Tips for better self portraits

January, I participated in a photo challenge over at photochallenge.org. The challenge was to capture a self portrait for every day of the month of January. As time went on I learned a lot of things that I thought I would share. Of course it is not the first time I have done self portraits.

Equipment:

While any camera will do for taking self portraits, using a DSLR gives you the most flexibility. I will talk more about lens choice as part of the regular discussion.

Pick up a tripod. Nearly any tripod will do so I won’t go into much detail here.

Pick up a wireless remote; if you are using a Nikon or Canon camera there are remotes available for the less expensive DSLR that cost about $20. These things are a real time saver and make it easier to fine tune your self portrait.

Shoot tethered, most cameras have a mini video out. I borrowed my son’s DVD player (the one he watches movies in the car with) on multiple occasions. This is where the remote comes in great; you can fine tune the composition by watching that little monitor, without having to move and then find your place again. If you have a newer DSLR with an HD out then you could hook up your laptop.


Example setup for a photo done in my garage.

Lighting, a single flash can do wonders for your portraits. I won’t go into any lighting details (I will save that for a different day), but photography is about capturing light. You don’t need to buy a flash, I first started learning lighting using work lights. You can pick up a small but powerful work light from home depot for around ~$15.

Coming up with ideas:

I all ready talked about gear, time to talk about technique. I think where most people get stuck on self portraits is the coming up with ideas (I know I struggled here). What really got me going was thinking about what I have and how I could use it in a photo. Now I am not just talking about props, but I am talking about features also. One of my prominent features is my bald head. So could I work that to my advantage?



Another (as regularly stated by my wife) is my lack of short term memory, so a theme showing my powerful mental capabilities.



Just thinking about the things I like to do, inspired all sorts of photo themes. In fact when I sat down and listed items, I quickly had more self portrait ideas than I had days to do them in.

Environment, sometimes my environment inspired the image. For instance one night of January was extremely foggy.



During the month of January my wife was very pregnant (more environment).



Creating a theme:

Two items make a photo, the subject and backdrop, and I think that they are equally important. This is where your lens choice comes into play. A long lens (large focal length) allows you to send the back ground out of focus and narrow down the amount of background in the photo. A short lens (small focal length) keeps the background in focus and allows it to be a key part of the image. Other times you just want to keep the background plain so all the focus goes to the subject. The background is still playing a big factor by not distracting from the subject.



Dress the part. In fact the clothing was a big part of my inspiration for any particular image, so you could say it was what set the theme and I just had to act the part. Two simple articles of clothing I used included an old brimmed hat and my leather work gloves. Though the items were small and pretty common, I think they created a big impact.



The examples of the work gloves and hat are just examples of items I had. Maybe you have a robe, or an axe, a ninja sword, whatever just go use it.



Portray emotion:

Want your photos to look boring, well then act bored. The facial expressions you make are huge in setting the tone of the photo. This is where having a tethered setup can really help. Aim for over the top, I mean really go crazy. The more emotion you show the better the photo will turn out.



If you are trying to act angry, then clench those muscles and yell. If you want to look like you are happy then laugh out loud.



Look at your photos:

When you are done look through the photos and see what worked and what didn’t. Make notes about what you liked and didn’t like. Enjoy looking though the photos. If you do it right your going to love it!

The drastic makeover

How much digital modification is too much? I was exposed to this little video clip a while back and wanted to share it. It is amazing what can be done with digital imagery today. There is an ongoing debate among photogs about what should and shouldn't be done. There are some that believe that an image should not be edited in any shape or form. Others where any change is acceptable for the sake of "art and my expression of my inner vision".



The job of a people photographer is to make people look good. There are a whole lot of things that can be done to make someone look better or worse. The quality of the light has a huge role. For example lighting a certain way can make people look thinner, or more feminine. The way a person dresses for a portrait is hugely important as well. Portraits done with flashy clothing is a no-no...

But where does the flattery change from ethical to unethical? There isn't any real absolute answer but it is one of things I have been pondering for some time now. I guess the best I can do is use my own judgement in the matter. Of course my photoshop/makeup/posing/hair dressing skills are no where near those of the group that did this shoot. I will admit it is cool in a creepy kind of way. Makes you wonder what makes a supermodel if you can change someone as much as this photo? Seems an old jane would do...

Photography for thought...