Guitar Solos and Headshot Setups

Today I realized my headshot set ups are a lot like guitar solos.

It’s cool to absolutely fly through a solo, with as many notes hit as you can. Some might say, “shred.” Hit the whammy bar, do some tapping… all the flashy stuff!

Same could be said for a headshot set up. I have plenty of gear. LED, strobes, gels, backdrops, etc. Lack of gear is not, and will not be a thing any time soon. The cameras can shoot over 20 frames in a single second… “shred.”

But, there is a time and place for everything. Some of my favorite guitar solos are actually quite simple. A lot of negative space, a lot of feel. It fits the song. It’s not about being flashy, it’s fitting the song!

Depending on the client, my set up varies just as much. Some clients want all the bells and whistles. If I don’t show up with my giant rolling cases, multiple lights, etc… they’re not happy. However, I also have companies that couldn’t care less about the gear. One light, or even window light, they trust me to get the job done. Consistency throughout their team is more important than the perfect photo, the perfect set up, all the flashy gear.

Short post, more of a random daily thought I had and want to document for myself.