lot of my photography from the last three years–in fact, most of it–is on a crashed external hard drive I bought because I was afraid of a computer crash. I have to get it fixed, so I don’t have access to a lot of my old Tribeca shots from 2007 and most of 2008. There were a couple of 2008 premieres I still had sitting on my laptop; in particular, Baby Mama and Redbelt.
Revisiting those photographs has been fun. First, my Photoshop skills (I only Photoshop lighting and color) have improved. Second, there were shots that at the time I didn’t realize were better than the original ones I uploaded. Last, I was able to conform to the preferred style that has evolved on Wikipedia over the years for a lead image head shot.
Here are a few things I learned about people’s tastes on Wikipedia for lead image biography shots:
- “Far-off gaze” is preferred over direct eye contact with the camera. I think people like to feel like they are observing the subject unseen, a fantasy interrupted by the subject looking back at you.
- Head shots, not full body shots, go in the lead.
- Nothing too artistic; it should be clear and unadorned. The viewer should not be aware of the photographer in the shot.
- The image should be a rectangle, reaching down to their chest, and right above their head, and stretching to somewhere midway along the shoulders on each side.
Keeping those preferences in mind, below are old (left side) vs. new (right side) 2008 biography shots:
Kristen Bell – (born July 18, 1980) is an American actress. Although her first film role was an uncredited appearance in Polish Wedding, Bell previously acted in stage and musical productions. In 2001, she made her Broadway debut as Becky Thatcher in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. After re-locating to Los Angeles, Bell landed various television guest appearances and small film parts, before she gained fame as the title role on the critically acclaimed television show Veronica Mars from September 2004 to May 2007.
Faye Dunaway - (born January 14, 1941) is an American actress. She has won an Academy Award, an Emmy Award, and three Golden Globe Awards.
Dunaway won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Network (1976) after receiving previous nominations for the critically acclaimed films Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and Chinatown (1974). She has starred in a variety of other memorable films, including The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), Little Big Man (1971), The Towering Inferno (1974), Three Days of the Condor (1975), Mommie Dearest (1981).
Randy Couture - (born June 22, 1963), also known as “The Natural” and “Captain America,” is an American actor and mixed martial artist, Greco-Roman wrestler, and former collegiate wrestler, and the former heavyweight champion of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Couture is one of only two UFC fighters to have held a championship title in two different divisions (heavyweight and light heavyweight) while in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (the other fighter being BJ Penn), as well as the only five-time champion in UFC history. Couture is a member of the UFC Hall of Fame, and many consider him to be the most popular fighter in MMA history.
Amy Poehler - (born September 16, 1971) is an American comedian and actress. She was a cast member on the NBC television entertainment show Saturday Night Live from 2001 through to 2008. In 2004, she starred in the film Mean Girls alongside Tina Fey, with whom she worked again in Baby Mama in 2008. She is currently the lead star of a new NBC show titled Parks and Recreation. She was nominated for the 2008 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
Wikipedia photos to be deleted
NYC Wedding March – September 26, 2010
Joaquin Phoenix is a poser
Flushing Meadow Corona Park skate park
East Village Park and Williamsburg Bridge photos
100 People I Photographed for the Creative Commons
Pakistan flood devastation statistics
Cordoba House / Ground Zero mosque protest photos
The void in my blogging (and some photos)
Rihanna video with Eminem about Chris Brown?
I agree. The newer ones are better. Except for Couture who needs to go to the dentist to get his teeth whitened.
Yes, I know I’m shallow. It is what it is.
Twitter: davidshankbone
says:
I think you’re just seeing a dead tooth. He actually has a nice smile!
I think Kristen Bell looks older than 28. I mean she still looks nice, but I would have guessed mid 30′s.
The “natural” shots are a lot better than than the direct eye contact ones. It almost looks like you are catching them laughing at a joke or in the middle of a conversation. Much more eye appealing.
Jon Bon Jovi’s teeth are the standard against which everyone else’s teeth must be measured. If you find a picture of him smiling I think you’ll see what i mean.
Nice! It makes such a big difference when the photo has the person facing into the article.
It’s kind of weird how Wikipedia has made photographs taken from one side so much more valuable than from the other. What happens when someone’s “good side” is the other one? I guess in the Wikipedia age, they’ll just never make it as big as the stars who look best from Wikipedia’s preferred side.
Twitter: davidshankbone
says:
You’re right, and it was a learning process to see what people liked, what they didn’t like. There were times when the photo I had was technically superior to one that was preferred, but the poor quality one had a more flattering angle. The Berandette Peters article rejected my photos for the lead for one that is way overblown (removing wrinkles – drag queens always want overexposed photos).
In 2007 I didn’t know what I was doing, both with the camera and with the framing. I did what the other photographers were doing, which was full length shots. They only need those shots for magazines – they are known as “fashion shots”. I didn’t know how to use my camera and tried those shots, so most of my 2007 Tribeca photos are pretty much crap, particularly when cropped (see Drew Barrymore or Jeffrey Wright). It wasn’t until 2008 that I had gained the experience to do better, and get a sense of what the community wanted (head shots). This year I specifically shot to that preference, and with my re-worked 2008 ones I am able to cut and shop them toward the wishes of the Wikipedia community.
If you look at Camryn Manheim’s article, you’ll see a misguided effort of mine to force the “facing into the article” effect. Oy. I wish my harddrive with all those photos hadn’t crashed – I have to get it fixed before I can revisit the 2007 nightmares, best exemplified by my Erika Christensen.