Cropping Headshots: Why do I cut the tops of peoples’ heads off in my headshots?!
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- čas přidán 26. 07. 2024
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One of the most important parts of a successful headshot is the way it is cropped. In this video, I discuss my preferred method of cropping, which I learned from my mentor Peter Hurley (peterhurley.com/) (headshotcrew.com/). This crop purposely cuts the tops off of peoples' heads and also crops out one shoulder. Find out why!
#headshots #headshotcrew #peterhurley #headshotcrop #studiotutorial #headshottutorial #howtotakeheadshots
Chapters ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
02:10 It removes distractions and demands attention
03:18 A cropped head and shoulder gives a sense of movement
04:42 It stands out in a sea of vertical headshots
05:53 I never crop heads in camera
06:46 Not every headshot I take is cropped this way
08:52 Conclusion
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I really like to cut the top when cropping photos, but my boss hates me to do that and "correct" me every time. Thank you for your video that makes me believe I'm doing it the right way.
Daniel Norton agrees. I finally understand. Yes you do want to get more of the face and their eyes which are the most important parts the top of the head is not as important and changes the power of the photo.
Interesting to hear your reasons, Pete. I do the same because the shots just look better that way, but I didn’t realise some of the other reasons you mentioned. Thanks. 👌
Thanks Alex! Glad you found some new insights. I agree, at the end of the day it looks better!
Kudos man for not taking the comment personally. Have been doing that for 10 years and I still have to explain it to clients from time to time.
Thanks Guido. The more I put myself out there on social media the less I am bothered by negative comments haha
Learned so much as an amateur of taking photos for musicians! Thank you very much! Is there any plan to make a special episode for headshot Photoshop techniques?
Thanks Josh! No Photoshop tutorial in the works but you never know! ;)
This is GREAT! I hadn't really thought about it, but I've been gravitating toward that style naturally in my own portrait/headshot shoots. The last two I did, my hands down favorites from both shoots were top-cropped. Glad my instincts have some validation!! :D
Thanks, Andrew! Appreciate the comment and start cropping those heads!!
A wonderful video. Thank you
Glad you enjoyed it
Really like your photography and agree 100% with your explanation of the cropped head.
Thanks, Steve!
Great video! I love the off center crop - it just feels good to look at
Thanks Johnny!
I did crop top headshots for the first few years of my career. After a bunch of complaints I stopped. I'm pretty sure I lost some repeat business specifically for that reason. And yeah, I felt they were stronger compositions too, with the face larger on the screen, but I was consistently overruled.
Hey Brian this is why I always send the uncropped version as well. Gives them the best of both worlds and some people just don't get the cropping style which is okay with me. Thanks for watching and commenting!
🎖🎖🎖🎖 Thank you so much for educating us!
You got it my man! 👍📸💪
Half-way through this video I switched over to Lightroom and re-cropped a few pictures using your suggestions. In my opinion, they were all improved. Thanks for the lesson.
Great to hear!
Learn a lot, thank you Pete.
Thanks again, you are very welcome!
Very interesting. I had never thought about it like this, but I’m going to try it.
Go for it! As long as you have the entire head in frame and crop in post, there's nothing to lose. Thanks for watching!
great video!
Thanks!
This "cropping in" has been used in Movies for decades.
This is a great point. Yet many still photographers continue to have issues with it for some reason.
I'm the guy that shoots vertically with a textured backdrop. :P I have always appreciated Hurley's techniques even though I don't shoot that way.
I don't shoot any actor headshots (though I was asked to recently) - after watching this I'll suggest using a plain background because I like your point about making sure the person is the main focus. I like my textured backdrops but I can understand how that might be a distraction.
Hey Brian no worries I also use textured backdrops and vertical crops LOL. Just not usually for headshots. Glad that the video was helpful to you and happy shooting!
Customers seem to hate it. I'm dealing with a customer and they got mad. Even though I had the images on the screen and they approve it.
Well the first step is to not crop in camera but only after the fact. I make sure to get the full head and shoulders in frame and then I provide an uncropped, horizontal and vertical crop of the photo. A lot of time you will be dealing with their existing branding so this is something to keep in mind.
A headshot is a tightly cropped photo of the face, but it is not a portrait and not something a company will use in its marketing, an artistic freedom. That's where I mixed it, sorry.
I think I understand where you're coming from, but I've actually had companies request cropped heads and even color graded portraits so I don't think there is any hard rule to all of this. In general, most companies use traditionally cropped headshots for sure, which is why I never crop the head. In either case, I hope you enjoyed the video, and thanks for inspiring it!
Is it wrong to crop the top of the head while filming video?
No. It's all up to you and based on context/preference. If I were shooting vids for a corporate client or actor, I wouldn't cut the top of their heads off though.
So why didn't you crop your own head in the video?
Sometimes I do, but it's all contextual. Discussing a topic in a video is very different than a professional headshot in terms of purpose and use. Context is always key.
As usual, lots of great information. Happy lobotomizing.
Thank you Peter! Appreciate it my friend!
you and Pete Crazy Pete are amateurs :)
The headshot of Peter wasn’t cropped.
Hey Jon sometimes you crop sometimes you don't. That was sort of the point of the video. Thanks for watching!
@@PeteCocoPhoto I was joking because the subject was about cropping heads and its from Peter. Nevermind.
@@SuperVokan lol it went right over my head haha. No worries!