recreating a vintage Hollywood portrait
A few months back some friends and I did a test shoot, recreating a vintage Hollywood portrait. While mentioning some specifics from the shoot I’d also like to share a few general thoughts about approaching a test shot like this. Every photographer has their own way of doing things but here are a few things that have worked well for me.
Collaboration
It all starts with an idea and grows from there. I had a new beauty dish to test out and my friend Kelly (a talented photographer and stylist) and I were looking for a project to work on together. To me, a beauty dish conjures up images from the 40’s, a time before softboxes and strobes. A vintage portrait seemed like a perfect application and an opportunity to try and connect with the work of portrait artists like George Hurrell.
Some photographers like to manage every detail of a shoot like this but I really rely on and enjoy the collaboration with others. Plus, I realize where my strengths and weaknesses are. Kelly had a friend she felt would be perfect for the look and she also took responsibility for lining up the clothing. We knew from the outset that hair styling would be key to pulling off the look, so Kelly offered to find a hair stylist interested in contributing. I would put my energy into studying the technical look and lighting from the era.
After years in the business I do have relationships with other creative people that are sometimes interested in working together on projects like this. You don’t have such relationships, you say? Well, if you know anyone with an interesting look or a hobby that’s worth photographing, why not ask them if they’re interested in working together? Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
The important thing about testing for me is that, well, it’s testing. A chance to try some new things out and experiment. That’s always been my primary goal, the value of the experimentation. Yes, the hope is to make at least one good photograph but, more importantly, I view it as an opportunity to test equipment and / or ideas in a non-pressure situation. Kind of like the dress rehearsal for a play.
Doing the research
An online search and a trip to the library turned up plenty of vintage Hollywood portraits for study. A closer, objective look at the photographs revealed a few surprises. This is a pretty common part of the process for me. You see, I had an image in my head of what a vintage portrait looked like and it was pretty accurate, overall. But the camera angles, in particular, were lower than I would have thought. Eye contact with the camera wasn’t as common as I’d envisioned. Research pays off.
Study reinforced that depth of field was generally shallow in the vintage images because large format cameras were used. High contrast was the order of the day because of the photo materials available and to “blow out” details in the skin. And, of course, airbrushing was utilized extensively to eliminate blemishes. I printed up a few images as technical reminders and would have them on hand as references at the shoot.
Time for the shoot
With everyone gathered, the collaboration comes to life. Carmen, our talent, was perfect for the role and the hair styling was spot on.
Kelly rounded up a few different choices for clothing so we could make final decisions together. Having options is important in case something might photograph better than another choice. Patterns may not work as well as imagined, certain fabrics may produce a difficult moire pattern or a particular cut of fabric might not behave well in the chosen pose. It’s good to have choices.
So, what did we find once the photography began?
I think of a shoot like this in two parts: first, let’s get the basic technical details worked out and then it’s time to move on to the aesthetic part (clothing, hair and posing). Yes, each part will be continually refined, but I like to feel comfortable with the technical aspects first. Then, when it’s time to really get rolling, fuller attention can be give to the model.
I struggled with the look for a bit, to be honest. We watched the images pop up on the screen in full color while shooting tethered to the computer. The color threw everyone off a bit since our final image would be black and white. Ninety-nine percent of the time we shoot directly to Phase One Capture One software in the studio and it works perfectly. In this case, even though the Canon 5D camera was set to shoot RAW in black and white, the previews still popped up in color. Apparently, Capture One doesn’t recognize this particular setting automatically in the previews. This was news to me and a good thing to find out in a test situation.
Even though I could say, “we’ll just convert them to black and white in post-production” (or convert the occasional image while shooting), it was still preferable for everyone to view a more accurate image as we shot. In order to get the previews to show up in black and white we switched to Canon’s own supplied software, DPP (Digital Photo Professional) and Canon Capture. It was free and available and we keep it loaded on the computer as a backup, just in case. Seeing the images immediately in black and white brought a higher degree of comfort to everyone.
I chose to shoot using a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro Lens, a personal favorite (both the focal length and the lens itself). This is a really sharp lens, though, and we found ourselves focusing on the hard, crisp look to the photos. This was distinctly different from the vintage images. I dialed down the power on the strobes until the depth of field was more shallow (working around f4 to f5.6). This lessened the area of sharp focus but there was still a sharp “bite” to the images. Again, this could all be solved in post-production and everyone was reminded that the vintage portraits had undergone extensive airbrush retouching. But I wanted everyone to have a more accurate vision of the final product so I did what any film shooter would have done: time to reach for the soft focus filter. This would soften edges nicely while keeping the image sharp enough.
For this I used a homemade filter of black stocking stretched over the front of the lens. We also have a white stocking for softening. The black gives more contrast than the white and, with it in place, we began to see more accurate results.
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A Calumet Travelite 1875ws Three-Head Portrait Kit was used for lighting with a beauty dish (Calumet 15″ (38cm) Soft-Lite Reflector (79 degree)
) on the main light and 40 degree grid spot on the background and a snoot on the hair light (when used). I played with lighting, sometimes blowing out details I would normally try to retain, all in the pursuit of greater historic accuracy. How far can you push it? Testing is the time to find out. As you can see, I’m trying to do what’s possible to create the look in-camera instead of in post-production. This is completely up to the particular photographer and their personal preference. Some photographers may prefer to simplify the shooting process and do more in “post”.
Don’t fall into the technical trap
There is a trap to trying to do everything in the camera, though, especially when going for a very specific look. At some point I have to realize that I’m not using a large format camera, hot lights or orthochromatic film. This is 2008, after all, and there aren’t any awards being give for historic accuracy. Getting too mired in the technical aspects of the shoot will leave little energy for concentrating on the look of the clothing, hair and posing, the next step.
We all pitched in with thoughts on posing and how hair and clothing looked best. It’s great to hear feedback from everyone involved because these test shoots can also serve as an audition. Will we want to work together on future projects, either tests or paying assignments? How do we work as a team?
Good stuff
I was happy with this test in all respects: the teamwork, the final images and the experience and knowledge gained along the way. What you see here has had very little retouching, just a run through Lightroom 2 for basic correction (increased contrast and vignetting) and a quick retouch in Photoshop Elements on my blogging laptop.
A busy shooting schedule doesn’t always allow for shooting tests but we work them in at least a couple times a year because it’s a great way to sharpen the saw. It’s all about having fun and learning, a process made even more rewarding through the collaboration with others.
It is amazing to me how much work is often put into a photo shoot by everybody involved, not just the photographer. It really is a collaborative team effort before, as well as, during the shoot. I believe these times of exploration, testing, and practice pay off huge dividends when an actual client is involved.
A thoroughly enjoyable read and thought provoking too!
Great project Jim. I haven’t truly investigated the work of George Hurrell, but from looking at some the shots you point to at Google, is it possible that he did some of his shooting using, not flashes, but film/sound stage lighting? That would certainly give his images a unique look.
Thanks, guys. Hurrell definitely used “hot lights” (film lighting), which was common at the time. Strobes were really only used for scientific purposes back then, I think. It’s hard to imagine but, yes, there were portraits before the softbox was invented.
Really cool idea and nice execution. One thing I need to point out, since you wrote 2 paragraphs on it, is Capture One can preview in black and white. To do this, go to the exposure tool (the button in the upper left with the levels icon). Shoot one frame, and the image will be in color, but drop the saturation slider to -100 so that it’s black and white. Keep the image you just shot selected, and fire off another frame and viola, black and white. I only mention this because I recently compared all 3 major capture apps (lightroom, aperture, and capture one) and found Capture One is still the best thing to have on set with a stylist because of it’s speed, accuracy and quick image alterations that will automatically be passed from one image to the next (as long as an image with the changes you want is selected before taking the shot). Canon’s free stuff works, but it’s clunky in comparison. Unfortunately Capture One is the most expensive, but for good reason I guess.
Right on, Adam! What a great solution that totally evaded me, thanks for sharing that one.
An interesting look at the thought process again, Jim.
Since we are all techno-geeks here, which brand of stockings do you prefer to use for your soft-focus filters?
Great job Jim, you really nailed the style! I also like the words of encouragement about getting people to work on tests with you. It’s difficult sometimes to feel that you are not “imposing” upon others when experimenting.
As for hot lights, etc., I recently saw a show of Yusuf Karsh’s work at the MFA in Boston. In his notes he talked about shooting the famous portrait of Winston Churchill using what he called a light cabinet, with 6 or 8 “No. 1 Floods” in the front, and a single #1 flood on the background. He took 2 exposures
http://images.google.com/images?q=yusuf%20karsh&sourceid=navclient-ff&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1B3GGGL_enUS222US222&um=1&sa=N&tab=wi
Thanks,
Adrien
Great looking photos Jim. I just had a collaborative 40’s glamour shoot with a model a week ago and the photos are incredible (if i dont say so myself). Seriously, when shooting with models I always try to make the shoot a team effort, everyone is more relaxed and you almost always produce a better end product.
Please keep up the great work!
Jim: the stocking as soft-focus filter was a new idea to me, and I’m wondering if you have a before/after comparison shot you could share. I’d love to get an idea of how much of a difference it makes.
Fascinating article, thanks for writing it up.
You know I’m all about sharing photo info, Craig, but the brand of “soft focus” stockings is a trade secret.
I’ll try to dig up comparison shots of the before and after of the effect. A note: if you stop the lens down really far the faint pattern of the fabric begins to show. As a result, it works better closer to wide open.
Those Karsh portraits are great. Is the show still up at the MFA in Boston? When I clicked to the online gallery there was a shot of Humphrey Bogart with Einstein just above him. The poses were really similar and it was one of those “wow, look at that” moments.
Hey, Robert, let us know when you get your 40s photos posted!
Yes, the Karsh show runs until January 19th.
http://www.mfa.org/exhibitions/sub.asp?key=15&subkey=5726
Adrien
Jim, you mention that you set your camera to shoot in RAW and set it for black & white, yet the preview on the computer showed up in color. I’ve also had a similar experience - when I take outdoor photos and set my camera to shoot in RAW and black & white, after transferring the images to my storage unit, when I view my black and white images in bridge they change to color. Is there a reason for this? Is this do to camera raw pre-settings that automatically convert the image back to color? Can I switch back to black and white? Can you help?
Thanks.
Nice bit of history, Jim! Your research into lighting and angles really paid off; these look more authentic than most vintage-style portraits.
B., the Canon RAW files apparently contain some information that can only be read by their proprietary software. When viewed in other programs (Bridge, Capture One, etc.) we’re still getting a great RAW file…but not all of the digital information from the camera settings (black and white, etc.).
Jim,
I use the same Calumet light set. I am also planning on the purchase of the 15″ soft light reflector. What I cannot seem to find is a grid spot to fit the 6″ reflectors that came with the Travelight heads. I tried a third party company but what they sent did not fit. What grid spots are you using and where can I get them? Nice article btw. Love the ’40s look.
Thanks,
Mike
Fantastic experience Jim! You encourage me to try this project. I will be sending you the results in january.
Love the historic testing, Jim. Sounds like fun and something going to put on my testing project list.
As an aside, I must say I’m sorry to see Prophotolife go by the wayside but certainly understand the time conflict with studio work. I look forward to the photo a day blog, though.
Happy New Year!
Hi!
I find your website/ blog via google search and now several ours later I’m still here. This vintage tema is gonna be one of my ideas in near future shoot. Love the lightning and hollywood old look on your photos and are going to try to achieve that. I’ll keep update to your site ‘n many films.
A very good site with tons of valueble stuff!!
//Chris
Nice work!
Concerning RAW-files and black&white: RAW simply is RAW, that´s the information the sensor delivers to the camera electronic. Since the sensor always picks up the whole image information including color - what else than color photos should one expect to get from RAW image files? Switching the camera to b&w is only meant for JPGs, but here you loose all the possibilities by converting & processing - playing with contrast, converting R G and B to different tone values etc. - would be like taking a photo with polaroid material.
Walther/Graz/Austria
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