Portrait of a Surgeon
I MESSED UP
Written on the 28th of August, 2022
After the vibrant cinematic headshots with my friend Ali AlKhayat, we embraced the opportunity to capture a powerful portrait of him as a surgeon. He envisioned it as a profile image for his social media platforms, representing his commitment to healing and making a difference in the world.
I decided to go with a white background and set up two lights for my shoot. I positioned the lights on either side of my subject, using a softbox and an octabox. While I was checking my LCD during the shoot, I didn't notice right away that the contrast ratio was almost 1:1, which gave my subject a bit of a flat appearance. It's not the worst look, but a higher contrast ratio would add depth and dimension to the images.
I regret my decision to shoot with a wide aperture of f/1.4. This choice resulted in a shallow depth of field, causing my subject's nose and back to appear blurred and detracting from the overall focus of the image. The lack of clarity in these areas contributed to an unsettling flatness that diminished the photo's impact. Additionally, the wide aperture led to a frustrating case of chromatic aberration on the lettering of his name in his scrubs.
I realized I had made an error by using a 50mm lens for a close-up shot, which caused noticeable distortion in my subject's features. The lens choice was not ideal for capturing such tight framing, as it exaggerated proportions in an unflattering way. Although I attempted to rectify some of the distortion using Adobe Lightroom, I still found myself dissatisfied with the results, as the corrections didn't fully restore the natural look I aimed for.
I was eager to create a bright white background and accidentally made my third mistake. I set the lights quite far away to light up the background, which meant the subject's eyes ended up in shadow. Unfortunately, I lost those lovely catchlights in his eyes.
If I repeat the photoshoot, I will opt for a telephoto lens of 85mm or greater, allowing me to compress the background and draw attention to the subject. To achieve stunning clarity, I'll select a narrow aperture, which will effectively banish chromatic aberration and ensure that both the foreground and background remain sharp and well-defined. Additionally, I will position the lights nearer to my subject and bring my subject closer to the background to improve the catchlight in the eyes and achieve a higher contrast ratio.
Here are the best results from the images I captured.
The Gear I Used
