One More Nightime Cinematic Headshot
Trying to Perfect the Nighttime Cinematic Headshot
Written on the 26th of August, 2022
I had plenty of ideas in my mind that I wanted to execute. I called my friend Ali AlKhayat and explained the concepts to him, and he agreed to be my model for the day.
I started with nighttime cinematic headshots on my balcony located on the second floor. I chose the location because there were many lights from multiple stores along the distance, which I anticipated would look lovely as a blurred background. Shooting nighttime's cinematic headshot should be on high-story buildings with lights in the background. Otherwise, it'll be completely dark or black and lose the cinematic headshot's beauty.
For these headshots, I usually use two Nikon SB-5000 Speedlights. The first Speedlight is attached to an octabox as a key light, and I attached the second Speedlight to a softbox as a rim light. I usually set up the rim light to be of minimal power enough to light the unlit side to add depth and dimension to the image. Subtlety is essential for my style of photography. However, in the first image below, I set up the rim light to be as powerful as the key light, if not even more. The rim light is so highlighted, reminding me of old Hollywood images. The image looked awesome. For the following two images, I reduced the power of the rim light to my usual taste of cinematic headshots.
The Gear I Used
