I had these foam heads to use in setting up portraits when the idea hit me to use them to make a table top photograph. Wisner 8x10 Expedition camera with 300mm f/5.6 lens on Ilford HP5 film. Lighting is from a single Fresnel spotlight. The shot required careful swings and tilts to control focus at f/32. I probably spent over two hours arranging the props before I was happy with the composition; it's a lot harder than it looks.
Cool!
I am about to buy 2 heads
My 2 full size dummies need chums
Tin Can
Very well done. I need to work on trying this
Next you need wigs for heads
I now have 3 cheap wigs
Full body mannequins need clothing...
The look terrible naked
Originally Posted by Duolab123
Tin Can
I have learned that the hardest part of portraiture is the delay between framing and lighting the subject and the actual picture taking. Portrait subjects, especially those on tight time schedules, get anxious or even a bit hostile if you take too long to get set up. Hence my idea to use a foam "stand-in" to set up beforehand, at which point the subject can walk in and have his or her picture taken without much delay. I drilled a 5/8-inch hole in the bottom and fit the foam head to a lightstand. I also spray painted the foam with a gray paint that approximates the typical skin tone of your subjects. I am using this technique a lot more than I ever expected.
Here is another 8x10 table top concept. Lighting from a single Fresnel fixture on Ilford HP-5. Wisner 8x10 Expedition with Nikkor 300mm f/5.6 lens.
Good example of what I tell folks about tabletop propping... One can pick up an object and another in the other hand, and ask what kind of "conversation" can occur between objects... Two heads are much more straightforward, but completely different objects can be interesting (obviously a knife and a chicken can "speak" volumes), but can one provide a narrative between completely different objects???
Good start of a series, keep it up!!!
Steve K
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