Dressed to Kill - Dylan Hobbs

Dylan Hobbs - Case Study

Ever wonder what you should wear to a photo shoot? Well, surprisingly most people have no clue or are too self-conscious about themselves to know what's best for their look. For instance, if you're a redhead and you don't know that your best colors in your wardrobe are green and red, well then you're missing out on an opportunity to have your picture pop! We want your colors to stand out in a crowd. The old days of B&W are gone completely now and it's been replaced by glorious color, and unless your photographer knows how to utilize color you're pictures could look like everyone else... flat and not truthful.

I try to help clients about what to bring to the photo shoot by suggesting what to wear, most often I hear... "Yikes, I need to go shopping... I have nothing for that look!" Not everyone can afford to go shopping anyway... so that's where I come in and have to get creative. What that means is that they need to bring in choices... and lots of them. We'll figure out really quickly what you look best in.

But every now and again there is synergy. There is that moment where you work with someone who knows and gets the type of picture you want to capture and comes in with the choices that just look great off the hanger. Working with Dylan Hobbs I found such an example of an Actor who knew exactly what type he can play and what look it should be.

Dylan Hobbs - Actor

Dylan, has a lot of personality and things going for him but he found that he wanted more versatility with his photos. He needed a serious dramatic shot that pitched him as a white-collar working man. He needed something that would stop the casting directors dead in their tracks. For that we needed color. Lots of actors wear brown or black suits, and try to spruce it up with a colorful tie. But we needed something that wouldn't get lost in the shadows. Why? Because it's important for the Casting Directors to get a hint for your build. If you get too washed out or you're lost in the shadows then the Casting Directors lose an opportunity to know what you may look like. It's called a head shot, but really it's a profile shot. A shot that should let everyone know about your personality, character and of course your build. So we search for the right combination of closeness to the face and hint of build.

Dylan Hobbs - Actor

In the above version of the same look, we went for a more sympathetic look which contrasts the more stern look of the previous photo. Since Dylan's eyes are a greyish blue, we wanted to highlight the color of his eyes by bringing out the color in his suit. When you're prepared with wardrobe that compliments you, the results always turn out classic and well-represented, and in the case of head shot photography, that's the name of the game.

Arick Salmea Photography