Singer-songwriter Liz Falstreau is no stranger to The All Worlds Traveller. Liz first appeared in these pages after her 2020 branding session with Distant Era, in which we created a variety of looks for her album and other branding needs. In 2021, Liz appeared as “The Hunted Princess” in Distant Era’s The People of Light and Shadow series. Now in 2022, Liz has a new job for which she needs a fresh corporate headshot and was looking to get a new theatrical headshot done as well.
On the Distant Era side, a few more years practicing portraiture translates to more refined techniques in posing, shooting, and retouching. Liz and I have shot together enough that she knew exactly what she wanted coming in, and together we made those looks while catching up and hanging out.
Choosing a Background
For her new professional business shot, Liz went with the clean, bright look of the white background. This look is typically a strong choice for any kind of branding, from headshots to business. It was consistent with other headshots on the company site for Liz’s new job, so we knew this would work.
For Liz’s other performance and brand shots, we used a blue background that was inspired by Liz herself for her first branding session in 2020! Before the pandemic, Liz proposed a session for her music and brand, and “blue” was one of the themes that emerged from this initial conversation. In 2020, when we got this session on the books, Elizabeth MacDougald and I ordered paint and canvas and created this blue background in advance of the session. We have used it many times since, and it was wonderful to shoot on it again with the person who inspired its creation. (I’d like to revisit this background, texture it more, and paint the other side in a different color. Someday…)
Choosing Wardrobe
Liz very wisely brought a number of different outfits to the session, which we tried out in front of the backgrounds to see which would be most effective. In the end, basic color theory prevailed: the complementary pink peach color against the blue for contrast, and then the analogous green-on-blue combination. Photographers often warn against bringing “loud” patterns to headshot sessions, and hopefully the photo with the striped shirt illustrates how it would be a weaker choice than the other two. There are exceptions to every rule, of course, but in this case conventional wisdom proved true.
A Fun, Relaxed Session
Posing for headshots can be a nerve-wracking experience. With the pressures of time, money, and success (i.e., whether you’ll like your shots), it can be difficult to relax. I acknowledge this, as I certainly felt these pressures when I had my headshots done for the first time in the late 1990s. We do our best to diffuse these tensions. Repeat subjects like Liz Falstreau have an easier time of it because the path is known. It’s always a pleasure to do a session with such a bright talent as Liz, and I look forward to the next time we collaborate on camera!
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