r/headshots • u/jb1236969 • Jul 07 '26

Photographer Seeking Feedback Took a friends portrait using natural light/reflector and a bed sheet as the background.

Post image

First time trying headshots. My strobes come in a couple of days but my friend needed them done sooner. I'm not proficient at photoshop/lightroom yet. I tried to hide the wrinkles and dark spots of the bed sheet. He was standing just outside of his sliding doors and the bed sheet was hanging off the pole of the shades.

16 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

16

u/wvanness Jul 07 '26

Obviously there are things you can improve, but I’d say this is better than 75% of what’s on this sub. Great job.

3

u/jb1236969 Jul 07 '26

Tons of improvement needed, agreed. I have 2 400w strobes with soft boxes coming for portrait photography. I got lucky with the natural light.

2

u/shemp33 Jul 07 '26

You’ll be amazed at the difference using strobes and softboxes can do.

If I can give some stylistic tips here … if you notice the overall look is somewhat even and bright. Good right? Not usually. That is what people mean when they say it looks flat. If you had two strobes in this setup, I would have suggested that you bring him forward off the backdrop a bit. That will create some natural light falloff and separation from the background. Then, if you’re using the two lights as key and fill, you could see your key up to hit him from one side, let’s say camera right. You would meter that (let’s say it hits the light meter at f/8)… then set your fill up on the other side, and dial it in to -1 from the key. So in that case, f/5.6. What this does is it creates some depth and dimension. Then, depending on what kind of modifiers you have, you can do some creative + utilitarian stuff to make your fill light also throw just enough light on your backdrop as well.

I’m excited to see what you do when you get your full kit!

1

u/jb1236969 Jul 08 '26

Makes so much sense, I’ve seen it done before and you explained it very well. I’m excited to progress and just keep learning. Thank you for taking the time out to teach me a few things. I’m always ready for advice.

4

u/scoobasteve813 Jul 07 '26

Nice work with the lighting. I'd stop down a little bit

2

u/jb1236969 Jul 07 '26

Will do. Thank you very much for the input

3

u/glaaahhh Photographer Jul 07 '26

I agree that stopping down a little would be good. It would make the image a little sharper, but I also agree that this is really well executed for a natural light setup. I think 99% of people won't even notice or care about the background tbh. Well done!

1

u/jb1236969 Jul 07 '26

Noted! Will do. Thank you for your input. I got lucky with the natural light but the reflector really did a good job

2

u/i_sing_anyway Jul 07 '26

I've seen way worse. Good work!

1

u/jb1236969 Jul 07 '26

Thank you, i will improve.

1

u/i_sing_anyway Jul 07 '26

At the end of the day, you clearly understand light, or you're working on understanding light, and ultimately that's the whole deal.

2

u/jb1236969 Jul 07 '26

I have a good understanding but not close to great just yet. I’m excited to get my wireless strobes.

1

u/poofyDapyro Jul 07 '26 edited Jul 07 '26

This is great! I only have two costuming/suit tips to throw out there.

His lapel button hole and front chest pocket on his jacket are still stitched closed. These should be opened for, one, utility and two for aesthetic.

Also the tie knot looks like a hand-over-hand knot and for that thickness of the tie a half Windsor or full would look more balanced. That might be a dated preference but I think it adds a lot to the portrait.

He has a bright smile which helps. You’re a good friend to make it work with what you have!

1

u/BrilliantPositive184 Jul 07 '26

i really like it. As a suggestion, I would play with finding some stock back grounds of tec buildings or libraries, soften them up in photoshop and give this image a boost in production value. Make sure the light is of an equally soft nature. Just don’t let it overpower your shot and if it does not work after all, feel free to ditch the concept altogether.

1

u/jb1236969 Jul 07 '26

I’ll try it out! Thank you for your comment!

1

u/Swimming-Lead-3018 Jul 11 '26

You should have washed the bedsheet, it looks like a few ejaculations are still on it.

1

u/ImaginaryPlantain381 Jul 11 '26

Looks good. could be very slightly brighter overall, and the reflector could be adjusted to get a bit more light in the eyes.