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View Full Version : How to Take the 'Perfect' Hair Photo



PiroskaCicu
April 6th, 2011, 11:39 AM
So I was thinking about hair photos recently..and I was wondering, how do you take your hair photos? Do you have a certain way of doing it to make your hair look nice? Do you have any routines that you do before taking the photo (i.e. BB brushing or washing/drying) ?

Is there a certain setting on your camera that you use? A certain place in your apartment/house you go to ? Certain lighting?

What is your method of taking the "perfect" hair photo? :)

:cheese:Curious to see the answers!

Intransigentia
April 6th, 2011, 12:04 PM
I think the key is lighting - at least for dark hair. You want it bright, and directional rather than diffuse. That way you get strong highlights and shadows, which really brings out the shine. To boost it more, you can use the auto-correct contrast feature of your photo editing software.

My usual hair-shot procedure is: I stand maybe six feet from the camera. The camera is on my dresser on a pile of books, so it's at about chin height. Behind the camera is a bright halogen desk lamp that sits about a foot higher than the camera, and shines slightly downward towards the top of my head. I use flash, and all other settings are just camera default.

Here's an example of what I'm describing: In the first shot, I'm actually having a fantastic hair day, but it's taken with no flash, just some bright sunlight coming in from the side:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=6594&pictureid=97863

In the next shot, I'm not having a better hair day, but I'm using the lighting conditions I described above:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=6594&pictureid=96656

Q.E.D.

(edited to change images to links because the pics weren't showing up)

Artsy
April 6th, 2011, 12:04 PM
:D I think the most important is to have a good hair day to have a good photo. Sometimes it is hard to catch that kind of day on camera:)))
I usually take pictures of my hair for comparison and to see the progress, so I try to take pics with the same small camera with flash at the same spot. If i take pictures without flash, my camera doesn't go justice to my hair even on a good hair day:) and sun is very hard to catch;) I usually straighten my hair with a damp brush and then brush it until all bun waves etc. go away. I do my regular light oiling 1/2 hour in advance as well.

How about you? You have some very nice pics

Intransigentia, your hemline looks great now:) wow

RitaPG
April 6th, 2011, 12:13 PM
I don't bother if it's freshly washed or not, because I don't take length pictures, only hairstyle shots.
I use the manual settings, only the focus is on auto- for obvious reasons :p
Usually take them in the bathroom or bedroom. Not because of lightning, have to use flash light, but because it's where I do my hairstyles more often.
I have a tripod, but no remote, so I have been resorting to contortionism :rollin: Does that count as a trick?

Becky Safari
April 6th, 2011, 12:38 PM
I take about 50 photos until I get one right

spidermom
April 6th, 2011, 12:40 PM
I like photos best taken outside. I hand the camera to someone (like husband or daughter) and ask "will you take a new hair picture for me; I need to update my long-hair club photo." And whoever I ask takes the photo.

kitschy
April 6th, 2011, 12:48 PM
I'll let you know how it's done when I finally take the perfect one.;)

My color always looks so different. Here's a shot of my head with half in direct light and the other half not.

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=6031&pictureid=84210

lilalong
April 6th, 2011, 12:51 PM
Using a flash always brings out the shine for me.

Jenn of Pence
April 6th, 2011, 07:56 PM
DH takes most of my pictures. He has to adjust the flash so it doesn't wash out the whole picture yet isn't too dark. We usually end up doing it in the living room, but maybe the lighting would be better in another room.

I take a monthly progress photo. I prefer to take mine after washing, either same day after it has dried or on the next day, provided I didn't sleep on it weird and have crazy kinks in it. :) And if I'm not all that excited about how it looks I will wait until it looks better. I try really hard to keep my head level and not tipped forward or back, but it can be even harder to do when you are thinking about it! ;)

jojo
April 6th, 2011, 08:03 PM
I get my daughter (who always says "aww mum not again!) to take mine. I have just realised after reading Spidermom's post I have not one length photo taken outside. Thats a plan for tomorrow!

lilravendark
April 7th, 2011, 02:04 AM
just light and the self timer , a pet peeve of mine is taking photos in mirrors they always come out blurry and spotty that way :/ if I cant get the right angle though I will get the BF to take one I try not to ask him its kinda embarrassing as he is now convinced I am obsessed with LHC

fairystar32
April 7th, 2011, 03:24 AM
:D
My daughter and my DH say this too. Ohhh not another hair picture!!


I get my daughter (who always says "aww mum not again!) to take mine. I have just realised after reading Spidermom's post I have not one length photo taken outside. Thats a plan for tomorrow!

ooo
April 7th, 2011, 03:29 AM
Since I dropped my camera into the ocean my flatmate takes all the photos. Love it! So much easier than with the timer. I only take pictures, when the state my hair is in, is picture taking worthy. So no special preparations for me.

Phexlyn
April 7th, 2011, 06:13 AM
If I knew how to do that, I'd have lots more pictures in my albums :P
Sometimes they work out well, sometimes they don't. It's pretty hard to photograph hair colour for me... if I'm lucky, DBF will take pictures, but mostly I can't wait until he's around ;)

CrisDee
April 7th, 2011, 08:15 AM
My photo routine, unfortunately, has had to change due to a broken flash on my camera. When it was working, here's what I did: (1) place camera on tripod in same spot in bedroom; (2) set camera to auto-everything with 10 second delay, (3) stand in same spot in bedroom corner, (4) do the contortionist thing to reach around and push the button. That way, the lighting and depth were always the same, and I got true comparison shots.

I took some photos outside this morning, to try to compensate for the lack of flash, but I'm not happy with the way the color appears, it just doesn't photograph as well without the flash (at least on a dismal day like today). My phone doesn't take great shots either - the color looks a bit dull, and the photos are always a bit blurry. I'm saving up to have the flash repaired...

kabelaced
April 7th, 2011, 01:20 PM
It took me a few months to discover the method I do now, but I put my camera on auto-intelligent, put the self timer to ten seconds, and stand by the door. Light is not so bright there, and I haven't tried anywhere else. I don't think I've used Flash yet for my monthly photos, but so many of them are non-Flash that I don't want to have a false comparison.

I should really fiddle around more with my camera; all I ever do is point and shoot...:p

shikara
April 7th, 2011, 07:42 PM
I take about 50 photos until I get one right

lol!!!! I will take a number of them too, moving a little here and there, then viewing them and choosing the ones I like.

I place my camera on a couple books on top of a tv tray, on auto, use micro feature, with 10 second delay, and this way I can stand or kneel but I'm certainly not too far away from the camera. I just have to turn around, reach just a little, and push the button. I have a Canon Powershot A540 so nothing fancy. I want to work a little more on the clarity and light. I used to take photos of jewelry I used to make and they turned out so good, so I need to find out why I'm not getting the clarity I want. Just fooling around with it a bit, I guess.

Rocket22
April 7th, 2011, 08:57 PM
I started out by setting my timer, my color never seems to come out right. I keep changing the setting on my camera but it seems to not want to behave. My DBF has taken the last couple and he is soo sweet about it, but it does take more than a couple clicks to get a good one and I just feel silly asking him to take 10 pictures therefore the last couple I have for my progress shots I'm not in love with but I keep thinking when it gets longer it will magically look better with one try :)

Lostsoule77
April 7th, 2011, 09:17 PM
When you figure that out can you let me know? :) Sometimes I use a mirror & sometimes I turn into a contortionist. I haven't used the self timer yet (not so sure why.) I try to not ask my DF because he thinks I'm becoming hair obsessed and doesn't understand why I could possibly need pictures of my hair. :D I've gotten some okay shots, but nothing really great.

Signe
April 7th, 2011, 10:09 PM
yay! I just took all your advice from this thread and took my first length photo...woooooop :cheese:

Rocket22
April 7th, 2011, 10:30 PM
yay! I just took all your advice from this thread and took my first length photo...woooooop :cheese:

Ran off to look, and yes you got yourself a great picture!!! beautiful hair!

Signe
April 8th, 2011, 12:13 AM
thanks! :)