The Best Hair Photography Tips for Everyone

We are all aware of the fact that when you are talking about photography in general, there are countless aspects to it that more and more people want to explore and the best part is that you can easily look into getting better at it and making it even better than before. 

However, the one thing that has been consistently asked by people around the world revolves around hair photography and many people are not sure about how to tackle the topic of hair photography, in the first place. 

That is why we are going to take a look at some hair photography tips that will help you capture that hair in your pictures the perfect way. You might be a bit weirded out at first but after a while, you will be able to take some stunning pictures and that too, without any issues.

How to Photograph Hair Like an Expert

Photographing hair is not at all difficult, but there are instances where we want to make it certain that we are doing the right thing. This article explores how to photograph hair like an expert so you do not get lost in the process. 

Let’s have a look. 

1: Choosing a Clean Background

You want to start by choosing a clean background as that is going to help you a lot in determining that everything is being done the right way.  Whenever you are photographing hair, the balance is created with a simple background so it does not clash with the detail that is on the hair. You can use a plain white orb lack wall to place your subject against. 

2: Lighter Colors are Easier to Capture 

Another thing that you should know is that if you are photographing hair, then lighter shades will be easier to photograph. However, for darker shades, you will have to play with more light.

3: HDR Works Great in Darker Shades 

If you are dealing with photographing hair that is on the darker side, then I will highly suggest that you go for HDR because a high dynamic range can work wonders when it comes to darker shades and gets you the perfect pictures. 

4: Keep the Depth of Field Short 

Considering that you want to shoot details in the hair, I would suggest that you shoot with a short depth of field. This can be achieved using an aperture of f/2.8 or lower if possible. However, if you want more detail across the board and a wider depth of field, going with a higher aperture is also a good idea. 

5: Using Lights 

If you are looking to ensure that things are properly lit up in a scene, you can use a little reflection or highlight that will allow you to lift up the details of the hairstyle that you are trying to capture. Extra lights are a great way of achieving that. You can just use a reflector too, and that should get the job done for you. 

6: Backlighting Can Make Miracles 

The way you are positioning the lights is going to make the world of difference. The position of the light manages to create an entirely different mood. Most of the time, you can use a front light when filming videos with some photography. You can also use a sidelight as it helps add more light around the hairstyle, especially when it comes to photographing darker hair. 

However, it is worth noting that too much backlighting can end up accentuating any frizz or flyways if you are trying to photograph hair in a sleeker style, backlight is not something you want. 

7: Using Shine Spray 

Another thing that I am always going to suggest is that you can go ahead and use shine spray. Now, I do understand that in reality, it can make the hair appear oily and that is not what anyone wants. However, in photography, this can be a great thing as a light hair or shine spray can add the right amount of sheen without making the hair look weird. 

All of these products can be used to reflect the light back into your camera, allowing you to get pictures that are crisp, clean, and sharp.

8: Planning it All Out 

You will also need to understand when you are doing hair photography, the one tip that I always share with everyone is that it is inherently better that you are planning everything out because not doing so is only going to create more issues and we do not want that, to honest. 

The benefit of planning all out is that it will help you a lot more than you might think. If you are shooting multiple hairstyles on the same model, then start with the most complex one and then go to the simplest one. This will save you a lot of time between the change of hairstyles. 

9: Clean Hair is Not Always Preferred 

Another thing that most people have little to no idea about is that clean hair is not always preferred. I do understand that this might shock some people but when it comes to actually understanding the technicalities, you will realize that with clean hair you are always dealing with the softness of the hair. 

Clean hair is too soft to hold many hairstyles, and if you do have to go ahead and work with clean hair, then the best thing that you can do is add a little bit of volume and texture in hair using dry shampoo as it will make infinitely easier for you to style clean hair. 

10: Using Your Hands and Arms 

The last tip that I am going to share with you is that when you are going for hair photography, be sure that you are making certain that the models are using their harms and hands as doing so will make the images come out a lot better and dramatic and you will not even regret this, to begin with. 

Sure, it might not be for everyone and every photographer has a different approach to it but overall, this will result in the pictures looking a lot more natural. 

11: Focus on the Face, But Not So Much

It is understood that the purpose here is for us to focus on the hair, but remember, you will also have to be sure that you are bringing in the face, too. Why? Well, if you are not focusing on the face and just the hair, you never know how the pictures are going to turn out and that is never a good idea, to begin with, and we never really want that. 

12: Taking a Lot of Pictures 

You have to understand that while most photographers aim to get the perfect picture once and then be done with it, it is not necessary that it might happen all the time. As a hair photographer or a photographer in general, you have to be sure that you are taking a lot of pictures and then separating the best ones from them. 

Frequently Asked Questions  

Conclusion  

We are all aware of the fact that hair photography can be difficult for a lot of us to understand and simply put, in situations like that, you have to understand that there are times when you have to figure out how to do it right, in the first place. 

Although hair might look boring to someone when it comes to photography, the good news is that when you do it right, it can be a lot of fun. That was the purpose of this post as we would allow you to understand some crucial tips that will make it an experience when it comes to hair photography.