Masters Portrait Program

Masters Portrait Program

As you plan to use one of our spring programs it’s important that you consider all of the variables and allow enough time to be fully prepared on picture day. Not only do you need to make sure you have the background and equipment necessary for the shoot but also that you’re approved for KO Services at H&H and your prepay flyer is printed or your proof plan is setup with our design team.

Once you’ve chosen your capture background and have all of the equipment you’ll need on-hand, testing and flyer design usually takes between 10-15 working days. Look at your calendar and consider if you have the time needed to complete the setup by picture day.

KO SERVICES SETUP

FLYER DESIGN & SETUP

Use the chart below to determine how much additional time is needed for your flyer design, setup and printing.

Studio Designed Prepay Flyers H&H Designed Prepay Flyers Proof Plan Design and Setup
Flyer Design & Setup 0 Days 2 Days 3 Days
Flyer Printing 2 Days 2 Days 2 Days

Service time guarantees are dependent on healthy communication with your studio, the number of flyers you are printing and will vary during peak season. Order early!

poses products lighting capture backgrounds backgrounds marketing

Poses

POSE 1: 3/4 LENGTH STANDING

Pose 1 is a 3/4 length pose. Pose the student comfortably with their weight on one leg and facing your key light. Be careful not to crop below the ankles as Masters Extraction images cannot contain feet or floor.

POSE 2: SECOND ¾ OR WIDE HEAD & SHOULDERS

Pose 2 is either a second ¾ shot with a different facial expression, a cropped version of pose 1, or a second image, wide head shot closer in to the subject.

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Products

Image Only Products

Template Products

Pro series templates give you the flexibility to customize the look of each product for your clients. In this program, we are including two Pro template products so you can select the background color for the graphics. Our Word Cloud prints give you an artistic black & white product to offer with no effort. Each print comes with a coordinating black paper photo corner mount.

Acrylic Desk Print product details Key Fob product details Word Cloud product details
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Lighting

Masters Lighting Diagram

Masters Extraction Lighting Diagram - click image for larger view

This diagram is intended as a starting point for ideal Masters Extraction shooting. This setup has been tested and used within our automated KO system and renders the best results with clean edges and reduced color fall off from the backdrop. While some variances from this setup are allowed, it should be used as a starting point for your shooting and test.

You may use a studio-defined, volume lighting setup as long as it meets the following criteria:

  • We recommend using one of our six preapproved backgrounds seen below. If you have a different background that you wish to use, a test must be submitted with each unique background, so we can assess our ability to remove it without issue.
  • The entire subject must be properly exposed.
  • A visible, lit separation must be defined along the entire edge of the subject in the image. This is achieved through lighting and appropriate distance from the background.
  • A lighting setup must be used that evenly exposes the entire background without shadows or heavy vignettes.
  • We recommend using a hair light to add separation, but it must be properly exposed.

CAMERA SETTINGS

Setting Recommendation
ISO Between 100 and 400, ideally at 100
Aperture Between f8 and f11, ideally at f8
Shutter Speed between 100 and 200, ideally at 125
Focal Length Between 45mm and 85mm
White Balance Custom
File Size 4-6 MB, ideally 8x12 at 300ppi
Color Space sRGB

HAIR LIGHT PLACEMENT

For a more detailed description of hair light placement, please download this instructional PDF.

Download Hair Light Placement Instructions

TESTING

Before you are ready to shoot your first job, we need to make sure that we are able to service the background and lighting you plan to use so we ask that you submit a knockout test.

  • Test consists of five images photographed using the background, camera settings and lighting diagram you intend to use onsite.
  • Each test image should contain a different subject utilizing a variety hair types and skin tones.
  • The background should be smooth and consistently lit, avoiding fall off and subject shadows.
  • Images should cropped, either in camera or in post with backdrop all the way from side to side and, if possible, to the top of the image.
  • Test images submitted need to include metadata so we can review the camera settings.
  • We also ask that you submit a wide shot of your studio setup, so we can help improve your shooting for optimal KO.
  • Tests are submitted through hhstudio under the Schools section, not through hhschools.
  • Test results are usually returned via email within 48 hours.
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Backdrops

We recommend using one of our six pre-approved backgrounds seen below, if you have a different background that you wish to use, you must submit a test using it with a variety of subjects and hair types before ordering placing an order.

To see a larger preview, click the thumbnail image.
To purchase the background on the Denny Manufacturing website, click the text label below each image. We highly recommend using the Canvas background for optimal setup and image quality. For head and shoulders we recommend a 6'x7' background. For 3/4 length we recommend a 7'x8' background.

PURCHASE OM2336 PURCHASE OM2339 PURCHASE OM2491
PURCHASE OM2517 PURCHASE OM3800 PURCHASE OM7006

Capture Background

When using masters extraction, if we remove the background of an image for a product order and then need to return the capture background for subsequent service items, we need a digital copy of the background you are shooting on, on file in your background library. This file must be captured using the same lighting design as you intend to shoot on the job. We call this your “Capture Background”. We encourage you to shoot this jpg when you setup your test lighting.

The image file needs to be 8x12 inches at 300ppi. The background should clean and wrinkle free and be cropped to fill the image just like when you capture an image with a subject. Do not include lights or background. Ideally, a focal point should be made with a subject sitting in the frame then manually held as the subject steps out and the image is captured. This will render a consistent and logical depth of field when comparing image to image.

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Backgrounds

Here are the recommended knockout backgrounds for this spring program from the H&H library. You may choose to use these or any other background from the H&H library, or files you provide for backgrounds. Before you can place product orders using any knockout background, it must first be added to your studio's library. Click below for more information.

knockout library info

Marketing

Proof Plans

Proof Plans

Proof Plans are printed after an event is photographed. This is an order form that contains product marketing images with the actual student’s images in the products. Your packages and products available for purchase are listed along with studio contact information and a payment envelope is included for checks or cash.

View All Proof Plans
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