NayMarie of Adorned in Taji Cinematic Headshot Session

Dramatic Headshots are kind of my thing. I love nothing more than to tap into a dark and moody headshot. I prefer minimal lighting and just glints and hints of reflection off the edges of the subject. Sometimes catching a bit of catch light in the eyes. This was my primary aim for this shoot. In this particular instance, NayMarie wore her adornments to the shoot. Due to the adornments, I was able to get a great deal of reflectivity from the strobes used. This gave a little pop of highlight in just the right areas. The focus is primarily on the thought process more than anything. What is going on in her mind? Using hand gestures and varied posing I am able to convey a variety of thought processes all revolving around being pensive.

What were your intentions with these photos?

This was a very fun project. Outside of my normal use of colors, I chose to move towards more of a muted tone almost teetering on the edge of full monochromatic or dichromatic. Normally when considering subjects they will often have an employer or agent which they are under. This limits the amount of creativity which you can pour into some projects; however, when someone works for themselves it presents a whole new set of options. Because Nay works for herself, I was given free reign over how to approach. I wanted something mysterious and “cinematic”. I utilized side and overhead strip box lighting to nail down precise rim lights. Illuminating the background while rim lighting was necessary to create an almost silhouetted separation from subject to background. Everything came together just as intended.

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