shooting old people

Rick Lutec · December 8th, 2008, 03:54 PM

A lot of great advice has already been supplied on this thread and probably any commercial photographer, DOP and make up artist can help with tips.
However, something to consider in making one feel younger and more refreshed is some basic positive reinforcement.
I'm younger in age than your client or some others that have made suggestions but working in the Arts you learn that many performers ( unless they're heavy smokers) usually can keep themselves quite youthful looking by doing certain exercises.
Just look at some dancers or yoga instructors and when you find out their age your jaw may drop.
The effects sample used in the provided demo of Lauren Bacall is a great tool but though she was referred to as "old" Lauren looks to have maintained some pretty good natural presence considering how many decades she's bee around. Definitely way better than her late husband Humphrey Bogart looked in the latter part of his life.
In the long run you can only do the best you can with the circumstances you are given..
If your client doesn't have the personality of a wretched prima donna and you can help her make the production process a positive experience then, along with the technical provided tips her facial expressions should take on it's own kind of organic quality and she should be happy with the outcome.
Unless someone is commenting on themselves no one really likes to be called old. If the client got wind of this thread I'm sure she wouldn't feel great about it and it may say more to her about the maturity of who she is hiring. I once worked on a series called 'The Elders Project' combining student dancers with seniors and even that term received
mixed comments from the participants. The term "Shooting maturing or mature people" may not receive the same negative connotation.
If the client really does call her place of business a "Beauty Shop" (which is a pretty vintage term) then she may be marketing for a mature clientele anyway

Kevin Li · December 9th, 2008, 11:59 PM

Thanks for all the tips..

I'll check out the andrew kramer tutorial and get a couple of kino's for this shoot...
I'll also have to find myself a good airbrush artist.

Sigh...

When I say old, I mean compared to what she want's to look or what she think she still looks like.

I found age to woman is like hair to men. I don't want to be the one that tells her how old she is and I don't want her to tell me that I'm loosing hair!

*skindetail* when it's ON, does that mean it's more defined?

Guy Cochran · December 10th, 2008, 11:03 AM

The makeup, light and diffusion filtration are going to be the key to getting a great look. You'll want to investigate fashion or beauty lighting as much as possible. Here is a place to start Photoflex Lighting School | Lighting Lessons | ADVANCED LIGHTING and DV Enlightenment at DVcreators.net

Adding light slightly lower than eye level will fill in a few more shadows if you're used to lighting from above. Lots of soft light will be your friend as hard light is what will bring out skin detail. I've used a Litepanels Ringlite mini on the camera lens to get that flat look with a nice eye light. That thing rocks! I think that's why you see its big brother, the Ringlite cinema used in a lot of music videos. If you want to see what the Ringlite does, take a look at this vid...it wasn't really meant for public consumption, but here is the URL, use the password "fashion" This is a password protected video on Vimeo

Tiffen makes some great diffusion filters. For the Z7U, that's a tough one, as it will depend on if its a CU, MS, or WS. A Tiffen Soft FX 3 has been my go to diffusion filter. Tiffen Filters

Adam Gold · December 10th, 2008, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevin Li

*skindetail* when it's ON, does that mean it's more defined?

Page 40 of your manual. "ON" means the skin is smoother, with less definition. Try the different levels to see which works best without making your picture look like a cartoon.

Kevin Li · December 10th, 2008, 11:32 PM

Thanks for checking out the manual.

I've got 2 x Kino Divas and with diffusion in the front, hopefully that will do. I really need to do some test shoots. The shots will likely be MS.

I've seen the ring light used on a lot of photo shoots as well... and might give that at try.

GuyC, great video and great advice btw, very informative.

December 8th, 2008, 03:54 PM	#16
Rick Lutec Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Toronto Canada Posts: 39	shooting old people A lot of great advice has already been supplied on this thread and probably any commercial photographer, DOP and make up artist can help with tips. However, something to consider in making one feel younger and more refreshed is some basic positive reinforcement. I'm younger in age than your client or some others that have made suggestions but working in the Arts you learn that many performers ( unless they're heavy smokers) usually can keep themselves quite youthful looking by doing certain exercises. Just look at some dancers or yoga instructors and when you find out their age your jaw may drop. The effects sample used in the provided demo of Lauren Bacall is a great tool but though she was referred to as "old" Lauren looks to have maintained some pretty good natural presence considering how many decades she's bee around. Definitely way better than her late husband Humphrey Bogart looked in the latter part of his life. In the long run you can only do the best you can with the circumstances you are given.. If your client doesn't have the personality of a wretched prima donna and you can help her make the production process a positive experience then, along with the technical provided tips her facial expressions should take on it's own kind of organic quality and she should be happy with the outcome. Unless someone is commenting on themselves no one really likes to be called old. If the client got wind of this thread I'm sure she wouldn't feel great about it and it may say more to her about the maturity of who she is hiring. I once worked on a series called 'The Elders Project' combining student dancers with seniors and even that term received mixed comments from the participants. The term "Shooting maturing or mature people" may not receive the same negative connotation. If the client really does call her place of business a "Beauty Shop" (which is a pretty vintage term) then she may be marketing for a mature clientele anyway

December 10th, 2008, 11:03 AM	#18
Guy Cochran DVCreators.Net Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 892	The makeup, light and diffusion filtration are going to be the key to getting a great look. You'll want to investigate fashion or beauty lighting as much as possible. Here is a place to start Photoflex Lighting School \| Lighting Lessons \| ADVANCED LIGHTING and DV Enlightenment at DVcreators.net Adding light slightly lower than eye level will fill in a few more shadows if you're used to lighting from above. Lots of soft light will be your friend as hard light is what will bring out skin detail. I've used a Litepanels Ringlite mini on the camera lens to get that flat look with a nice eye light. That thing rocks! I think that's why you see its big brother, the Ringlite cinema used in a lot of music videos. If you want to see what the Ringlite does, take a look at this vid...it wasn't really meant for public consumption, but here is the URL, use the password "fashion" This is a password protected video on Vimeo Tiffen makes some great diffusion filters. For the Z7U, that's a tough one, as it will depend on if its a CU, MS, or WS. A Tiffen Soft FX 3 has been my go to diffusion filter. Tiffen Filters __________________ Guy Cochran DVinfo Sponsor, Cool Gear - DVeStore!

December 9th, 2008, 11:59 PM	#17
Kevin Li Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 35	Thanks for all the tips.. I'll check out the andrew kramer tutorial and get a couple of kino's for this shoot... I'll also have to find myself a good airbrush artist. Sigh... When I say old, I mean compared to what she want's to look or what she think she still looks like. I found age to woman is like hair to men. I don't want to be the one that tells her how old she is and I don't want her to tell me that I'm loosing hair! skindetail when it's ON, does that mean it's more defined?

December 10th, 2008, 11:32 PM	#20
Kevin Li Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 35	Thanks for checking out the manual. I've got 2 x Kino Divas and with diffusion in the front, hopefully that will do. I really need to do some test shoots. The shots will likely be MS. I've seen the ring light used on a lot of photo shoots as well... and might give that at try. GuyC, great video and great advice btw, very informative.