Organic Headshots: Michelle Kaffko Photography

Can't decide what you look like?

2012-01-15T14:57:00.004-06:00

Most people are not like my dad, who has had the same haircut since the late 1950's*. We like to change our look here and there and even on a daily basis... one day we've got a beard, the next day it's a mustache. The day after that it has vanished to mustache heaven.

Although I wear contacts 95% of the time, I walk my dog every morning before I put my contacts in, and I always see the same early morning commuters and dog walkers around the neighborhood who only see me in my big, black librarian glasses and red and white knitted hat. They must think I always dress like I'm in a "Where's Waldo" book.

So how should your headshot look if you've got so many different looks? I always vote for the majority. (we're not talking about political stances, by the way, just portraiture trends.) If you usually wear your glasses when meeting your clients for the first time, then wear your glasses in your headshot. If you're usually clean shaven and only sport a mustache to go with your Tom Selleck Halloween costume, then leave the mustache at home for your headshot.

Or in some cases- if you're an actor and want to have multiple looks for different types of auditions, then take photos with all those looks so you'll have a big pool to choose from. Auditioning for a lumberjack role? Send them that bearded headshot! Trying for the part of a young librarian? Send them the naked cheeks and spectacles look!
*true story.

Spit out your gum.

2012-01-09T11:26:00.005-06:00

There's nothing worse than an amazing photo of yourself where your smile looks so perfect, your eyes sparkle, your head is titled in just the perfect angle that makes your nose look so cute... but there's one little hair sticking straight up. Or one little fingerprint on your glasses. Or one little fuzzy from your sweater resting on your lip.

Or one little glob of bright pink chewing gum mashed between your teeth.

Sometimes we can stress ourselves so much about having our photo taken- timing the next haircut and color perfectly or when to trim or shave the beard so it's just perfect at the appointment, or choosing just the right shirt that brings out those itty bitty little blue highlights in your eyes...

For me it's generally about seeing the forest instead of the trees. People are drawn to portraits of friendly faces that catch your attention because of the warmth of the smile and the natural, confident, comfortable ease in their face. It's the overall tone of the image that's the most important in making it successful in grabbing and holding someone's attention.

But something that distracts from that will ruin it and cause the viewer's eyes to go to that one spot in the photo- instead of to the whole photo. Something like a huge, sparkly piece of jewelry, or bright purple polkadots on a tie... or a piece of pink gum poking out of someone's mouth.

So before you have your portrait taken, spit out your gum.

Pinup photos! With food.

2011-12-22T10:41:00.003-06:00

Organic Headshots is the official photography studio for FOODGASM- an online cooking show with a vintage pinup theme. Michelle takes all the fun promo photos for the show, and even films it with them as one of the camera operators or the director of photography for some episodes. Congrats, Foodgasm, for all your recent success. Here's to many more yummy episodes!

Print!

2011-09-29T21:29:00.006-05:00

As if being a full-time photographer didn't keep me busy enough, I'm also heavily involved in the world of handmade goods and markets with my side project, Cussing Cozies. (If you haven't checked it out yet, you should... they're reusable handmade coffee cup sleeves with swears on them. Yes, you read that right.)

When Cussing Cozies has a booth at handmade markets, I usually share that booth with talented letterpress printer, Shayna Norwood, and her business Steel Petal Press.

Today I visited Shayna in her studio and took some headshots and action photos for her to use in the massive amounts of press she's been getting lately. You might be seeing these photos in a publication or two sometime soon on local letterpress awesomeness!

Wedding outtakes

2011-08-01T17:22:00.006-05:00

It's summer, which is "wedding season," as we photographers call it. So I figured I would share some of my favorite photos that usually never end up in the wedding albums... Prepare yourself for some minor ridiculousness...

151 headshots in 8 hours!

2011-07-16T15:48:00.004-05:00

Last week, Organic Headshots set up shop at McCormick place to take photos of 151 members of PepsiCo who were in town for a couple days of meetings, banquets, and other general annual convention duties. Hair and makeup artists touched everyone up, and Organic Headshots set up 3 studio settings, taking photos of multiple people at once. Since it was mostly walk-in based, we were rushed with occasional crowds of smiling, photo-ready attendees, but no one had to wait for longer than 90 seconds for their turn. This is thanks to the Organic Headshots team of Michelle and her fellow shooters Vanessa and Alex- who all did a great job keeping everyone moving quickly and making sure everyone got some great photos they could be proud of!

Summer Headshots Outside! 20% Off!

2011-06-21T11:33:00.002-05:00

Today is the first official day of Summer, and to celebrate it the only way I know how, I'm offering a discount on headshots! Since we only get a few months of really great weather in Chicago, let's make the most of them by taking headshots outside. Then when you're looking at your headshot in the winter and you see yourself surrounded by green grass, flowers, and natural sunlight, your photo can warm the cockles of your heart.

From today until July 31st, 2011, any headshot session you book that we shoot entirely outdoors is 20% off the session price! Want to update your headshot with one taken outside? Now's the time.

And speaking of deals, Organic Headshots is working with GROUPON to perhaps someday offer a Groupon Deal. But we need your help! We need 25 followers on our profile page to be eligible, so please go to our profile page HERE and simply click "follow" at the top of the page. Thanks!

And remember to follow our new page on Facebook!

Contact Michelle Kaffko for more information or to book a session OUTSIDE in the summer sun today. And since I'll use any excuse to go to the beach, so anyone requesting a session at the beach gets a whopping 25% off!

Impromptu band photos

2011-06-16T11:40:00.005-05:00

The great thing about having a studio in an artist collaborative building is that it's filled with artists. And sometimes a great Latin sounds band will be hanging around after a practice, ready for an impromptu photo shoot.

The photographer finally gets shot.

2011-05-23T16:20:00.003-05:00

What kind of decent headshot photographer would I be if I didn't have an updated headshot of myself? Last week I teamed up with fellow Chicago photographer Johnny Knight to take some self-inflicted headshots of each other. Johnny is a great photographer and a great friend- possibly the only person I would trust to take my photo. Yes, you inferred correctly from that statement: Michelle Kaffko the portrait photographer hates having her portrait taken.

Last week's photo shoot reminded me of how difficult it can be to have your photo taken. Every bad photo I've ever seen of myself flashed in front of my eyes like a near-death experience, and you can see it in the first 15-20 photos that were taken: I'm rigid, uncomfortable, and forcing a smile. It wasn't until I remembered the things I tell my clients when I'm taking their photos and they clam up in camera fear that I was able to relax and look more comfortable in the photos.

Johnny and I both designed our own shots and set everything up so the other just had to snap the shutter- I guess you can call them "assisted self portraits" in that way. Johnny's represents his work in theatrical photography, standing on the seats of an empty theatre. Mine reflects my work in filmmaking- using that same theatre as a movie theatre and a light behind me almost like a film projector for one of them.

How young is too young for retouching?

2011-05-06T21:50:00.005-05:00

How young is too young for retouching their photos? Good question, right? A lot of time we think of retouching our headshots as a way to remove the things we hate about our own faces. Dark circles under our eyes, coffee-stained teeth, blemishes, freckles, scars, or even... wrinkles. Hell, you should see what I do to my own photos.

So what happens when a 12 year old comes into my studio for headshots and she is wowed by the differences in the "before" and "after" photos on my website and wants her own photo retouched? Since we usually think of retouching as a way to make us look younger, prettier, more handsome, and more perfect in our photos; it's hard to apply that to a photo of a young girl. We want to tell all young people that they're pretty and perfect the way they are.

But I don't think of retouching a headshot as a way to disguise our supposed flaws and make us look better than we already look. I think of retouching as a way to maximize the potential of that first-impression-via-photo and to minimize the things that pop out in our photos when they're not really supposed to. When you take something 3-dimensional like a human face and make it 2-dimensional into a photograph, you're going to notice things you don't usually notice when you're looking at someone in person. Things like shadows, stained teeth, blemishes, hairs out of place, fuzzies on our sweaters... When we're looking at someone in person our eyes filter through these things to see the person as he or she is: just the person and not the shadows under their eyes.

So there's nothing wrong with whitening the teeth of a 12 year old in her headshot. Especially when she drank some Kool-aid on her way to the studio.

It's like going to Costco and buying bulk, right?

2011-05-01T22:46:00.004-05:00

I can think of no greater bonding experience between father and daughter than getting headshots taken together. Okay, I guess it's not exactly a game of catch in the backyard... but pairing up for a headshot session is a great way to spend some quality time getting something done that you've both been putting off for a while.

The other day I took these headshots for a father/daughter duo who both needed some headshots for LinkedIn and company websites. And their first question was a question I actually get quite a lot: "if we come together, can we get a discount?"

And the answer I give is always, "yes." Partnering with someone for a headshot session is a great way to get a thorough headshot session for yourself and your comrade, while saving the photographer time and money in setting up the studio equipment and readying everything for a session. A good photographer will pass this savings onto you and give you a "bulk" discount.

Organic Headshots needs an Intern.

2011-03-18T10:25:00.003-05:00

This week I spent several days on-site at clients' offices taking photos of their staff. After 41 headshots in 3 days came out looking spectacular, I was absolutely beat and even a little sore. I came to two conclusions this morning:

1. I'm slightly out of shape and need to build my weak little muscles up a bit.
2. I need an assistant.

So Organic Headshots is opening its doors to consider a candidate for an Intern/Assistant. Here are the details!

Organic Headshots is a photo studio specializing in capturing confident, natural-looking portraits for professionals, executives, entrepreneurs, and entertainers. Currently there is an opening for an intern/photo assistant to support the studio on a flexible schedule for a few hours a week. Like any photo studio, the majority of the daily work done is administrative, sales, and marketing. The candidate must have a strong willingness to learn and high interest in sales and marketing of photo services to help grow the business further. Marketing and administrative work in the office is unpaid, but assisting work on photo shoots is paid at $12-$16 an hour, depending on experience.

Duties:

Assisting photographer during studio and on-site shoots, including lighting set-up and breakdown, equipment testing and cleaning, photo uploading, labeling and processing, client disk creation, client greeting and management

Building web presence to strengthen SEO

Identifying new opportunities

Attending networking events to promote services, expand Organic Headshot’s professional network

Promoting “headshot days” events

Creating Facebook fan page, updating it, increasing fan base

Creation of marketing materials

Various projects such as cataloging equipment and receipts for insurance, maintain and updating client database

Skills needed:

Organized and efficient

SEO, web marketing

Experience with Facebook fan pages

Portrait photography and strobe lighting

Sales, retail experience

Friendly, approachable, client relations experience

Basic Photoshop skills such as image size, resolution, cropping, basic retouching a plus

Have your own laptop= a plus

To be considered, please send a resume accompanied by a short paragraph of your goals in the photography industry and a short explanation of your experience and why you would like to work at Organic Headshots to michelle@organicheadshots.com.

New assistant in the studio

2011-01-30T11:08:00.004-06:00

As the people who have stopped by for headshots over the last couple weeks have noticed, there's a new assistant in the Organic Headshots studio. She's short. Fuzzy. Doesn't say much. And she doesn't really help much either.

She's a dog. A foster dog from PAWS Chicago. I'm fostering her and giving her a good home while she recovers from being neglected and most likely abused before being rescued by PAWS. Under my recent care (and mad tuna dog treat baking skills) she has gained a much needed 15 pounds so far and is looking and acting like the healthy happy Akita she is.

She's the sweetest thing since Pop Tarts- very friendly and just wants to be loved, pet, and fed every minute of every day. She greets visitors at the door during headshot sessions and sits quietly behind the camera, watching intently, waiting for a lull in the conversation so she can nudge her way over to whoever is having their portrait taken and distract them with belly rub requests.

I'm setting up for some headshots this morning and took some quick portraits of this adorable photo assistant. Who is available for adoption, by the way. Come for headshots, walk away with a perfect pet!

"Oh crap, there's a camera" syndrome: a plague upon us

2010-12-21T16:18:00.007-06:00

I just took photos for a professional named Charlie, who had a specific request: "I want a headshot that looks... natural. I can't explain what I'm looking for. It's just got to have this kind of in-the-moment realness or something-- you can see it in some peoples' headshots, but others look so forced."

I actually knew exactly what he was talking about. Most of us suffer from "oh crap, there's a camera" syndrome, where we clam up a bit when we see a camera. I understand it because I have it too. Every time I see someone pointing a camera at me there's a split second where every bad photo I've ever seen of myself flashes before my eyes like some kind of near-death experience. Then I feel a sense of responsibility or obligation to make this next photo look great- the smile needs to be perfect and the camera cannot pick up that weird angle in my nose, that ear that sticks out too far, the hair that sticks straight up in the air...

"Oh crap, there's a camera" syndrome is bad enough when someone's snapping your photo at a birthday party or while out at the bar. But boy oh boy, the symptoms sure intensify to unbearable levels when you're actually scheduling a time to go somewhere with the specific purpose of having your photo taken- like a headshot session.

And Charlie was no exception. He knew he was one of the many sufferers of this condition and expressed deep concern that I wouldn't be able to capture a natural-looking photo of him. Just like with everyone who comes to me for headshots, I assured him that we will keep taking photos until we get that "aha! There's the photo!" headshot.

To get past "oh crap, there's a camera" syndrome in my clients I try a variety of methods, since it can take a little while to see what works for each person. For some people, it's the camera itself that triggers the symptoms. If I'm chatting away with the camera at my hip, they listen intently and make very natural smiles that would look perfect in a photo... but the second the camera is near my face in shooting position, with the monstrous lens aiming at them like a missile silo, they clam up and return to that ever-so-practiced-in-front-of the mirror "CHEEEESE" smile. I try to take breaks from the shutter button and tell funny stories, but with the camera still near my face so they get used to the lens and it seems less frightening when it's pointed at them, as one of many remedies for the syndrome.

In the beginning of Charlie's session, a lot of the photos were warm-up shots and not what he was looking for at all. But after chatting together for a while it was easier for him to get comfortable with the pressure of having to summon a natural smile in a very unnatural and staged situation. And suddenly, there it was! The natural smile he was looking for and a great headshot. And then another. And another. Then he had a new problem: too many good photos of himself to choose from. But I think that's a good problem to have.

3 More Headshot Myths

2010-11-11T17:31:00.000-06:00

Myth #3: The camera adds 10 pounds, 10 wrinkles, and 10 zits.

When you look at your own photo it’s natural to immediately see all your wrinkles and blemishes and the things you hate about it before seeing how nice of a photo it actually is. You should feel comfortable talking about this with your photographer and working with them to get the best photo possible. It’s alright to say “I hate my nose” to a headshot photographer- we hear it all the time! A professional photographer can use light, shadow, and posing to minimize the things about the photo you don't want to draw attention to and to catch you at your best angle… including your skinny angle. An untrained or perhaps angry photographer might find the fat angle, however…

Myth #4: If you're having a professional photo taken, you need to put lots of makeup on. Like lots and lots of makeup.

Your headshot should look like how you look at your best and have nothing that distracts from your face- such as bright colors on your clothes or on your eyes, lips and cheeks. Ladies should do your makeup like you are going to a nice dinner where the steak is $20-$30, not like you’re about to be a bridesmaid in a wedding in 1985. Men don’t need to wear any makeup. Blemishes can be covered with concealer or foundation for both men and women if you desire, but modern technology has also brought us digital retouching, which can fix those flaws after the photo is taken.

Myth #5: My smile always looks fake in photos.
If in most of your photos of you feel you have a smile you don’t like or think looks fake or forced, it just means you haven’t felt comfortable enough with a photographer to have a more natural smile captured. We all tend to get that “deer in the headlights” look when someone sits us on a stool with lights and cameras all around us. Relax and chat with your headshot photographer and joke around a bit so your more natural self comes out in the photos. Talk to your photographer on the phone or in person for a bit before booking a session so you know they’re a personable person who will make you feel more relaxed and comfortable in front of the camera. And speak up during the session if you feel like the photos aren’t looking their best—it’s the photographer’s job to make them look good. Take some of the pressure off yourself to create a perfect smile! A good smile will come naturally if you let it.

2 Headshot Myths

2010-11-09T17:28:00.003-06:00

Myth #1: “Wow, now that I’ve met you in person, you look so much different from the photo on your eHarmony.com profile” is a compliment.

You should always look like yourself in your headshot so people can recognize you on sight at networking events, conferences, on sales calls, or on multiple websites or social networking platforms-- it's like branding your face as a logo. A headshot should also be “organic:” it should look like a natural you that’s nice and fresh with no additives or preservatives.

Myth #2: An iPhone snapshot works just fine as a headshot.

You can always tell who took a snapshot on their iPhone and started using it as a headshot- their photos are simply flat and unprofessional. If you want to be seen as flat and unprofessional in your work and give the impression of someone who doesn’t care enough about their business to get a nice headshot, then by all means, use your iPhone. But a professional photo on your website, blog, and on social media profiles will set you apart as someone serious about what they do and their online presence. And an iPhone shot won’t cut it when you need to print a photo in a press release, newsletter or program for a speaking engagement or convention. 9 out of 10 phone calls I get for headshots are for professionals using iPhone shots who suddenly need a professional headshot by the end of the week for a speaking engagement or other event.

You look nice today.

2010-10-26T10:24:00.005-05:00

On Friday Organic Headshots had a booth at the BizNetExpo in Buffalo Grove, IL- where area professionals, entrepreneurs and small business owners learned about social media, online networking, and new ways to market yourself and your business in a social media era.

I hear the presentations were amazing and lots of good information was shared... I didn't get to see them myself because I was busy snapping some headshots! I brought my camera and a studio light to my booth and snapped some quick headshots of attendees who didn't yet have a nice photo for their LinkedIn profiles. People seemed to like the idea, especially when I emailed them their new photos over the weekend and they had a fresh new face to put on their profiles.

"Oh, how important it indeed is to have an updated headshot for your LinkedIn profile, blogs, Twitter accounts, and more," one attendee was heard saying, "it's as vital to a professional as the wind is to spreading the dandelion seeds, the sun is to the budding flowers, and the rain is to the roots of the mighty oak." That attendee just might have been me.

Hot tea and headshots

2010-10-20T11:39:00.003-05:00

The other day I took some headshots outside in the courtyard of the building, taking advantage of the perfect weather: about 67 degrees and overcast with perfectly diffused sunlight for a natural light portrait. That night I was going through the "negatives" (I never know what to call .jpgs sometimes, since I'm such a purist and miss my darkroom...) and sipping some hot tea. I got chilly, turned the heat on in the studio, then had a kind of Hemingway moment of sad reflection.

I thought about how the leaves are changing and the days are getting shorter and chillier, and it won't be long before it's too cold to take headshots outside. Well, to be fair, there are some brave souls willing to snap some photos outside in the winter- and I am looking forward to getting some great snowy portraits this year. It's the finger de-thawing after outdoor winter shoots that turn me off to snow-themed headshots I guess.

One thing I try not to do is "date" the headshots in any way-- you shouldn't be able to tell what year it was when your headshots were taken (no fad fashions or haircuts in them), unless you're going to update your headshots every year or so to match the times. Seasonal headshots are okay- meaning you can tell that it's spring because of flowers in the background or winter because of snow on the ground... as long as it doesn't look like a Christmas card with a bright red sweater. Everything needs to be subtle and in the background so it's not the first thing you notice in the photo. If the first thing someone notices is "oh, what a nice photo of an autumn day," and not "hey, that's a headshot of Geoff," then you've got a problem.

Show that product!

2010-09-22T17:06:00.003-05:00

Last night I took event photos at a ChickChat event at Mars Gallery. And I ate a lot of cupcakes. ChickChat puts together different types of networking events and soirees mostly for women to meet each other and build their professional skills and connections.

The theme for last night's event was "girls giving back," and featured non-profit organizations who connect young girls with powerful women role models. And cupcakes.

To make these events happen, the ChickChat organizers need the support and contributions of sponsors- who also get to have booths at the events where they can meet the patrons and promote their products or services. And naturally, to help the organizers attract more sponsors in the future, they're going to need photos of them and their booths at an event so future sponsors can get an idea of what kind of exposure they would be getting.

So that's what I did- I took lots of photos of the booths and the happy young women enjoying cupcakes, cookies, chocolate, and other snacks. I love my job, by the way.

Instead of a blog post, how about a little jig?

2010-08-27T16:46:00.001-05:00

How do you take photos of an Irish folk band? With a camera.
Well done, One of the Girls- you put on a great show, and thanks for letting me take your photo.

You have the right to own photos of you

2010-08-06T10:19:00.004-05:00

I think a lot of people who choose me for their headshots do so because I actually give them their photos when we're done taking them. Strangely, this is kind of a revolutionary idea for photographers: that the person hiring you to take their photo should be allowed to have, keep, and use that photo however they wish. I've gotten a lot of phone calls from very wary headshot shoppers who choose me over another photographer because the other photographer wanted them to sign away the rights to their own photo for a certain number of years.

That just seems rude to me. "Alright sir; we just spent an hour taking photos of you and you have paid me a ridiculous amount of money. What? You want copies of all the photos we took today so you can put them on the internet, print them, and use them for stuff? HA HA HA!"

Most people come to me for headshots not because they weren't doing anything better that day and thought it would be fun to have their photo taken... but because something is going on in their life that they need to have their photo taken- a bio page for their website, a job search on LinkedIn, a program photo for a conference, etc... So they already have a use for the photo in mind, and it would be insulting for me to say something like, "well here are some low-resolution images with my watermark on them that you can't print or use for anything... if you want to use them, I own the copyright and you have to pay me extra for a high-enough resolution copy of it without a watermark."

Now I understand why most photographers want to retain the rights to their photos- even utilitarian photography like headshots is still an art form and a learned craft. And frankly, if you've ever seen a photograph you've taken appear in a newspaper or on a billboard without credit given to you as the creator of that photo... it feels a little like your boyfriend just cheated on you or something. See the above photo of "Comedians You Should Know:" a comedy troupe I took photos for, as an example.

But from the client's perspective- this comedy troupe had me take their photos BECAUSE they needed something to give to newspapers and booking agents, and should be able to submit photos of themselves to these places without worrying about an angry photographer beating down their door later. The job of promoting yourself is difficult enough as it is.

So use your photos, I say! You have the right. Viva La Revolucion!

Michelle does not do weddings... except for when she does.

2010-06-21T10:05:00.005-05:00

I get asked now and then if I photograph weddings, since everyone's looking for a good wedding photographer to have in their rolodex. And I usually don't book myself for weddings... Because I eat way too much cake at weddings and end up with a sugar hangover.
This weekend, however, I found myself at a lovely wedding for two Neo-Futurists: cast members from a local Chicago theatre company with a 21-year run of the production of "Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind," a collection of 30 rotating short plays done in 60 minutes. (A great show if you haven't seen it yet. Go see it.) The highlight of the ceremony was a short comedic play on love performed by two other cast members, just before the rings and vows were exchanged.

I was the second camera operator for my good friend and fellow photographer, Johnny Knight, who does more weddings than I and ate more pecan pie at this wedding than I ate. I am, naturally, including an embarrassing photo of him that I snagged as he walked across the dance floor balancing a couple cameras and a piece of pie. Now that's talent.

Now THAT'S indie

2010-05-20T13:39:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I had the pleasure of interviewing local filmmaker Coquie Hughes for an upcoming article in my column with CU-Blogfidential on independent filmmaking in Chicago. Coquie is a truly inspirational filmmaker because she's the ultimate independent, home-grown, grassroots artist. She's an African American lesbian mother who had a confrontation with a friend of hers who one day told her that now that she's a mother, she needs to stop being a lesbian.
Angered by the audacity of this woman, she decided to make a documentary film about the social issues of being an African American lesbian mother, and started interviewing children and mothers in the community to explore their opinions and share their stories.

For these filmmaker interviews I like to take photos of my subjects, so Coquie and I went outside for an impromptu photo shoot. I got to take advantage of the murals on the wall across from my building- which I've been looking forward to shooting since I moved in a month ago. After spending 30 seconds with the spunky fresh Ms. Hughes, I knew we HAD to take her photo in this underpass.

Oh, how precious

2010-05-05T16:59:00.002-05:00

Today I spent the day at the creative headquarters for Precious Moments, taking product photos for their upcoming Summer catalog collection. It's been a little while since I've taken product shots- I'm so used to taking portraits and headshots and there's a big difference between live models and porcelain ones. I only said "tilt your chin down for me" out loud once. I got no response from the porcelain figurine. No one heard me, so everything's okay.

It was a lot of fun, though, and I'm looking forward to going back there for some pick-up shots in the next couple weeks. I especially enjoyed the large clusters of Precious Moments figurines, plush dolls and ornaments on nearly every cubicle endcap, filing cabinet and spare table space in the office. Every time you turned a corner, there was a grouping of large-eyed porcelain dolls to greet you with a smile. I found it adorable, but I'm sure some employees might start to get creeped out after a while.

A very special thanks goes to Amy for putting the shoot together and for showing me her basket filled with broken doll heads. I learned that when a prototype of a new figurine is rejected, it needs to be destroyed... so the office holds figurine smashing parties. Amy quite enjoys those.

New Location!

2010-04-26T15:19:00.007-05:00

Organic Headshots has moved! I'm now operating out of the glorious, stupendous, amazing Bloomingdale Arts Building on Bloomingdale Ave. near Western and Armitage. With my new 1,079 square foot loft, headshots of all kinds of looks and setups are possible! The building has an amazing courtyard with tons of brick and greenery, and there are all types of great walls and textures in the area for outdoor photoshoots. (Come on, summer, let's warm it up so we can take photos outside!)

And a congratulations and thank you to Kate McFerrin and Buffy Esslinger who were the first two headshots taken in the new space this weekend, only 6 days after moving in. It didn't quite feel like home until pictures of wonderful people were snapped within the walls.

Having your photo taken: not as bad as going to the dentist...

2010-03-25T17:06:00.005-05:00

Of the countless number of people who have come to me for headshots, I can only think of one person who was really excited to have it done (and he was kind of strange). Most people hate having their photo taken... including me. "What?" you ask, "how can a photographer hate having her photo taken?" Easily. I just do. I really hate it.

But that's where my strength comes in with taking other peoples' photos. Since most people don't like having their photo taken and I'm one of them, I understand how they feel. Then we can bond on the level of "you don't want to do this and I understand, I've been there too, so I'll do my best to make this painless and maybe a little fun." For yesterday's session with 6-year-old Nolan auditioning for a Disney movie this weekend, that bonding included getting some funny faces out of our system before getting to the serious smiles. I vote his family uses this photo for their next Christmas card... but that's why I don't make Christmas cards.

When I finally decided that a headshot photographer should have a headshot of herself for websites and other uses, I bit the bullet, did my hair, and smiled for the camera. I would love to say that it was fun, but at first it wasn't. And now I understand why most people I take headshots for seem to really hate it at first, then slowly warm up and have some fun after a few pictures have been snapped. It gets easier when you go along. Kind of like going to the dentist for a cleaning... at first you want it to be over before it even starts. Then, when it's going okay and no one is getting hurt, you think, "this isn't so bad, I can handle this." And in both instances, your teeth might be whiter when you're done. (After some retouching, in the case of the photos.)

Glasses, or no glasses? (reprise)

2010-03-07T21:14:00.004-06:00

Nearly a year ago (I can't believe it's been that long) I made a post on glasses and whether you should wear glasses for your headshot session. My basic answer was "if you wear them all the time, then wear them in your headshot, because your headshot needs to look like how you most often look." My answer still stands. (And I'd like to add that if you wear your dentures often, then you should have teeth in your headshot too.)

But what about people who sometimes wear their glasses, and sometimes do not? Aha! What are they to do? Glasses or no glasses??

If you're looking for some kind of overarching Biblical commandment on how headshots should or should not have glasses in them, you won't find that here. Because it doesn't exist. It's entirely up to you! If you wear glasses sometimes, most times, or even hardly ever but want the option in your photo, then work with a photographer who is willing to let you take some photos with your glasses and some without. Then you can have one of each and choose the look you want to portray for whatever it is you are using the headshot for. So you can say, "I think I'll send the headshot of me with glasses with the press release to Forbes Magazine," or, "I think I'll send the headshot of me without glasses to my 90210 audition."

I also heard someone ask me once if they need to take their lenses out of their glasses for the photo session, so the glasses don't pick up any light reflections. Good gravy, no! A good photographer knows how to light for glasses so there are no reflections of any kind. (see the photo in this post- no reflections! I get a cookie for a job well done as photographer...) In your photo session, ask to see a few of the first photos the photographer took when you were wearing glasses, and if you see reflections... yell at the photographer.

Tell him or her that they need to fix it so there are no reflections. If they say they cannot... fire them. They failed.

Battle of the Boutiques

2010-02-01T15:38:00.003-06:00

I'm sponsoring a fun event on February 26th! It's called the "Battle of the Boutiques," is organized by poorlittlerichgirls.com and will feature some local Chicago boutiques battling gladiator-style to prove they're the most fashionable.

Many drinks we be drank and goodie bags given out- which will include an Organic Headshots coupon for a discount on any photo session. (See, I give out coupons now and then like a good girl.) It should be a blast! It even has celebrity judges. PLRG sure knows how to party!

8 naked guys in a bathroom is funny, right?

2009-12-21T12:26:00.003-06:00

This weekend I took some quick group shots for a local group of comedians called Comedians You Should Know. They have a block of shows scheduled at the Lakeshore Theatre, a Chicago haven for stand-up comedy with other upcoming shows including Sandra Bernhard, Brian Posehn, Jim Jeffries and more.

If I remember right, the last show I saw at the Lakeshore Theatre was a burlesque show. However, it was not that random factoid floating in my head during the photo shoot that inspired the photo of the Comedians You Should Know half-naked in the bathroom. The pervert with that idea was Michael Sanchez, a member of the group and featured in the photo with the red towel on his head giving another member a shoulder massage. (And he's not actually a pervert- sorry, Michael.)

He said, "I don't know, I really like the idea of a photo of us all half-naked and like getting ready for a show in a bathroom- 8 half-naked guys with chest hair in one small bathroom is funny, right?" I think it is. I was laughing, Michael.

The second shot of the members' heads stacked onto a table was my brainchild. Mostly because we didn't have much space for a group shot and I wanted to keep it small and easy to take... I think it turned out well and was worth the scrunched shoulders and aching backs after scrunching in that tightly for a few minutes.

If this group didn't know each other well before this photo shoot, they sure are well-acquainted with each other now.

Can you actually smile with your eyes?

2009-10-27T12:57:00.004-05:00

I was taking someone's headshots a while back and while I was resetting a light she asked me, "is it true that you can smile with your eyes, or is that just baloney?"

I thought about it for a few seconds and came to the quick conclusion that yes, "smiling with your eyes" does indeed exist. I can remember many headshot sessions that would start a little bland and dry, with a familiar phenomenon that I'll refer to as the "cheese syndrome." I will be talking with a headshot client about something unrelated, like sports or something, and we'll be conversing and smiling geniunely at each other and laughing. Then as soon as I bring my camera up to my face to take a photo, and my subject is looking down the barrel of the lens, they have the instantaneous "cheese!" reaction and bring out the fakest smile since Joan Rivers.

I don't blame them, I blame cameras. We have all had our photo taken hundreds or thousands of times in front of national monuments and at school portrait sessions in the gymnasium, that as soon as we see a camera we have a Pavlov's dog reation to "say cheese!" and mindlessly flash our pearly whites.

During my headshot sessions, I try to medicate this "cheese syndrome" with an old-fashioned home remedy: conversation and jokes. If I can get a client confortable enough to be around me as individuals, they can momentarily forget the camera is there and smile for me- a person- insted of for the camera. I have noticed a real difference in a person's smiles while looking through the photos following a session and can tell when the person was just smiling for the camera, and when I told a joke or said something dumb and they were smiling at me.

And I just stumbled on a WikiHow and a Wikipedia entry on smiling with the eyes, which made me smile with my mouth. Apparently, there is a scientific difference between a smile and a "genuine" smile, which is referred to as a "Duchenne smile," after its discoverer, Guillaume Duchenne.

As Wikipedia explains:
A Duchenne smile involves contraction of both the zygomatic major muscle (which raises the corners of the mouth) and the orbicularis oculi muscle (which raises the cheeks and forms crow's feet around the eyes). A non-Duchenne smile involves only the zygomatic major muscle. Many researchers believe that Duchenne smiles indicate genuine spontaneous emotions since most people cannot voluntarily contract the outer portion of the orbicularis oculi muscle.

I love this description because it reminds me of one of the main reasons why I like to call my headshots "organic headshots." I think of an organic headshot as a headshot that someone means. It's a headshot that shows a person as they really are and can convey a sense of who they are and their personality and friendliness through the photo.

Okay, so now that we know we need to smile with our eyes to get a genuine smile and make a photo look better, how do we do it? Here's a Wikihow with some good tips.

Cheese!

Fashion in the fall

2009-10-21T22:53:00.010-05:00

Last night an old friend and I met up for photo shoot in an alley, using some cool clothing from local Chicago designers.

We had a lot of fun, and were interrupted only once by a passing car. Not only is Tonee an excellent model, but he can grab a light on a stand and carry it to safety lickety split too!

Actually, we were interrupted a couple other times when we would hear some scurrying in bushes or behind trash cans. There were a lot of rats in the alley and if you don't move or make much noise for a while, they come out to explore.

I think some of them got used to us after about an hour, as they started to poke their heads out to say "hello" here and there.

But they were camera shy, so thankfully Tonee is the only one in the shots.

It was nice to get outside shooting on one of the last warm evenings of the season, before it gets too consistently nippy at night to wander around with cameras blazing. We laid out the outfits for the evening with lots of jackets and coats, and didn't really need them.

A very special thanks to Tonee Dang for being an excellent model for the evening, and for the designers for providing the shirts: Fussya Co. by Chris Ho, and Black Market Caviar by Marco Lopez.

PHOTOjournalism, duh.

2009-09-24T09:59:00.005-05:00

Yesterday my second article in C-U Confidential was published as part of a hopefully long-running column on the independent film scene in Chicago. The article is here.

C-U Confidential is an online publication with a print counterpart, run and edited by Jason Pankoke- a totally swell guy who really loves movies and loves bringing people together with them. He started the magazine to track the activities of independent film in the Midwest. It's a very tiring project: there is quite a lot of indie movie action around these parts.

My second article is a profile of a new documentary by Logan Futej and Jared Hoffa. A film about their biker gang grandparents. Don't worry, they're safe people and I was not harmed during the interview. This photo is the photo I took of the duo just before they held a test screening at Columbia College Chicago to get some feedback for the film. And a stuffed panda bear. His name is Panda Bear.

I plan to include my own photos of everyone I interview for the column. Duh, right? I'm a photographer. I love photography and I love independent filmmakers, so this column is a chicken-egg puzzle for me. Did I agree to write for it so I can learn more about independent film in Chicago? Or so I could just take photos? For my first interview, I took the photo after I asked the questions... but for this one I took the photo before the interview. Hmmm... egg? Bawk?

"The Swooning Shadow" and other tales

2009-09-18T15:58:00.003-05:00

If I could change my middle name, I think I'd change it to "rim light," because I like rim lighting so much. (Or I'd probably change it to "superhuman destroyer of evil," but that's a post for another day.)

Maybe it's because of my background in cinematography and filmmaking that gives me an affinity for rim lighting, aka edge lighting- films use it a lot to add dynamics to a scene. A light placed behind the subject to light the edge of his or her hair, shoulders, etc., really makes the subject stand out from their background and gives them a solid look. It splashes light all over their edgy parts, but also creates new shadows and gives their features depth. Hand me a shovel, because I dig it.

I took this photo last night as a comp photo project. I snapped the subject's photo with a simple lighting setup, then another of myself for the shadow, and replaced his shadow with mine in Photoshop. (Sounds simple enough, but my mouse-using wrist is still sore and my eyes are watering from staring at the screen for so long...) Special thanks to Dave Hamner for modeling for the photo, and for being so awesome!

From the land before iPods

2009-09-11T16:15:00.002-05:00

I was looking for something in my computer and came across this photo I took a few months ago. I was walking through an outdoor lumberyard and spotted this amazingly bright red "boom box" thing that has obviously been the still-working radio of choice for lumberyard staff for at least 15 years.

I think it's so pretty. I want to throw on a pair of matching Reeboks and jam to some George Michael or something. Who's with me? Boom box. Max boom for your system.

The giant lumber shelves it was sitting on went back at least 20 feet. Even though it was a beautifully bright sunny day, the light was directly overhead and couldn't reach into the depths of the shelves, so the camera really caught exactly what the scene looked like: bright light on the front of the shelf with a fast drop to pitch black toward the back. It was really pretty- the kind of sight that looks like a still-life photo even if you don't happen to have a Canon 5D in your pocket. And it makes you want to jam to George Michael or something. Anyone? Hello?

Olympian needs "non-Olympic" headshots

2009-08-28T18:15:00.001-05:00

Today I took Alexandra Yeung's headshot: a mountain biker who competed in the 2000 Olympic Games representing Hong Kong. She now lives with her husband, Mike, in Chicago and is working for the City of Chicago's 2016 Olympic bid. And she's an evironmental engineer! A very busy woman.

She came to me for headshots because she needed a photo to go along with her bio summary for various print and online materials whenever she speaks somewhere, sends a press release, or any other 2016-related use. I get a lot of requests for this type of headshot and always ask what the majority of uses it will be for, as well as what the person is trying to portray.

For example, a business professional who does a lot of formal speaking engagements might need a headshot that is more formal-looking, with a suit, full, bright lighting, and a mottled background. Yet writers usually request more informal or creative-looking shots for their bookjackets. Alexandra wanted something that wasn't quite corporate, but also "non-biking" or "non-Olympic," since she's not trying to promote her biking, but her more professional side.

We took a few different types of photos, and this one is my favorite. It's approachable, but kind of cinematic in a way. It presents her in a professional way, but with a bit of creativity that links her image with the fact that she has such a diverse and interesting background. And I think the gaze on her face portrays that too. It seems to say, "ask me about how I was in the Olympics."

You're famous, Mr. and Mrs Breen!

2009-08-25T10:22:00.004-05:00

A wonderful couple I took photos for in the past just contacted me- they are going to be featured on an episode of TLC's "A Baby Story," airing later this fall. Congrats, Jen and Jim Breen! The television show recently filmed and followed the couple during the birth of their second child, which they decided to undertake as a home birth, after being inspired by the Ricki Lake documentary The Business of Being Born.

Here's where I finally come in... several years ago I took engagement photos for them, and the TV show will be using some of them as footage during the episode. Woo! I can't wait to see the episode, Jen!

To the Batcave.

2009-07-05T13:19:00.004-05:00

Here it is... the first photo to be printed in the new darkroom. Drumroll, please... ta da! When I moved into my new apartment nearly a year ago I asked the landlady if I could put together a darkroom in the basement somewhere and she agreed. But I haven't gotten around to doing it until recently. I finally unpacked the 'ol enlarger, pans, cans, and other goodies and set it all up. There are still some light leaks in the walls, but I'm feeling lazy so I'll probably just slap some duct tape on the holes.

I'd include a photo of the new darkroom, but it's ugly and small and not very noteworthy. It's a small space, but I don't need much room since I'm a small person, so I'll just refer to it as "cozy." It's actually a half-finished or half-torn down (however you look at it) bathroom in an unfinished basement. It has a low ceiling, crumbling drywall, and someone put a random water heater in it. It doesn't sound too appealing, but it's nice. It also has a sink to wash prints in, which is great, and a working toilet which is kind of useful actually, since I lose a lot of time in the darkroom and it will be nice to not have to go upstairs to the bathroom after every bottle of water. And maybe when I make more prints in there and give them to people I can chuckle a little to myself... "I peed in the same room I made that photo in. Tee hee."

I forgot how relaxing, yet exhilarating making prints in a darkroom can be. While printing this photo I felt strangely calm and focused, yet every so often found myself breaking loose and busting a move, dancing to my iPod. Well... busting a small move since I don't have too much room and don't want to knock anything over. I'm going to name the new darkroom "The Batcave." Just because I want to be able to say, "if anyone needs me, I'll be in the batcave."

Pow! An explosion of ties.

2009-05-09T15:28:00.004-05:00

I got this idea for a fashion photoshoot a while ago, and thanks to stylist Sheyssa Rosado and model David Latimer, I was finally able to make it happen. I saw a photo once of a bunch of ties flying through the air- like they had been tossed into the wind or something- and I thought it would have looked even better if someone was wearing one of those ties.

The concept was to have ties tossed around a model, almost like just the ties were caught in a wind machine but the model wasn't. Here's my favorite photo from the shoot... to me, it looks like he's so cool that he's immune to wind or something. Or maybe the ties are just so awesome that they keep exploding and jumping all over the place.

Obviously, to get that effect I couldn't use actual wind. It would be a little annoying to throw ties at David and try to have them catch the wind, then pick them all back up again for each shot. I won't totally give away the mechanics of the setup, but I will give a hint. A lot of fishing line, wire, and a patient model.

Thanks again, Sheyssa and David!

I feel 100 feet tall today

2009-04-23T22:19:00.004-05:00

My roommie is going to film school at Columbia College right now and her new assignment is a short stop motion animation. So she's turned our dining room into a workshop of some kind, with lots of tiny trees and clay people, and made my dining room table look like a miniature park.

I walked by it while really sleepy the other day and thought for a split second that I was about 100 feet tall. Only a split second. I think it was the half bag of Oreos I ate that day... I started to hallucinate a little bit.

Anyways... I snapped some quick photos of her and her friend animating some clay people. I've played with stop motion before, and it can get a little frustrating if you're not in the zone- or if you're on a deadline and have to have it finished soon, in this case. At some point I heard her scream something like, "only 5 feet of film?! We've been moving that person's eyeballs for an hour and a half!"

I love the idea behind stop motion animation because it gets so close to the roots of filmmaking and reminds a person how film cameras work. When the first motion picture cameras were made in the late 1880's, they were modeled after the novelty-turn-boom picture cameras. They took single photos in quick succession, to create the illusion of motion. That's how film cameras still work- snapping 24 photos in a second, one after another, then projecting them at the same speed to recreate the motion.

Actually, when the first motion picture cameras were made, the cameras were hand-cranked and the average speed was about 16 frames per second (fps), not 24. The camera operators used to sing songs to keep a steady rhythm while cranking. 24 fps was introduced when sound film was invented and the projector needed to operate at a steady 24 fps to get the strip of sound to play properly. Which is why most silent films appear jerky now- because they were filmed at 16 fps but are being played back at 24 fps. When they were originally projected, the motion was smooth and normal-looking.

See. A degree in Cinema Studies can be useful now and then. Makes for good chit-chat at crappy dinner parties.

Headshots: four eyes or two?

2009-04-01T20:55:00.005-05:00

I've taken a lot of headshots for people who, at some point during the photo session, suddenly turn to me and ask, "should I wear my glasses in the photo?"

And, as usual, my answer is, "it depends."

The first question to ask is, "do you always wear your glasses?" If the answer is yes, then put your darn glasses on for the headshot. A headshot is supposed to be a photograph of you, depicting what you generally look like on a regular basis... while looking your best and in a good mood, of course. So if you're always wearing your glasses, then wear them in your headshot.

Now you might be thinking, "I always wear my glasses, but sometimes I take them off when I'm on stage... or I want people I'm auditioning for to know that I can go without glasses too..." Aha! Very good point. Gold star. Most people look completely different with and without their glasses, so if you want people looking at your headshot to see both of their options, what do you do? If you're expecting an answer like "you should always wear your glasses in a headshot" or "you should never wear your glasses in a headshot" then I apologize, but you're not going to get that here.

There is no right or wrong answer to something like that- it all depends on what you want, need, and are comfortable with. Here's a case study with Victoria DeFrancesco Soto. She came to me asking for headshots for publicity purposes as a television personality and expert on minority figures in international politics. (With the recent Obama campaign, she's obviously been a busy lady...) She normally doesn't wear her glasses on camera, but is looking to expand her reach and believes some people might think she looks more learned and professional with her glasses on. So we snapped most of her photos without glasses, but made sure to grab a handful with her glasses on.

Now she has the option between two different looks and can use the glasses headshot for gigs she knows she'll wear her glasses for, and the other one for purposes that she doesn't think having glasses on will necessarily give her a leg up.

Like with any question about determining your look for a headshot, just remember to go with your gut and what you believe depicts you at your best. And ask yourself simple questions like, "do I ever wear my glasses?" And if your answer is, "only when I wake up in the morning to get myself from the bedroom to the bathroom where my contacts live, I'll never wear them outside!" then of course you should leave the glasses off for the headshot. Or maybe ask yourself the question, "am I a Groucho Marx impersonator?" If the answer is yes, put your Groucho glasses on.

And find a headshot photographer who will ask you these questions so he or she can help you set up the best possible photo.

Puuuuuurty

2009-03-24T11:59:00.005-05:00

I was just up in Whitewater, WI filming some interviews at someone's house and saw this light switch cover in their kitchen. I had to snap a quick photo of it because it was just so pretty and I wanted to remember it.

I wonder what part of the brain it is, or even if there is a part of a person's brain that makes them want to use an opportunity such as having a light switch cover to display art. Where did this thing come from? Who was the first person to look at their light switch cover and say "boooorr-ing," and paint it pretty colors?

Dr. Camera asks: AIG- how does it make you feel?

2009-03-19T16:43:00.001-05:00

There are probably a million blog posts out there this week about AIG using their Federal bailout money to give their executives bonuses so they can buy more toys, and how angry that makes us taxpayers... So I'm going to try not to rant about that. Instead, I will display how I feel about it through a photo. (While resisting the temptation to just take a photo of my middle finger.)

I've flipped through my negative sleeves and then finally turned to my digital libraries and found a photo I took a while ago that expresses my mood when I read about greedy corporations. It's a photo of someone peeking into a dumpster. I chose it because I think that when our taxes and our Federal financial situation are helping the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, we're going to end up with such a class divide in this country that you either throw your food into a dumpster, or you find your food in one.

I've been known to take walks down alleys here and there for some fun dumpster-diving. I think it should be an official sport in the Olympics, actually. I found a perfectly good glass cabinet once and it's still in my kitchen holding my spices and Tupperware. I also picked up an old window once and turned it into a little art project- taking the glass out, sanding the many layers of paint down, and then using it as a picture frame. Looks neat.

Most photographers or thrifty artists rely on thrift stores, alleys, and curbs for their supplies- especially tree-huggers like me who would rather re-use an old chair than see it slowly degrade in a landfill. (Who would throw away a perfectly good chair if you can sit on it without falling over? I've never seen a chair so ugly that I won't even put my butt on it. Are we Americans really that snobbish?)

I guess if I have a point to this rambing, it's that I hope there never comes a day when all of the thrifty dumster-diving artists out there ever stop looking in garbages for fun art supplies and start looking for food. I started re-reading some Studds Terkel books on the Great Depression... for tips on how to survive. Just in case.

Michelle in Chicago Redeye

2009-03-12T14:22:00.001-05:00

Today, I woke up to several phone calls, emails, and text messages from friends laughing at me. Yes, they were laughing. My photo was on the cover of the Redeye- the entertainment publication of the Chicago Tribune, which is free and known for being picked up by commuters to learn about what Britney is doing and to pass the time on the train with some soduko or a crossword puzzle.

I learned today, that if you see someone you know on the cover of a newspaper, you laugh at them. Don't get me wrong- they weren't making fun of me- when you see something you didn't expect while on your daily commute, you can't help but grab your belly and laugh. Of course, they congratulated me and I thanked them... though I didn't feel like I did anything difficult. A reporter emailed me a few weeks ago, asked me some questions, sent a staff photographer over, snapped some photos in the freezing cold without my coat on, and that was it. Not hard work at all. Except for the freezing cold photo session, I guess.

I know this is a blog about photography, so I should let everyone know (if you don't pick up the Redeye) that I'm also an independent filmmaker. I've been making independent short and feature films for some time, and have co-founded a production company called Brown Finch Films, where we're working on several feature-length documentaries.

Primarily I work as the cinematographer, which makes sense if I'm also a photographer. Some people ask me if there's a big difference in filming movies compared to taking still photos. My short answer is, "yes. When you shoot someone with a movie camera, you can hear them fart. You can't with a still camera."

But I think my old cinematography professor from college summed it up best when he said, "Michelle, movies is just moving pictures. Photos in motion, but photos are photos. If the photos in the movie look like shit, the movie is shit too." I plan on cutting out the article and mailing it to him where he now lives in Bulgaria. He might be the only other person to recognize the camera I'm holding in the cover photo... Which is a 16mm Soviet made Krasnogorsk-3, for all you other nerds like me.

Rainy day project

2009-03-07T15:42:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was a gorgeous day for Chicago in March: 65 degrees outside! It was so refreshing after months of snow and below freezing temperatures that I saw people just standing around outside and finding every excuse they could just to stand outside for a few minutes to enjoy the warmth. Some people looked confused. They were like pre-springtime zombies.

My boyfriend and I took the opportunity to walk around outside a bit and do some thrifting at a resale shop. We came across bags and bags of sewing thread and bobbins. I think he said something like, "jackpot." Of course, he's a fashion design student so all that thread for $5 was an amazing find and totally useful.

I have an antique sewing machine in my apartment collecting dust as a "conversation piece." The conversations usually go like this:

"Wow, is that an old sewing machine?"
"Yep."
"Groovy."

Today has been slimy and rainy outside, so I decided to make it a true rainy Saturday and do some crafty little things. I dragged out my lights and the heavy sewing machine (with a heavy wrought iron base, mind you) and played with the spools of thread and bobbins and made myself a photo. I'll include the setup of the shot, so you can see that I used fishing line to get the bobbins to float in midair like that. I'm only half magician.

I'm going to finish the rainy Saturday by making some banana muffins now.

"Standard" vs. "Artistic" headshots

2009-03-05T17:35:00.000-06:00

The general "rule" for photographers when lighting a headshot is to light it evenly, diffuse it nicely, and keep shadows to a minimum. The idea is to take a portrait of someone that shows every inch of their face- because that's what a headshot is-- a photograph of a person that is a clear representation of what they look like, to help casting directors, agents and anyone looking at the photo know who that person is.

So most of the headshots I take are very bright and lit rather simply and minimally. But that can get boring for me. I didn't spend all that money on cameras, strobes, grids, and fancy electronics to take high school portraits, did I?

To keep me happy as a photographer, I like to try new things and get a little creative with the lighting. After all, "rules" should be in quotation marks, because if you know what they are and why they're there, can't you try breaking them now and then?

So here's the challenge: make a headshot more interesting with a more dynamic lighting setup, but still be true to the headshot's main purpose: to be a clear representation of a person. When you start changing lighting and angles in a photograph, a person's face can appear a little different than it did in the photo before. Our faces are 3D and photos are 2D, so any change in angles and representation will make a person look slightly different... which we don't want in a headshot-- a photo of someone that doesn't look like them.

I was taking headshots for Hannah yesterday, and after taking a majority of the photos in a more "standard" headshot lighting setup, I changed the lighting to make the headshots more "artistic." Hannah asked which would be better for a casting agent.

Good question.

My only answer is whichever photo you are more comfortable giving, and which one you feel looks more like you at your best. If the more "artistic" or interesting-looking headshot still conveys your look, your style, and your attitude, then print that sucker and hand it out. But if you're more comfortable with a "standard" look, then go with that. Some may say that the "artistic-looking" headshots will give you a leg up on a casting director's desk-- if the photo pops, then the person pops too, right? Others might say it's a gamble. But I think as long as a headshot is doing its job, then it's already a winner.

Watery dreams

2009-02-01T20:36:00.003-06:00

I was looking through some old photos of mine the other night and then I had weird dreams. I dreamt I had to take photos under water but couldn't keep my eyes open under the water and couldn't find the shutter button for the camera so I had to open my eyes to see it... so I opened my eyes under water and my contacts floated away. When I finally found them, I tried to put them back in my eyes, but they were the size of teacups and too big to put back in.

A friend of mine told me once that if you eat different kinds of cheeses before going to sleep, you'll have strange or intense dreams based on the kind of cheese. Maybe the photos you look at have that same effect. I looked through a file of folders a friend and I took at a hotel swimming pool while we were on a trip, and the contacts-the-size-of-teacups is the dream I ended up with.

Maybe tonight I'll stare at a big chocolate cake and brochures from day spas before heading off to bed...

Yoko Noge: wonderful nutty lady.

2009-01-06T17:17:00.001-06:00

For New Years Eve I hopped across town to a handful of parties, and found myself at Galaxie for one- where my friend Harry organized some jazz and swing bands to play for a few hours. Even though I just planned to pop in for a cameo (if I can pretend I'm cool enough to call it a cameo), I really wanted to make it in time to see Yoko Noge's band play.

I'd been following Yoko Noge from afar for a little while- she's a bit of a Chicago mini-legend for playing in the jazz and blues scene for so long. I was also hoping to finally meet her, since Harry knew her and could introduce us. Well I stepped in the door just as she finished belting out her last note. I didn't even have my coat off when I heard over the microphone in the other room: "thank you, you've been great!" and then no more music.

I wandered through the rooms to get myself a drink and as I turned a corner I stopped short and so did Yoko- we nearly ran right into each other. I said "excuse me," and she looked down at my feet and then back up at my torso, pointed, and said, "oh, wow! I love your dress! Sparkly!" Then walked off. Of course, Harry later introduced us formally, but I really like how that was my first in-person encounter with Ms. Yoko Noge herself.

Yesterday, Harry asked me and my roommate to come with him to Andy's Jazz Club, where Yoko and her band play every Monday night. And to also bring my camera to snap a few shots he might be able to use for a new website if he gets around to building it for her. I was glad to do it, and so glad to hear the band. They played some amazing Chicago-style bluesy jazz... but also threw in some traditional Japanese instruments. Some of their songs would start out with the stiff plucking of a Shamisen, or the soft flute-like shakuhachi, then somehow melt into a jazz tune. Seriously, an amazing experience. If she were to pitch the idea to a record producer, they'd call her a nutjob... but when you're there listening to it, it works amazingly well.

Is that an accordion in your pocket?

2008-12-30T18:08:00.000-06:00

I just wanted to share this headshot I took the other day for Dixieland musician Felicia Carparelli. Yes, that's a bright and shiny gold accordion on her lap. Accordions just make me smile. When she called me for headshots I asked her what the photos are for, and she said she plays the piano and accordion and she'll need some basic headshots to give to bars and clubs where she plays, so they can hang it in their window under "upcoming musicians."

So I told her to bring the accordion to add as a prop to some of the shots, so she'll have a photo of her that clearly represents that she is a musician and what instrument she plays. While taking the photos she adjusted her hold on the accordion and said it can get a little heavy. "I should have learned the harmonica," she said.

I said, "just be happy I didn't ask you to bring the piano and hold that on your lap."