Session 5 – An Actor’s Photo Session

By Gary Bernstein

We’ve spent a lot of time on the techniques for photographing women…

Let’s talk about sessions for the male of the species…and specifically the needs of actors and models.

Again, these images were made with basic lighting and basic (and inexpensive) photo equipment and my ever-present Denny backgrounds, posing stools and C-Stands.

Shot 4-26

Light Sources: Two Hot Lights bounced into 24 inch umbrellas illuminating the background and the subject)

Location: Home Environment

Camera: 4 and 6 MB Digital Cameras with Zooms (short telephoto)

Shot 4-26

What follows is a photo session for a young actor. The needs of the actor and the model are very similar. Each must convey to the viewer his or her look and personality without being there in person. In today’s modeling industry (much of which is digital online presentation including very often a video or face-timing)—and with the advent and ubiquity of studio streaming video—it is possible to display the reality of a moving, breathing individual without the need for a personal appearance in front of the client. And...with AI, we may never actually need a flesh and blood model again!

The still photograph, however, remains a critical part of the equation for the simple reason that the clients (in particular the advertising clients desirous of a print campaign) need to know how the model or actor photographs and works a camera. Again, variety is the key; but with men the constraints are far less…

There is no doubt, that a double standard exists (certainly in my mind it does) when comparing the photography of men to the photography of women. I want women to look flawless, and consequently, my lighting is more constrained (and with age comes even greater constraints i.e. you don’t have to be a genius to come up with a quantity of usable images when photographing a 16-year-old beauty, but the approach must be different with a more mature beauty. With men—overt lighting—cross lighting that shows imperfections and ruggedness are very often the key to the image, as you will see in the next few examples.

It is the size of the light source relative to the subject that controls contrast. Proof comes in the form of photograph 4-26 above which was made in the exact same stairwell that was used in an earlier Denny blog specifically shots 4-4 through 4-6 of the sophisticated actress photo shoot. The difference is simply in the lighting placement and modification of contrast which was controlled as well with a black cardboard flag on a Denny C-Stand with a boom.

Looking back at the woman’s session, in shots 4-4 through 4-6 the small hot spotlight itself was the light source. That very small source relative to the subject created great contrast and fall-off (meaning the relationship between highlight and shadow (and the rate at which shadow falls off)). The opposite effect was achieved in Shot 4-26 above of the man, in which the very same light(s) were placed into two 24-inch white shoot-through umbrellas very close to the subject. The wide bank of light and the large size of the light source relative to the subject created a soft lighting balance throughout the entire composition. HOWEVER, I wanted the softness on the face to be greater emphasized with more falloff to the shadow side of the face; so I added the black cardboard gobo on a Denny C-stand just slightly out of camera range to camera left.

Let’s talk about the camera angle: Nothing enhances esteem like a low camera angle. The same camera angle I used for the above model shot I used (to an even greater extreme) when I photographed legendary actor Paul Newman (below).

Shot 4-27

Light Sources: One Hot Light, sunlight coming through a window and a silver reflector.

Location: Home Environment

Camera: 4 and 6 MB Digital Cameras with Zooms (normal lens length)

Shot 4-27

Never is a strong word; but I don’t believe I have ever photographed a woman with edge light coming across her face as it does in this photograph of our young actor. Again, light is very forgiving on the male face—even extreme cross lighting like this that emphasizes the texture of the skin. It is often that dose of reality that is powerful in a man’s head shot. The use of a normal lens length, and the closeness of the subject to the lens creates just a bit of wide-angle distortion that works well to bring the subject up close and personal with the viewer; and his great attitude and inviting smile compliments the effect. This is a great commercial look. As with any photograph, the goal is to keep the viewers’ attention on the image and draw them in emotionally. It is the goal in the model’s head shot. It is the goal in an advertising photograph as well.

Naturally, the game changes as soon as natural light is introduced to the photograph. The wonderful thing about artificial light is that if you don’t like the light position, quality or lighting angle, you change it or move your light. When working with Mother Nature, you must direct the subject to the light—meaning you move the subject because it is real difficult at best to move the sun ;)! Therefore, I positioned the model first to receive the cross rim-lighting I liked coming from the window, and then placed the main light to camera left to complete the image.

The background is a white Denny background that is placed directly adjacent to the window literally touching the window and the model’s back to camera right. He is seated on a Denny posing stool and leaning on a second stool adjusted to the correct height.

Shot 4-28

Overhead midday sunlight is no way to take pictures, as the eyes just go into shadow. That was the condition here, so I seated the subject in a car next to a white wall, and the result is beautiful soft, yet directional light. Again, the goal is to focus attention on the subject, meaning that your eye, as the viewer, should go directly to the subject’s face. This is accomplished through composition (placement of the face and eyes in one of the four dynamic points in the frame - see more on this below), coloration (in the case of a color image), and contrast.

Shot 4-29

Light Source: Open shade with flash fill

Location: Outdoor

Camera: 4 and 6 MB Digital Cameras with Zooms (normal lens length)

Shot 4-29

Patchy sunlight is a light source I would rarely (if ever) use when photographing a woman—but the unevenness can work when photographing men—as it seems to add to the ruggedness. In this case the image (which was very splotchy from overhanging branches) was filled with flash on camera (on manual mode so the flash very subtly fills and balances the skin tones without screaming “flash”). The attitude of the subject is, of course, very important. With men, the most important aspect of posing lies in having the subject confront the camera directly and feeling comfortable in the pose…

…and in this case, the model is sitting on a Denny posing stool adjusted to the height needed based on how the light was falling on the subject’s face.

Although I shoot a variety of images—and if you look at Shot 4-26 for example where he is looking at the camera out of the corner of his eye (and as I mentioned earlier)—I have always felt that anything less than a straight-on look into the camera can come across a bit “shifty,” so just be careful and cover yourself with a variety of images. I used the same kind of patchy sunlight when I made this photograph of Jack Hemingway for Esquire Magazine in Sun Valley, Idaho many years ago.

One last thing that is very evident in each of these shots but worth pointing out…

First, your clients – be it a private portrait session or a model or actor – have no idea why they like (or don’t like) a photograph. So, help them to like your shots more by creating dynamic images using the system (as seen in my book Gary Bernstein’s Lecture Notes and Private Journal) below. Bottom line, place the subjects’ eyes at the intersection of a diagonal and perpendicular to the adjacent corner within the frame i.e. the composition of the image (and yes, you can buy the Journal on this website ;)).