I need to do some headshots of myself for a gig I have coming up. My initial thought was to use a plain light background (as you see in many studio shots), but I've had some advice to use a dark background, which sounds like an interesting idea. I'll probably try out both to see which I prefer.
I'm mostly concerned with posture, composition, and angles. I read somewhere that it was best to shoot men slightly from above with the head angled up to avoid double chins, which, if I'm being honest, is a concern :-) I have an idea of my "best side", so of course that helps too. I haven't done much photography of people, so general tips on this subject would be appreciated. (I mostly do photos of stuff outside: flowers, buildings, etc., where the light is good and the subjects are already posed to their advantage).
The headshots will be converted to black and white before use.
Answer
In terms of equipment, the immediate obvious is that you need a tripod, but I'd also recommend a remote (preferrably wireless) so that you're not attempting to beat the timer. After that, depending on the seriousness of the shots, there are lots of ways to experiment, especially with odd angles and lighting. You're the subject and photog, so be patient with yourself. :)
Anyways, rather than re-create some existing excellent advice, the Digital Photography School has some good articles on the subject:
7 Tips for going beyond the basics
Edit: Now, in regards to black and white... The sensor only records light intensity, the color it records at a given photosite is a result of a filter placed above it (the bayer array of 2 green, a red, and a blue) which are then combined to create the colored pixel. Net effect, to create black and white, the camera must convert, there's no other way. If you do the conversion in post-processing, from the RAW file, you will have better control of the outcome of black and white, so that would be my advice there.
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