Headshot

Candid Shot

As someone who has always been behind the camera, I found this activity quite challenging especially since I had to do it alone. However, it actually gave me a lot of creative freedom and allowed me to explore treatments I had been wanting to try.

Headshot

The Concept

I’ve been following a photographer on Instagram named Platon, and his work is truly fascinating. He captures black-and-white portraits of influential people, and every single photograph feels incredibly intimate. That’s why I used his work as inspiration for my mood board.

Analyzing his portraits, you can observe how soft and diffused his lighting is. Looking into the eyes of his subjects, it’s clear that he uses a single light source pointed directly at them. I did some research online and found that he typically uses one strobe light and adds negative fill on both sides of his subjects to enhance contrast. However, since I don’t have negative fill panels, I plan to mimic the effect during post-processing.

The Set-up

For this assignment, I used a Sony A7IV and a Sony 24-70mm lens to take advantage of its autofocus function. For lighting, I used a strobe light with a lantern diffuser to replicate the soft light effect. I set the shutter speed to 1/125. Initially, I struggled with blurry shots, so I adjusted the aperture to f/4.5 while keeping the ISO at 100.

Post-processing

The left image shows the raw photo, while the right one is the edited version. I applied a monochrome filter and increased the background exposure to lighten it. Then, I masked both sides of the face and decreased the shadows and exposure to mimic the negative fill effect.

One element I truly admire in Platon’s portraits is the texture. It’s fascinating how raw his images feel because of it. To complete my editing process, I added texture to bring out that same rawness in the photo.

RAW PHOTO

EDITED PHOTO

Candid Shot

The Concept

Contrary to the headshot, I wanted to play with colors for the candid shot. That’s why the mood board for this portrait explores different hues and harsher lighting. The treatment for this image is the complete opposite of what I did with the headshot. Since the portrait must reflect who I am, I wanted to showcase my willingness to explore different techniques and learn new things.

The Set-up

For this portrait, I used continuous lighting, a 150W RGB light and an 18W portable RGB light. I used the same camera and settings but increased the ISO to 400 since I relied solely on continuous lighting. I also adjusted the aperture to f/5 for a slightly wider depth of field.

Post-processing

There were no major edits in post. I masked the right shoulder to enhance the highlight from the red light, then masked the left shoulder to reduce shadows and lower the exposure to draw attention to how the light hits the face.

RAW PHOTO

EDITED PHOTO

Reflection

Doing this assignment allowed me to be the main character for a while, since I’ve always been the one behind the camera. I enjoyed working on the headshot because it gave me the chance to really look at myself. I mentioned how raw Platon’s portraits are, and that rawness fascinated me. Creating my own version made me reflect on how much I’ve grown, both literally and figuratively. The acne scars, the eye bags—it really felt like I was slowly leaving behind my teenage features. But I felt proud. There’s still a long way to go, but I’ve already come so far. And beyond just doing this assignment for compliance, I was able to appreciate myself again.

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