from <em>Miami Vice</em>. At the time virtually every actor's headshot I saw followed the same formula. Casting directors came to expect it. So that's what agents advised actors to get. Headshot photographers delivered looks that seemed to sell, so that's what casting directors see. And so on.</p>

<p>Occasionally - not often - a photographer will try to break out of the pack, without taking huge risks. They'll offer <a href="http://www.headshot-photography.com/models.htm">composites</a> - add a second alternative version to the 8x10, without getting too risky. Multi-photo headshots tend to typecast the actor as a "character actor". Some actors and models deliberately seek this type of headshot, and they'll have three, four or even five looks on a single 8x10, dressed in various costumes. In some eras those work; in others the character headshot is seen as gimmicky and forced. I don't know what's current now, since the only headshots I see locally are for theater actors.</p>

<p>Hurley is just demonstrating his formulas. I don't object to that. But I lose patience with tutorial videos that contain more than roughly 10% of the instructor mostly jabbering at the camera without adding any information, or just showboating. I remember the good tutorials and recommend them because the instructors don't waste the viewers' time with rambling self promotion or trying to be a video star. Hurley seems naturally charismatic, as photographers go, but he seems to be trying way too hard to copy the Food Network "cooking star" approach, right down to the Guy Fieri showboating and Emeril Lagasse style catchphrase.</p>

[wmervine]

<p>I gotta say I'm with Lex on the videos. Usefull, but annoying. My shebang tolerance is not great.<br>

To me I see these as tools for starting the look. But one must always be open to work with the person and develop what works for them. It's like all laws of photography. Know them, but know when to step outside them.<br>

I will confess though I have no idea how to explain the squinch to clients. I may stick to working with the smiling eyes approach. A touch more natural.</p>

[Tim_Lookingbill]

<p>You makes some good points, Lex. I've heard of some of those formulas reading about how they found the perfect fit of actor, script and director from casting agents for a successful movie who specified they didn't want this look over that look because they either needed them to be something the director was looking either having a natural or slick look but would usually be concealed in your typical Hollywood 8x10. And yeah, Hurley comes across too much as a showboater.</p>

<p>But I got the gist Hurley was referring to corporate headshots for business cards or just regular hobbyist photographers. I didn't watch the entire videos where he specifies his tips are for actors and models, I didn't stick around to see it. He seemed to be suggesting his tried and true posing tips would work for every portrait shot. He does say "These tips work every time for the best headshot, believe me!" or something to that effect. I mean even his male subject for the "Jaw Line" video looked like a regular non-show biz person.</p>

[lex_jenkins]

<blockquote>

<p>"I mean even his male subject for the "Jaw Line" video looked like a regular non-show biz person."</p>

</blockquote>

<p>He mentioned early on the fellow posing for him during the first half of the video was another photographer.</p>

<p>I was hoping to see more of Hurley's interaction with the other models, but there was just a sequence of before and after still photos.</p>

[studio460]

<p>I learned about the protruding-jaw trick years ago from another <em>very</em> experienced photographer . . . the nice lady at the Santa Monica DMV told me aout it when I was posing for my driver's license picture!</p>

[leicaglow]

I'm always entertained by Hurley. If you know what he looks like, you have to believe he had a rough night before he shot

this video. Lol

 

But he is very generous in sharing his knowledge. If you know nothing about doing portrait or modeling work, I dont think

there is a faster way to get up to speed on technique than to go through his course. I watched it with a friend in his

studio, and realized how well he articulates what he does. I hope to go through his live workshop some day.

[bob_bill]

<p>Hurley is primarily taking <strong>actor</strong> headshots. A specific genre for a specific purpose and specific audience, the casting director. Not mommy, client or boyfriend. Supposed to look just like you are and delivers out of camera. Oh, how much time I would have for other things if that were the case. I find the use of kinos to produce a distracting if not annoying catch light around the pupil. Suddenly I was seeing many folks clamoring for kinos, low powered strip lights costing a fortune. He moved from modeling to photography and had no lights so sat on a window sill and photoed his clients in front of him facing the window. I think I have seen Zack Arias shoot like this with the subject seated on the floor. He shoots with a 85 mm equivalent on a Hassie from a distance of about 4 feet. Not on my ample, broken nose. The squint, yes, a valid expression, does convey a certain attitude-confident, arrogant. Now I'm not sure if I have shot 5 or 6 images, are you feelin lucky, punk of a client? Forehead forward, is an old technique especially combined with tongue against the roof of the mouth. Plain white background. Common. Hey, the guy makes a bunch for his portraits, he says a thousand per. More than I get for sure. It's one look, but not the only for headshots, but it's his schtick that is making him big bucks, so good for him. I have shot an actor with Kinos in this setup. It just doesn't rock my boat. But you will have to pry my fresnels from my cold dead fingers.</p>

[Spearhead]

<blockquote>

<p>I find the use of kinos to produce a distracting if not annoying catch light around the pupil. <br>

</p>

</blockquote>

<p>This is way too general. I use kinos in a lot of my recent shoots, six of them, ceiling mounted, and do the catch light with eye level lighting. The kinos are great at creating a broad light, especially with a reflective floor, which I have.</p>

[bob_bill]

<p> Jeff, I was referring to the catch light that Hurley creates that is a rectangular line around the pupil because he shoots through 4 lights arranged about 2.5 feet apart top/bottom and left right and about 2 feet from subject. For me, too much catch light, harsh pattern, and perhaps for some, doesn't resemble a window or sun. I'm sure they can be used in other ways, but keeping in mind the low power and high expense I think similar results can be achieved with less expensive and more portable options. Using Hurley's light position, it took much time changing the catch lights in post.</p>

[cyanatic]

<p>Wow. All the years I have been on PN, I think this is maybe the 2nd or 3rd time I've checked out this forum. The number of things -- simple things -- that I do not know...is embarassing. Because my bosses at work know I'm a photographer, they've started to use me for certain projects (Example: this week I've been shooting an organizational chart utilizing headshots instead of just names -- we have a large company and you often don't know people in other departments). I only wish I'd checked out Louis post before I started this project. Long way of saying that I found the video very useful (haven't checked out The Squinch yet). </p>

[bob_bill]

<p>The other day, came across a video in which Hurley's lighting pattern was called "square lighting." They replicated it on the cheap using a 5' octa high pointing nearly straight down and 2 side and one bottom reflectors, all silver. Interesting to me because a progressive series of variants of the straight clamshell lighting I use starts with a low reflector covering the low light, one reflector rolled in camera L, then a second white reflector pulled in camera R. Since I am not shooting only narrow faced, slender actors, it's a lighting pattern I don't use on everyone. I don't think it is flattering to wider faces. </p>