The green commercial shot is more your age. The dark blue sweater makes you look more precocious.

Great shoot love the first one!!! Good color

well, i said nothing about an age range, just the over retouching that makes you look unnatural (because clearly everyone saying that about ALL of his photos hasn't stopped him from continuing to do it...including to you).

but you don't look like a young kid of 13, i can say that. but i think it may be the wig. it's a great wig, but wonder if it's too much hair for your small frame, it's aging you a bit.

i think, maybe, the problem is that you are only 13, and clearly very small, but with the wig, the over retouching, and possibly even clothing choice, you look kinda stuck in the middle. i can smell it a mile away, i have the same problem! the wig may be too "grown up" and the clothes not kid enough... i don't really know. i think something about them kinda puts you in a strange spot. i'm not sure what age range or "type" you'd get from these. i know i'm personally confused by them a bit.

but i also don't know you in person, so i;m not really someone to judge.

and like i said, i like the two green shirt ones.

great pixs morgin + robert kim!

I think they all look good!

My you've grown up!

You look beautiful, I'm just not a huge fan of the all-white background. Also I agree that you look over-retouched, especially in the smiling ones where you should have some lines under your eyes.

Thank you all for your help!
I think the main ones I'll be using is the two with the green tops. Those seem to be getting the best feedback and I think they look like me the most.

americangirl... I see what you mean.
DK... I see that but what should I do? Ask for the raw images?

Thanks a million,
Morgin

personally, i think you should have picked a photographer who isn't known for being an over retoucher... and making people look plastic. but that's just me.

get the raw images from him and get someone else to retouch them.

Number one... Well, there's nothing I can do about THAT now. I had thought I made the best choice and I went with it... After much assuring that the photos will look 100% natural.

Number two...He does not do the retouching. It's a third party that he recommended.

He doesn't do the retouching? I'm confused...isn't it standard for headshot photographers to do the retouching for their headshots?

Nope. He sent it to a retoucher (who I had to pay separately).

MF...If we didn't know what you looked like we probably would not have been so harsh. You are a nice looking girl and these pictures do not look like you. The puffiness under your eyes is part of your look and CDs will be very surprised when you show up after being called in by this picture. Go with what you look like and learn to love it. It's who you are. You will book some roles because of your look and be ruled out of others because of it. But you will never book a job from a picture that doesn't look like you.

These photos look anything but natural.

quote:

Originally posted by Brandondad:
MF...If we didn't know what you looked like we probably would not have been so harsh. You are a nice looking girl and these pictures do not look like you. The puffiness under your eyes is part of your look and CDs will be very surprised when you show up after being called in by this picture. Go with what you look like and learn to love it. It's who you are. You will book some roles because of your look and be ruled out of others because of it. But you will never book a job from a picture that doesn't look like you.

These photos look anything but natural.

Thanks for your help. I am getting the raw images so I can see exactly what as over retouched and attempt to fix it.

not all photogs do retouching. i make my boyfriend do my retouching, even when the photog does his own retouching, because then i know it's being done well (and i can bug him about it, and he'll call me on my crap when he says it won't look right if we do XYZ). but mostly because he CAN and because we can work on it together. and because he'll do more than just the one or two promised in the photog package. hehe (BF gets a nice pat on the head.)

so it's not uncommon for photogs to send their shots to a 3rd party. thats why nearly every reproduction house has an in-house retoucher, and most of these photoshop uncapable photogs have people they recommend, or will send you to the reproduction house retoucher.

but MF, we've been saying for YEARS that this photogs retouching is god awful. so maybe it isn't his work directly, but why go to his retoucher that every single time, we all say it's terrible? wasted money there. so you DID know, and before you even did your shoot. and this is why scam artists continue to thrive. even when the community says no, some people still say yes. (not at all implying that the photog or his retoucher are scammers, just bad businessmen, i guess, since one guy has a terrible service, and the other guy keeps recommending him, so which is worse? the chicken, or the egg???).

take the raw file to modernage and get the guy there to do it. also a great place for repros. but there are retouchers all over town. i'd pick one at a repro house because they'll do it right...

It's funny...I wonder why a photographer would keep using/recommending a retoucher who's not good? Because ultimately, it makes the PHOTOGRAPHER look bad, you know? If people look at a headshot and say, "Oh, the skin looks too plastic," then they assume the headshot photographer is bad...even though the photographer may not have done the retouching (which I didn't even know - I always thought photogs did their own retouching!). It's like, the retoucher is RUINING the photographer's shots! You'd think a photographer would want his work to be showcased to the best possible advantage.