Hi this is Vanessa Joy here with Breathe Your Passion on AdoramaTV. We're
in Washington DC with Moshe Zusman and this is his studio and along with
Miguel Quiles, how's it going, and we are doing a headshot expert panel for you today
because I have chosen two amazing photographers who both do headshots but do
them completely differently. So Miguel why don't we start with you. Tell me what
you do and what kind of equipment you shoot with. So I'm primarily a headshot and
portrait photographer. Most of my work is in the studio and part of the reason is
that there's never an excuse about the weather, it's never that oh it's raining
or snowing or whatever. You could always make it to a studio headshots session.
I shoot Sony. So my primary camera is my Sony a7R II and my lighting is
Photix lighting. So I use the Indra 500 the Indra 360 are my two primary
lights.
Alright and Moshe? I use Canon primarily because they're red stripe is just so
sexy. Always a reason to pick your photography gear by the way.
Yep and Profoto primarily, D1 in the studio. B1, B2 on location. Perfect so
complete opposites. I might as well just open the floor and we can start the
dueling. Why is Profoto your choice over anything else? Consistency and quality of
life is primarily the reason.
Profoto has very low variance in color between full power, minimal power, in
different wattages. Which is really important in a studio when you're trying
to get a consistent look out of everything. Especially when
use more than one light and again different variant power settings also
for the in the last five and a half years that I've had profoto I have only
had to switch one modeling light in eight D1 heads. So they don't break even if
you try really hard and trust me I've tried.
Awesome, why do you choose what you you’ve chosen. I think for me it's just a
matter of that it just works for me and there's there's there's a lot of amazing
things about shooting with the Sony camera system but personally for me it
just works. You know it basically allows me to not think about the technology. The
technology doesn't get in my way. I'm not sitting here trying to think how do I
set this up and how do I do this and that. It allows me to, my gear, my lighting
and camera allows me to really just focus on the person that I'm
photographing and the the gear and the settings and all that stuff just kind of
stays out of the way like it should. That's really important because
regardless of what kind of gear you have, you have to be able to master because it
has to be second nature, especially if you're doing weddings like I'm doing
everything is done so quickly you have to be able to manipulate your equipment
on the spot.
So let's learn a little bit about what you guys do when you have a client that
walks through the door, you know do you have a go-to lighting setup or go to
system? Tell me, I guess just walk me through a process what do you do when
your client walks in the door,
Moshe. When the client walks through the door first thing I do is I asked them
do they want to have something to drink.
I offer alcohol, but I really just read them and have a conversation with them.
Try to find out why they're here. What they need the photo for. What
part of my photography inspired them and really what is the designation of
the photo that helps me determine how I'm going to photograph them and how to
approached setting my lighting, my background and so on.
Perfect, Miguel. My process is very much the same you know, they they usually have
told me ahead of time what the intended uses for the portraits in the head shots.
So they're usually coming to me because they saw my images and they kind of want
to be, like in the image. I want that but me. Yeah I wanted this exact same
picture that you took this like 20 year old and they're like 60 you know, so
you do what you gotta do.
Yeah it happens but uh yeah that's that's pretty much it they will come in
and I have a lot of go two setups, you know if you look at any of the images on that
I posted on social media within the past two or three years
these are all go to lighting setups for me. They are images that if somebody said I
want to basically be lit in the same way, I could do and you know ten times out of
ten. They get lit.
I have to say though when clients walk in they always tell us in the email or
whatever the phone call was what they need the photo for I pretend I don't
know.
It's not because I don't want to think I don't listen to them it's
because that's another conversation I have with them to ease them up before
the photo shoot, so yep I pretend I don't remember. That’s important, that breaking the ice
because you know we're not just robots, they're not just robots, they are usually not
models. They don't know what to do. So a a lot of what needs to happens there is
very psychology based.
So what's your process afterwards? How do your clients either
pick your pictures or how did they end up with their final product? So for me
it’s, I pick the images and I think it's very different than what a lot of people
do. Are you cringing over here? No, no I’m doing something different, we’ll talk about
that later. Yeah I mean for me I establish myself as the subject
matter expert when it comes to all things portraits and headshots and I
also let them know that all of the images that they see on my website or see
on social media,
these are images that I selected. So part of the reason for that is that a
person, a client looks at the image and they look at their expression or they
may not even look at the expression, they just see one random thing in a photo
they don't like and they just discount the whole photo. They're like, no I don't like
this one. When in actuality, in post certain things could be done to make
that image a winner. Like I've had shots before where I've done a portrait of
somebody in their hair is flowing and their expression is great,
the engagement with the camera is great, but there's like a patchy part of the
hair that the wind was blowing and so you see the background and they're like,
I can't use this one because it my hair
looks bad and I'm thinking to myself I can in two seconds copy and image where
the hair looks amazing and put it on this image and boom.
So I have the ability to see that image as a processed finished image, as a final
product. They can't see that. It’s something clients don't envision and t’s very much
your artistic license to be able to do that and your creativity and your talent as part
of the whole product that you're giving them, you're selling them very much like
if you would have George Lucas you know when he was involved in Star Wars and
had you know somebody in his ear telling him oh you should use this soundtrack,
this you know little piece, this editing, when really he's the one that
need to have control over the whole thing.
Or whoever was directing, you get the the analogy there but Moshe you're
doing something completely different.
So tell me about that. Well there's the DC area has I would say, people that
want a little more decision-making on their own. So what I do is I do a
pre-screening of images in between outfit changes, I pre select all the
images that I'm happy giving. So any one of those I'd be happy to use and when
they get to look at 10 out of 20 clicks I made or 15 out of 30 those all
images are ones I'm happy with and they get to pick their favorites and
through the process I talk to them about, I call it psychology more than photography
because I have to figure out what in the photo is the first thing they see they're
focused on, whether it's something in their nose or their hair like you
mentioned, something that they're automatically going to think that's not a usable
photo. I have to find out what it is and tell them let's ignore that because it's
an easy fix. Focus on your expression. You find their insecurities too. Exactly that's why I called
psychology, it's finding what they don't like about themselves and so
explain to them how easy fix it is and let's focus on expression engaging with
the camera, look at your eyes, look at your body and and that gets them through
the process. So establishing that in the first look first batch of photos we are
looking at is important for me.
Awesome, so we're going to wrap up this short episode here. What if you had to
give headshot photographers out there one piece of advice, one something that's
helped you along your journey.
What would it be?
So the most important thing is to learn to be social,
learn to be just a people person. Which is hard, I think a lot of photographers
aren’t, that's why we're behind the camera.
This is true, this is true and I think that that's basically that excuse
I've heard very often. They're like that's why I'm behind the camera but the
problem is that you're photographing another human being that is in front of
the camera and so you have to communicate with them, you have to get
them to be comfortable, you have to basically get them to where they're so
comfortable that I told them I want them to do a handstand on a coconut that they
would do it. I've mentally noted that, I would kind of like to try that.
Yeah like thats, they have to be so comfortable that they would at
least give it a try. Even though they might break their neck but no but it's
about being social, it's about being engaging and one of the things that I
would tell you is that there's no gear, there's no magic settings that will
overcome a portrait of a person that isn't good. Like you can have amazing epic
lighting and you know like flashes going off in the background and they look like
a superstar and then they have this like. Well I heard that if you buy this light.
Photos light, yes. I'm a Profoto baby that's why this
Profoto here in the background. That's why I go back to use
the gear that works for you. Like it's whatever that brand is, if that's the
gear that helps you to kind of, for the gear not to be a factor to worry, now you
could focus on the person and focus on working with them. Use that. Like I think
rock it. I love it. So personality.
What is your one piece of advice? It's one and a half pieces of advice.
One of the things I do as a studio photographer even on location, it’s a
little secret. Clients walk in, we’re recording this though.
That's ok I want them to know. It's not a secret anymore.
I push this the gear and fold everything in-between, even have ten clients a day.
I'm going to break down everything and put it away if I have the time because I
want when a client comes in not to immediately step into the set all sweaty
and rushed
not knowing what the hell this big camera doing the front of me in my face. I
want them to have a conversation with me So I will set up the lights and bring them
closer then for the soft light and put the camera on the tripod so they know
why and I explained the whole process to them inwards in very simple conversation.
That makes them a lot more engaged with what I do and how I do things and
they're not wondering why is this thing so close to me that I can barely see the
camera. Plus it adds value too because they see how much really goes into it, it's not
just shown up with your iPhone. The session is 10 minutes it's really as
much as it's not true, I don't want him to feel like they're paying x dollar for
just 10 minutes. I want them to see that there's a process there so that's part
of it too, but I really the final goal is to make them really be relaxed and
that's what we do with both of our personality like you said but also
explain the process. I think it's like going to the dentist and if they
explained to you that their about the drill in your brain, you're going to be a
little less nervous about it.I don’t know about that. As long as you know what you are doing. But that really is and
the other tip I think is just to keep having fun, find new things that turn you
on in photography and renew what you do because five years ago I would have
never thought that this would be what I do every day and now I'm doing something
that I'm a lot more passionate about and I think that's what photographers are lucky.
They have a career that is the coolest job ever.
We do everything we like, we have an excuse to write off so many things,
yeah and I think just keep having fun that really is the best tip I can give. I
love it. So thank you guys so much for joining me here on AdoramaTV check out
their websites below, we’ll have them listed there. Checkout Miguel's AdoramaTV
show The Breakdown and make sure you hit subscribe on the bottom here. Check
out Adorama Learning Center lots of places for education and fun and I
will see you next time here for Breath Your Passion here on
AdoramaTV.