B&W self portrait

[tom5191]

Recently was given a cheap flash from a friend of mine, so I figured I would buy a stand, umbrella and reflectors too. First attempt at working with shadow casting. What do you guys think?

 

[tirediron]

Seems a tad under-exposed...

 

[FITBMX]

Brighten it up a little, it will still look good on the darker side, but just not quite as dark as it is. But keep working at it!

 

[Braineack]

Seems a tad under-exposed...

just a tad.

 

[Donde]

It looks very dark to me. Perhaps that was your artistic intension?

 

[Derrel]

Selfies can be very tough. The focus is off on the nose and face, but comes into focus around the ear distance, so...the f/stop's probably too wide, and the focus is also off a bit. One tip is to focus the camera at a specific marked distance on the lens, say 8 feet, then tie a length of string to the camera, and put a knot at that exact distance, then string it out to get focus on yourself by pulling the string right to the base of the nose/eye area.

This is way under-exposed, so you need to figure out some way to get the flash more in agreement with the f/stop...not sure what kind of flash was used or what flash control mode was used. It's possible the flash is in an AUTO- mode (sometimes seen as a yellow, green,red,or blue color-coded mode setting on older, mechanically-regulated flashes that use sliding switches) which is supposed to be paired up with 1) a specific f/stop setting and 2)a specific ISO level for each individual AUTO-mode setting.

Flashes are all very different, and yet, at one level, all very similar. All you need to do is figure out how to get 'more exposure' in your shots made in this type of situation.

 

[tom5191]

Seems a tad under-exposed...

Brighten it up a little, it will still look good on the darker side, but just not quite as dark as it is. But keep working at it!

Seems a tad under-exposed...

just a tad.

It looks very dark to me. Perhaps that was your artistic intension?

I did want a dark image, but not quite to this level. It still turned out pretty decent, IMO, for first dark shoot.

Selfies can be very tough. The focus is off on the nose and face, but comes into focus around the ear distance, so...the f/stop's probably too wide, and the focus is also off a bit. One tip is to focus the camera at a specific marked distance on the lens, say 8 feet, then tie a length of string to the camera, and put a knot at that exact distance, then string it out to get focus on yourself by pulling the string right to the base of the nose/eye area.

This is way under-exposed, so you need to figure out some way to get the flash more in agreement with the f/stop...not sure what kind of flash was used or what flash control mode was used. It's possible the flash is in an AUTO- mode (sometimes seen as a yellow, green,red,or blue color-coded mode setting on older, mechanically-regulated flashes that use sliding switches) which is supposed to be paired up with 1) a specific f/stop setting and 2)a specific ISO level for each individual AUTO-mode setting.

Flashes are all very different, and yet, at one level, all very similar. All you need to do is figure out how to get 'more exposure' in your shots made in this type of situation.

I was shooting in a pitch black basement with only the flash as the light, so I wasn't quite sure how to get the exposure right without going through a bunch of photos changing things until it was right.

The flash I'm using is a Yongnuo YN460-II.
http://www.amazon.com/Yongnuo-Flash-Speedlite-Yn-460ii-Pentax/dp/B003IZ9XTI



Thanks for the feed back!

 

[FITBMX]

The flash I'm using is a Yongnuo YN460-II.
http://www.amazon.com/Yongnuo-Flash-Speedlite-Yn-460ii-Pentax/dp/B003IZ9XTI

I got the same brand of flash, but a newer model. I haven't used it much but I really like it!

 

[The_Traveler]

I did want a dark image, but not quite to this level. It still turned out pretty decent, IMO, for first dark shoot.

I know it is natural to want to succeed even at first but this is not a success for several reasons.

It is out of focus. This might be due to your leaving the camera on auto-focus and having a large aperture so that wherever the camera did focus, there wasn't enough depth of field to include your eyes and nose. Whatever the source of the error, having sharpness in the wrong spot is a major fault in portrait work.

It is dramatically underexposed.

I wasn't quite sure how to get the exposure right without going through a bunch of photos changing things until it was right.

This is digital and additional shots won't cost anything but a bit of time.

And the shot is very low contrast, even if made brighter.
There are big 'bright' spots on the forehead, cheeks and nose - so making it brighter results in huge burnt out areas.
The eyes have pin-point reflections of the flash.

Every different aspect of photography requires, not only skills, but an understanding of what 'works' for viewers and why.
I suggest you post more, allow editing of your pictures and and you will learn much more that way.