EVOLUTION OF A HEAD SHOT

I'm putting myself out there today. Way out there. With a before and after shot. And not just any before and after shot, but the before and after shot of my head shot.

To give you the short run down, I hate having my picture taken (I'll point out the obvious reasons why in the before shot). There's a reason I stay behind the camera. But despite my own dislike at getting my picture taken, I needed a descent head shot. I had been (like most people) relying on random shots taken that were somewhat okay but quite iffy. The obvious shot was hiding my face behind the camera. Not very professional if you ask me and not something I would recommend. Then I tried the self portrait, but I realized that I have no knack for taking self portraits. Just not my thing. Short of hiring a professional, I engaged my assistant (my husband). I set up the tripod, adjusted the settings, told him how to focus, then handed him the remote trigger and told him where to aim. It wasn't too bad.

Though, I did take a deep breath as the pics loaded into the computer. We took a few series of shots and the worst that could happen was to reshoot. But I had to keep in mind that what showed up in the RAW file wasn't going to be the final image.

So with that, let's go to the before shot and I'll be more than happy to show you why I hate having my picture taken.

Okay, so I think that's all pretty valid for not wanting to have my picture taken.


And those are just the major problems. While I also fixed the minor problems, in my eyes, there were too many to list.

I look at this face in the mirror more than once a day (it's not vanity - but rather brushing teeth, make-up, hair styling). I see all these things in the mirror, but the camera, bless its little sensor, tends to show it more obviously than the mirror.

Now, my friends, if you're looking for a Photoshop lesson, you've come to the wrong place. You can find that elsewhere on the web with no problem. This little scenario has more to do with photo fear and how it's best resolved. The resolution? Those wonderful folks at Adobe who invented Photoshop.

If you look at the after picture, you'll see color adjustment, no dark circles (okay, there's still a hint of it under the right eye), the chin scaring is gone, along with the double chin, the highlights are toned down and the blotchy skin is now matched with the other tones. There's also a necklace chain that I took out of the photo as the necklace wasn't really part of the shot. And, I softened the shot to take away some of the hard edges.

Is it perfect? No. Are there still things I would (probably will at some point) change on this shot? You bet. I'd get rid of the watch on the right wrist and I'd do something about the hair (there are a few blending issues that bug me - but when you have natural curl, you never have the same hair day twice). I'd also tone down the highlights a bit more in the sweater. And really, I'd probably reshoot and do something about the left hand (don't ask - I was trying to relax and wasn't paying attention to the hand). As a photographer, there is always something I'll find on a photo that "needs" changing (whether it really does or not). But all in all, the after picture is acceptable. I can live with it.

So there you have it, the evolution of a head shot (and a simple cure for photo fear).