[photography l scrapbooking]

warning: you too might just become addicted to using…the most cooperative *subject* you know to learn more about your camera!   :)

I’ve received quite a few emails asking me about my *self* portraits…here are some of your questions:

"Why do your portraits look so realistic?" (thank you!!!)

"How do you look so natural in your self-portraits?" (ah, gee, thanks!)

"Are you really the one that took your own photo on your blog?" (referring to my previous photo that was posted…I’ll post again in this entry…and, yes, I did)

"How do you get such a great angle, without the look of your extended arm?" (read here for the answer!)

"How do you get catch-lights in your own photos?" (thanks for noticing!)

Okay…DISCLAIMER!!! I really, truly, don’t take self-portraits for…vanity! Really! Ugh, if you thought so!

Here’s the honest truth…I stumbled across taking my *own* portraits by default. I had abused my love of photography on my own family!

In the early stages of my digital love-affair, I needed practice *getting* my new camera (which by the way, was an Olympus C-50 5-mega pixel…LOVE that camera). I would sit on my porch, adjusting my camera and experimenting with various manual settings so as to study and learn aperature, shutter speed, ISO settings, and the mysterious *white-balance* of digital photography. I experimented under different light settings, at various times of day, and all at the expense of getting *caught* by my neighbors with my camera pointed at myself for hours on end! But hey! All for the name of *photography-school*!

My beloved children were simply fed up to their eyeballs with mom’s learning curve, so off I went (pouting) to take pictures of my one and only truly cooperative subject…me!

It paid off, let me tell you. It’s what really helped me *get* digital photography the fastest.

Then, along came a call for *me* pages from one of the magazines, and wouldn’t you know! I had photos of…*me*, galore!!! I hadn’t deleted all those photos, so off I went to simply pick and crop the one I liked the best!  :)

The greatest benefit of practicing on yourself? You can take tons and tons of photos and delete all the ones you hate until you find one that…miracle of all miracles…passes your own scrutiny! Amazing! A photo of yourself that you actually like!

So…to answer some of the questions I’ve received over the past few weeks…

First, let me just say that I am not the only one that can speak on *self* portraits. I know of many others out there (maybe even you!) that have stumbled onto the knack of self-portraits. So, I’m not the expert, by any means. In fact, please feel free to give your own suggestions in the comment section! I just wanted to use my blog as a platform to answer some of the (surprisingly, and thank you!) many emails I’ve received about this subject.

Okay…first and foremost, I always use my Olympus digital, simply because it’s a compact point-and-shoot and it isn’t bulky like my (awesome and incredible) Nikon D70 digital SLR. That’s important simply because I hold my camera with one hand, arm extended. God forbid you drop your beloved camera! Ugh.

Next, it’s all in the angle of your arm! Make sure you extend your arm all the way, elbow straight and slightly (not too much!) raised so that your hand is just at or above your eye-level. Experiment with it!

(Before and after shots…click all images to enlarge)

 

Don’t always look into the camera! Take *candid* shots of yourself! Look away from the camera, at varied angles, to capture yourself *unaware* LOL! Okay…just for you, my bloggin’ friends…untouched, unphoto-shopped photos (actually, except for the use of filters, I choose not to take out my blemishes, wrinkles, natural *schtuff*) ugh:

Another important thing to experiment with is the *cropping* of your photos! Depending on the mood you want to create, and the layout (if you will be using it for your scrapbook), don’t be afraid to use creative cropping for an *artsy* feel like I did in the sample above and the one following:

Want to capture *catch-lights* in your own eyes? It might take a few shots to experiment with, but position yourself so that the lighting is such that you can *see* it in the images in your camera screen. In the images above, I was near a window, on a cloudy day. I could actually *feel* the lighting in my eyes. (Thank goodness for cropping…hated my hair that day, thus, the up-do!)

Don’t be afraid to crop out everything but your eyes in some of your final shots…frame them! Create a layout with them…use your *eyes* to create a layout about the way you SEE yourself, your life, your world, your future. All of the *eye* shots in my blog entry through my {eyes} were cropped from *self-portraits* like this:

 

So…remember…

• great lighting matters (experiment with your camera settings like aperture, shutter speed, ISO, white balance)…use self-portraiture as your own photography class;
• arm extended fully;
• camera slightly at or above your eye level;
• pose naturally, into the camera;
• pose candidly, looking away from the camera, for varied shots (smile/don’t smile/look sullen/look happy/lean head on hand or arm/angle your head);
• *look* for the catch-lights in your images and adjust yourself if you can’t see them;
• use the rule-of-thirds when cropping your photos, if it enhances your final shot;
• crop out your *extended* arm, almost to your shoulder, to look natural;
• use creative cropping for awesome creative photos and layouts;
• capture the essence of *you* through eyes-only cropping;
• use photoshop or other software program to *touch-up* your photos (I choose not to *fix* myself beyond a filter here and there…all natural!)
• email me if you have any questions!

Remember! Documenting your life through your scrapbook pages is important for your kids and family in later years. So why not create some photos of yourself that you actually…have creative control over?  And don’t forget to use this as a way to *learn* more about your camera settings and capabilities! Have fun with it!

Okay…SHEESH!!! I think we’ve all had enough of looking at *ME* for one day!  :)