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Shoot: Contouring Different Face Shapes

Lesson 10 from: Men's Portrait Photography

Jeff Rojas

Shoot: Contouring Different Face Shapes

Lesson 10 from: Men's Portrait Photography

Jeff Rojas

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Lesson Info

10. Shoot: Contouring Different Face Shapes

Lesson Info

Shoot: Contouring Different Face Shapes

I've never photographed lorenza um I'm going well aside from today they counts but um if you could bring up that chart for me one more time mike please already oh, nice I like he does actually. Okay, so let's move this away and just maybe a little easier for everyone and lorenzo if you could turn forty five degrees that way and just crotch black your crutch for me please. Okay? Is lorenzo's face wider than islam or is it longer than his wife longer than it is wide it's and I'm going to go really, really close this how wide it is it's definitively longer. Well, so we'll go with that it's it's a lot longer it's almost equal so I'm gonna go with is your face shape longer than it is? Why? By how much it's quite a bit so I'm gonna go with a lot what's his jawline looks like and so here's the difference and call it I'm gonna show you guys mike I'm gonna take two photos if you have a subject that you have difficulty trying to figure out their face shape this is why look at the forward perfect...

kitchen down three a tiny bit perfect a little bit a little bit lower and a little bit lower right there perfect that's probably too dark to actually promise not to kill you I haven't killed anybody yet on set and if I can have the comparison between the first image I took and the last image I took how is that different look at his face shape in general if I look here it's very much short the second he brought his chin down how much they elongate his face so it really depends on what angle I'm looking at that person's face so when you're doing your judgments you're doing it as proportional to the camera like correctly directly parallel so you want to make sure that you're on a parallel playing so you can photograph that person exactly the way that they're supposed to be so if I go to photograph him again that one more time perfect so this is more or less parallel right? I'm looking his face this way thank you yes you go back to the other picture because if I did the further I bring my chan down the long my head gets it so it's very very difficult to say like go back to the last photo so where do you start fitting depending on what we discussed longer than it is wide how difficult is that to tell starts become very very difficult cause when I first saw you I'm taller than you right? So I'm judging based on what my height compared to yours what I'm seeing but if I'm shooting you proportionately how is that different you might not have such a wide head you might not have variation so it may be a totally different face shape so it was pretty much the pan zone where you are as far as like so facing forward I made my judgments on your face based on this right based on a bit of structure but it's that it shouldn't change much but let's look back at the screen and we're going to see the comparison between the two so those of you that are at home that still don't understand the face shape thing this is a great way to cover so let's go back to the chart please so assuming you remember last two images longer so is it a lot longer? It was a lot longer right? So is it longer than is wide yes by a lot yes what's your jaw line look like so if I look back here let's see she not perfect it's more like a square jaw so let's look at a lot square draw does he have a wide forehead or does he have a narrow forehead depending on what you decide there it could be rectangle let's go back for two seconds I would say wider because it matches your jawline so I would say it's why when it's narrow you would have more of a pear shape which is very wide jaw line a small forehead which is a lot of baseball players if you see with big cheeks and they have very very small foreheads let's go by how much is your face longer than is why a little square has a wide forehead it's now a square difference between squaring rectangle it's basically the same thing it's just one longer than the other I mean it really has no influence for his specific face shit but it may depend on who you're photographing certain people that you may photograph just might fall into different variations he may go from if he had a wider draw from going to square two goingto pair because his jaw looks so what so what are you trying to photograph? It still works because if you're photographing him at that height you're still gonna justin contour for what that diagram is showing you want to take away some of the negative space from here because you want to eat you wantto try to accentuate the center point of the face if you were shooting a pair if you're shooting let's say a square you're just taking information out of here and here just to focus here that makes sense okay so I know that you're either a rectangle or square depending on where a photograph you ok? So if I look back at my contrast ing photo let's go back forward to images for may two frames I'm sorry right there that's him so if I look back and forth we talked about that that's him naturally and that's what we're seeing highlight highlight shadow shadow shadow shadow consort okay so I knew that the first thing to do if I take that image perfect so remember that image perfect and let's see if it brings up a white room does that look more or less like the square image that we're looking at jawline, cheekbones and everything ok so where are the highlights and shadows right now highlights on the side of the face highlights are on the forehead on the chin if I brought in a reflector john can I have a reflector please just underneath his chin on the right hand side his left all right thank you sir I like the skin tone there it's awesome too great skin tone tough it's all presets one, two, three what time? One two three awesome he's it's like it's all pre set okay can I see that last shot on the screen that's up right now together compared side by side what are we doing to his drawing? Were whiting out right? We're seeing mohr with where's our face, the other shape on the right it's very, very wide visually we're looking at a very one faces opposed to using shadows to just kind of generate in front or we're looking here in regards to contrast that's what we're assuming it is the most definition what I would do is I would still bring in a little tiny bit of negative field so we're only focus on the eyes, the eyebrows, the nose in the mouth if those or what we're trying to essentially trying to show personality that next thing I'm noticing a tiny but you know what we're gonna use negative phil above your head if you don't mind that's perfect right there perfect one, two, three awesome perfect thank you sir. See if that makes a definitive difference if it's close enough to do that sort of draw information away from his head I'm only focused on his face can I see that image and two images ago? How much information we're pulling out of that final image where if somebody had a little bit of loss of hair and they're they're uncomfortable about it we can start playing from issue from there for us not to be physically see that and you don't need I don't use a fee flat like our john doe needs to be flat john used styrofoam what is it sire phone or paper foam core like I'm like the black where white foam core so it's extremely easy, cheap and simple to use next thing I'm looking at personality came looking him what do I want to find? He has awesome facial hair right that's part of his personality that's what I want to showcase say that I'm going to take it literally like that just for the fun of let's. Say two. Perfect. Just go that awesome. Two seconds. That's. Funny, huh? On gil, I just want to see the photo way need a little bit of filling there. Can I get a tiny bit of phil? Awesome. Perfect. Awesome. And if I'm gonna have to let's see three quarters just a tiny bit just right there. Just I don't have to see your perfect one. Two, three oh, my time. Want to three hey, looks like the joker. I think we're loading one last photo. If not, I'm gonna have you look really stoic. Can you bring that one one time? And then to thirty two thirds that I see. Two. Thirty didn't really say that. One, two, three that's. Why? Awesome! Catch light is beautiful. You like? I don't know what to say. So if I was going to focus scary, he looks, I don't know. You look like you're in a boy band I'm teasing. What I would do is I would try to use the black feet flat or pulled away rather pull away the reflector from the opposite side so we don't have as much of a broad. Highlight on that side and using a black b flat on the face. So if we could have a black b flat on that side and I'll show you guys how to define even at two thirds just instead of direct on more less where the eyes going, tio thank you, sir. I got the corner. Welcome to the man box. I'm gonna bring a tiny bit closer. Something like that. Perfect. Perfect. I was a tiny bit. Yeah, just a tiny bit. Awesome. Can I have the same boy band look perfect. That and a little more to your right hand side. Perfect. Right there. Awesome. Okay, so let's see those two men just let's. See if that black b flat did a thing. Starting to consort is decide his face. I'm sorry. Just look at the center. I'm literally my eyes have focused here. Where if I was just trying to narrow his face. I don't need to use much. I'm not using makeup. I'm just using highlights. Six centuries his facial features here we discussed before. Where do we want the highlights? One two. We wanted to get away from here. Here, here. I'm doing that out. I had a corner. This is where we want the highlights according to kant or do we have an effective way of just generalizing where we see the best assets? Absolutely we're not using much we're using one light and different modifiers to achieve that same look I'm not I don't have a few feeling comfortable about makeup it's a great way to do that he's again whatever doing this okay, what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna have you just uh we're gonna strike the set again I'm gonna bring in another person um by chance russ can I take your photograph you again kim thank you yes, sir would you like me anywhere I can have you sir I'm an only child we discuss this okay, first thing I'm looking as russ we have to define russell's face let me let me pull this you know, I'll just take a photograph perfect with court right from here on out I can actually see the court is shooting right through it so you know that watch the photo you can't see it I believe you. Okay? I've done that one before let's say I want to I don't see any cards yeah focus what it does he's going back to his hiding and squinting his eyes were we discussed that before nica what shape faced is russia? Can I go back to the facial features? Is russ's face longer than is wise or is it about even way makes it canna absolute actually lorenzo that's a fantastic question I saw a couple different people in the chat room or in the questions who asked that same thing does facial hair effect the you include facial hair in the face shape because somebody has a really long beard do you think like well they have giant on faith but doesn't doesn't factor into the face shape absolution no more or less how the cut of his face is so we talked about let's can we go back to the photo of rest for two seconds mike thank you so if I look at the photo of russ that's a great question by the way where visually do we see interest I see here right even though the beers there I'm visually seeing the skin around the chin on these airs I'm gonna get really really close to you but you know since we're friends and all I'm just seeing the light I started his skin is kind of the most predominant aspect I would kind of focus on those areas because if I if I widen you out I'm still looking at here the boon is kind of an accessory to your face now so we're looking at it almost like you have a shorter short of feet short of features let me see the photo of you again why am I asking you if I could see you were perfect so visually where's your face aside from the beard lets lets we're doing this crop out your beard for two seconds it's this very wide forehead compared to what is supposedly your chin because this is where the dynamics you chin but here's the great thing is that since we're in tune to seeing the beards as part of the face shape that can also like you mentioned dictate where the faces so it's really depending how much light or contrast you put in the image if your beers too dark my eyes ready lead to that it's the only part of your face that's what I'm looking at second I throw in can I have a reflector if you don't mind because it's extremely dark thank you perfect nice probably move this I'm getting better at this hole moving lights and talking thing perfect one two three can I see those side by side what is it doing and right there how is that affecting that reflector affecting him come here instead of just you were starting to whiting him out yeah so when we discussed face shapes even with what we're trying to showcase we're just trying to showcase in lieu innit? Your eyes your nose in your mouth if we were trying to thin you out I would go with the photo on the right hand side I might even throw a black v flat and there to pull off a little tiny more highlights on the side of your face I don't want to see as much light in the area and dark in those out so if you guys do you have soft boxes where you have access to the zeppelin that's a great way for you guys to be able to use just standard modifiers nothing expensive like generally most people have a soft box, you know and then they jump up two different variations this is something more or less that you would have so easy way to do that. Okay, next if I can have the black b flat and they will throw in a tiny bit of phil I want to see the difference that same place I would do it say right here yeah, that worked perfect perfect right there. Perfect one, two, three awesome pull it away from me. Awesome! One, two, three perfect let's see, those last two shots might have to bring in that flat probably another foot for it to have the effect that we want to say to this line right there. Perfect. One, two, three perfect. And if you could bring in the reflector going look, those last two images one, two, three perfect where's I starting to lead those in the final two photos mike perfect! I'm darkening up that left side my eyes are starting to just populate here I'm just focused here I still have my highlight here. I still have my highlight here. My visual interest is here haven't used liquefy. I'm on lee find away for light to showcase what we're trying to see. What which is that? Using the reflector and their how? Why does his face look? I haven't touched anything. Cameras the same positions aboutthe same everything is obviously it's. Probably like six inches off but, you know, everything is relatively the same in regards to the image, the only difference, the major image difference is lighting and we were using different modifiers. It's a simple solution. So these considerations to have and I know a lot of people going want to bask in the chat rooms. How does this apply to other modifiers? You know this this here, these same concepts are how you supposed to use other modifiers? Maybe using a spot rid on ly in that area that we're trying trying to showcase. I wanna move this over on ly using a spot grade let's say in these areas is I almost got decapitated. I'm glad I have better reaction than that. So if I wanted to photograph him and I want to spot grin on his face and I just wanted this area that's where I want illuminate would that still have the same effect as the contouring is seeing the face features of what we're trying to showcase and absolutely so we're making everything else dark? We're only focusing directly on the face. So as you guys just selecting modifiers, yes, spot greed coming from that side that the fall ofthe would do the same things if you were using a flag on the other side, if we'd be using a spot grid on the face. You know what, john? We have a spot. Great. Thank you. We'll do a demo if we use a spotlight on the face it's only going to illuminate here like this is the only part that we want. We want to move it in or out more or less where we want to see that that specific mowbray's face so make some thank you, sir. I'm going to turn off a on this side. Thank you. So while john gets that, okay thank you, russ. Absolutely. So john gets that we'll discuss. I use beauty dishes the same way beauty dishes of beautiful but they're very glowy. I'm getting light on every single part of the face with contrasts and certain edges, which is great, but if I have a wider subject doesn't make him look wide it's all broad light, there's light everywhere like you have to start thinking about modifiers we're using in order to take great photographs of certain people so let's look at this again um can I see the consort of god again? Sorry um perfect so if ross had a rounder shape sorry this is round rounder shape this is remember that time my head this is ah I need to shave start darkening out the edges just to bring highlights in certain areas let me move this away so the camera can see when I want to seize highlights here darkness here is that what we're doing with russ are using the black v flat to create negative shadows in that area are we starting to use lighting to contour the person's face how does his beard effect the light that we're seeing there so his beard can we go back to the photo over us just visually remember this so using this if I have light here and here right and these areas are lighter we're not doing our job just by moving over and bring in a tiny bit of negative phil my eyes are leading here I'm still have a little bit more like here have light here and I could visually see everything we're having a little bit of shadow here so my eyes lead to the center of the image so we're going to spot creates a kind of do the same thing for us thank you um maybe a little bit of a discussion we've got going on in the chat room about the difference between this versus doing it in a photo shop and the answer being you can do it in either place like that kind of highlight versus shadows is a great guide to wear to dodge in bern absolute right? The question is, where do you want to spend your time exactly means you agree is that basically what you're thinking of when you're when you're working absolutely one of one of the things that I mean what I'm trying to do is when I'm doing things in camera things do come out naturally it's like the difference between I mean I hate to say it like this like a lens flare my generic a lens flare vs sorry really physical lens flair vs digital lens flares it's a complete different once or one's organic ones digital you knew as a photographer where certain modifier should be like if it's a soft box you know that certain parts are contoured I mean there is a small difference but I think it's semantics kind of thing that's your taste one big perfect yeah I think so I think I hope so I'm joking go that way I'll get there ok ruskin ambar you again can I ask you thank you very, very, very much I have this thing against people dying on set you know, if you guys ever have that weird thing to have perfect I'm gonna pull this lord do you know what degree grid this is twenty degrees twenty degree green people always like to know feel like I need to know the secret john if you could move the v flat just away from the back of him thank you very very, very much. This is gonna be a lot harder than it was before like I said that before it happened like you know what it's gonna look like where were you? Wait smooth I feel so tall you know you wanted to ten before, okay? You don't want ten you've never mentioned that. So just show that for that blotting paper talked about awesome perfect to that final image so using this the same techniques that we learned before how where am I getting laid? I'm getting laid as forehead I'm waiting his forehead on wedding has john whiting everything just bringing my lightning it's going to be more hot than it was before so you're gonna you're gonna love may jonah we have ah visits pointy do you have anything tighter than that? Thank you very, very champs broken off so you gotta pump it out from the other side tabs broken out keys on may just take the reflector off, pop it out oh my god rental gear nuances of difference so right now those of you that are online because I know I'm gonna get this question it's on four right now instead of eight on the pro photo has markers on the side for how far back are floated this gets a little easier to just say that then okay perfect smooth down kind of bet you look so glamorous sir you feeling feeling perfect? Actually I want to put that on just yet we're going well so the difference how about that? Perfect uh he looks like a deer in headlights let's see the photo that we have the resulting image that but where is our eyes lead it but leading right there how why does he look? We're just focused hear the difference is the hair his hair's became all these different shapes and shadows he does you just don't see it cos a blotting paper I got you we're friends last time we do this you had cook allover you from a photo shop week and just to make you paint yeah we were good friends I can blow his nose I'm my own makeup artist today yes because people who weren't watching earlier were logging in and asking about shine and how you deal with it and the answer is this blotting paper like I can't actually name the name on air but it's just standard body paper you can buy if you ask any pharmaceutical place like cvs walgreens asked him for blotting paper at the makeup counter flying paper oil absorbent paper anything like that? A pack of fifty sheets perfect. Can I have a black b flat on that side? We'll see how much help and his closest you can get it is possible to get from the shine off his forehead. Can I go back uh one and forward shine little shine just having that out help me with highlights perfect. Perfect! You look like a criminal. I never thought I would be scared of rest and right now, but if we look where's there I leading I mean even just knowing that I can use a great to do the same thing like that's where my eyes want to be is the centre generally I wouldn't keep that in color I would change it's a black and white I'd probably put a rim light from behind there ahead on russ and change that but ultimately that's what we want to focus on, I would never use that as a food over us. I would try to figure out a way to style the shoot and make it like a thirties gangster with like a rim light, a little brain hatton glasses and they go we go anyway, I digress about the spot thank you very much for us well and just from before you disappeared like the experience of being in front of that is very, very different from being in front of the zeppelin or soft box or something like that, and so when you're shooting people like that experience, I'm like blind at this point because just staring into light and so it was hard to see you. It was hard to see your lens on dh, so when you're considering how to achieve what can be relatively similar effects, also, just make sure justin considerations what he mentioned just think about the sensitivity of people's eyes because I have lasik, I have more sensitivity like that most people like the second I see a bright light that I'm stunned for, like, thirty seconds just being conscious of that and generally when I'm photographing people on set, not in this environment, but I'm also asking them to close their eyes, open it if it's that bright of light because russ has been here on set before and we work together, I just assume he knew well, go with that, and I'm gonna put this back attended. So as you guys are selecting your modifiers, we're looking at the way that light helps affects her and characters. The last person that we're going to have on set is, jim, if you could bring jame along, how are you, jim?

Class Materials

bonus material with purchase

Photographer's Style Guide for Men
Men's Posing Guid
Photoshop Black and White Presets
Adorama Gear Guid

Ratings and Reviews

caroline ross
 

I watched this class for free and am saving up to buy it. First of all confirmed! Sigma lens are nothing to be ashamed of and since I love my one main lens, Sigma I immediately felt a rapport. Then listening to the fascinating insights about men and their feelings when confronted by a lens and...what to do with folks who have shaved heads or a little large. Some of the tips were great! Adding a decoration on suit front like a flower or handkerchief, and how to get the suits looking FIT! and well, I plunged into man world and it was a super education. By day two I was amazed by Jeff's generosity. Basically all his experience, all his favorite lighting techniques and painstaking attention to detail. I would have to watch Day two zillions of times to actually be able to absorb all the scenarios and effects. Im going to buy some suit clips Jeff and clip a bunch of suits in back and front to gorgeous my male subjects out. Thank you again for a wonderful, wonderful class.

Lee Crow
 

I've taken a lot of photography training in the last couple of years. Jeff is outstanding. I didn't realize that this content would have such an impact on me. The lighting sections were the best I've seen and the psychological impact of us men having good photos is a wonderful subject to bring to light. The class is great. Jeff is great. CL is great.

MizUniverse
 

this course was worth every penny. Full of practical information and excellent demonstrations. Jeff needs to quit with the crotch comments though ..it was like ...really AGAIN? why are you so obsessed with saying crotch crotch crotch good God. Apart from THAT (which I think was just silly nerves) I really do recommend this class. Jeff is actually very very good. I admire his work. Thanks Jeff I learned a lot!!

Student Work

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