How to photograph hair. 10 tips and ideas
Published: 19.01.2021
Salon owners and private hairdressers are looking for different ways to attract clients' attention. Instagram, Facebook, and other social networks are excellent ways to showcase their skills. People search for hairstyles they want for themselves on social media, while hairdressers find ideas in stories.
Whether you are a hairdresser in a beauty salon or a photographer, you want to get great shots of hairstyles. After all, there are often cases when an amazing hairstyle, photographed incorrectly, looks average at best.
Many mistakenly categorize hair photos in the same category as beauty photography. However, there are many nuances when photographing hair that are significantly different from photographing people or clothing. We will explain how to properly and beautifully photograph hair and show some cool ideas for hair photos.
How to photograph hair for a hairdresser for Instagram - 10 tips from professionals
1. Choose a clean background.
When photographing an intricate hairstyle, create a balance with a simple background so that it does not conflict with the details in the hair. Use a plain white or solid wall to position the model.
2. Light hair is easier to photograph.
Have you ever wondered why there are so many photos with light hair or highlights in hairdressers' portfolios? This is because it is much easier to photograph styles with them.
In dark hair, it is harder to see the shape of the hairstyle and braids. To highlight the details in dark hair, you can use hair powder or chalk to make the hairstyle stand out. This is important for the finished style and helps balance the color in your photo.
3. Technical technique for shooting dark hair.
If you still need to shoot dark hair against a light background, we strongly recommend shooting in HDR mode. This is a high dynamic range, which means that you can capture details in the shadows without blowing out the highlights.
4. Extremely shallow depth of field.
When shooting a detailed braid, use a shallow depth of field. Choosing an aperture of f2.8 or lower, if possible, will keep the main part of the hairstyle in focus, while the rest of the hair and the background will be blurred.
5. Highlight with light.
Use reflection or highlighting to emphasize the details of the hairstyle. A reflector can really help illuminate the hair.
6. Consider the backlighting.
The position of the light creates a completely different mood. When shooting hairstyles and haircuts, use side lighting. This helps to add more light around the hairstyle and is especially good for dark hair.
7. Shine and even more radiance.
In real life, too much shine spray may seem a bit greasy, but it can be great for photography. On fine hair, a light hair spray adds the right amount of shine without weighing down the hairstyle. All of these hair products reflect light back into the camera.
Too strong backlighting can emphasize any curls or colored strands. If you need to photograph hair in a smooth style, backlighting (light that falls on the subject from behind) is not your friend.
Create a Light album from your cool photos. You don't need to print the photos separately. We will print your photos directly on the pages of the Light album. Choose the Portfolio design. Upload images to the free editor Mapi7 and create a themed Light album. You can upload photos from your phone.
8. Clean hair is not always the best.
Clean hair is often too soft for many hairstyles. If you need to photograph clean hair, use dry shampoo to add some volume and texture to the hair, as well as make styling easier.
9. Plan the order of styles.
If you need to photograph several hairstyles in one day, it is important to plan them in the right order. Start with the haircuts, then move on to the hairstyles, updos, and finally, move on to braids. Gradually, each of the styles will hide any imperfections in the hair. This simplifies and speeds up the work and helps keep the hair in good condition for longer.
10. Look at your hands.
When you are photographing hair for your portfolio or Instagram, think about how to position your hands in the photo. Remember that anything closer to the camera will appear larger. Keep your hands at an angle so they appear smaller and do not obstruct the view for the shot.
Use minimal photo editing. Remove some small spots, but do not alter the hair. In professional photo shoots for advertising and hair portfolio, you can see a lot of Photoshop hair editing. Do not give in to the temptation of passing off the desired as real. Be proud that you tried a new style and confidently rock it.
How to best photograph hair?
Use a light source from above, shining on the model's hair. Let the hair take up a large portion of the image. Remove anything from the frame that could distract the viewer from the hair. Try applying some of our tips and ideas on how to photograph hair in practice.
Mirror highlighting.Photographers use a technique called mirror highlighting to make hair look really good. Mirror highlighting means that the light source you are using will create a kind of reflection off the object you are photographing. To set up the lighting, place the light source 30-90 cm above the hair of your model.
Play with the distance to the light source to achieve the perfect reflection of the hair. The reflection from the hair really makes hairstyle photos look stunning. If possible, use a slightly diffused light source. In the studio, use a reflector below the model to even out any dark shadows that may appear on her face.
Less is more.The second important thing to remember when photographing hair is that less is more when it comes to your model. Never try to add anything to the photograph.
If you are photographing someone's back of the head, it's quite simple as there isn't much else to focus on. Make sure there are no clips or bows on the back of the head, unless that's what you want to highlight.
If you are photographing a person from the front, remove all earrings, nose rings, necklaces, and any other jewelry that may appear in the frame. Ask the model to close their eyes or look in another direction. Otherwise, the viewer will be looking... right into their eyes.
Professional photographers go even further. They remove all clothing from the frame, and the viewer sees only bare shoulders and hair. This attracts all attention to the hair.
Avoid clutter in the frame.Try to remove as many things and objects around the object as possible, such as furniture, plants, artworks, etc. You can do this by:
- with the help of a camera,
- approaching closer to the hair of the object,
- zoom in (try to avoid too much zooming from a camera phone),
- physically removing objects from the frame.
If you remove these items from the frame, the focus will be on the hair, not on other random objects in the frame. Therefore, remove anything from the frame that could distract from the hair.
Cool photos deserve unique framing. Print your cool photos in a polaroid style. Fans of instant photography from the 90s may experience familiar feelings when holding a polaroid-style photo. For those unfamiliar with traditional polaroids, square images with space for captions will be to their liking.
Shoot from above.
Shooting slightly above your subject yields the best results. Stand on your tiptoes or on a stool. Shooting from above will make the light reflect better off the hair, and also give you the opportunity to capture shadows where you want them. Before and after
Take a photo of the client's hair before starting the haircut, styling, or coloring. And take a photo after the procedures. The key point of this approach is the contrast between the "before" and "after.
A photo of hair can replace millions of words. Proper lighting, absence of distracting objects in the frame, and following our other tips can convey not only unique hairstyles and amazing color, but also the silky texture of the hair.
Do not hesitate to take photos of hair. Post photos of haircuts and hairstyles for girls and boys, guys and girls on Instagram and other social networks. Create a portfolio for yourself not only on Instagram, but also in the pages of a Light album.
