Best photoshoot so far!

[Davor]

I honestly think i did a good job considering the equipment i had, and on top of that i find it to be my best photoshoot.

Setup:
Black matte background bought for 4$ at fabric land
2 Styrofoam boards, which cost 1$ each
Sb800 + Defuser + Old tripod
D90/grip + 18-105mm + Camera flash/with defuser on velbon tripod
Creativity and patience

Model : Me
Shot by: ML-L3 Remote (Me) and all manual settings, not TTL

C&C is always appreciated. I know there's faults but hey, for one Flashgun, it aint bad.

note: wish i could have smoked in the house so i could put some tobacco in that pipe and actually smoke it.

#1

#2

#3

Setup

 

[tirediron]

Nicely done.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Looks good.

The only comment I have is, if you are going to center yourself in the frame, why not shoot portrait orientation, so you aren't clipping your hand, elbow, arm, like in the last two. Doing so might give you a little more control with sensible crops.

 

[Davor]

Thank for the comments, your right Bitter Jeweler and i was thinking the exact same thing. But there is a slight problem, the background i bought only goes down to where it cuts off. I have to go back and buy a bigger piece, i wasn't anticipating this.

And i was so gonna use these for the "Self-portrait" Contest, but then i thought wth, why not just post them.

 

[Trever1t]

Pretty good work, I like the lighting setup. I agree with the comment above as well.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

You hung your back drop in landscape orientation.

 

[Davor]

you guys have any tips for editing wise? or should i leave it as is. i threw some light sepia in a couple of them.

 

[quiddity]

Looks good.

The only comment I have is, if you are going to center yourself in the frame, why not shoot portrait orientation, so you aren't clipping your hand, elbow, arm, like in the last two. Doing so might give you a little more control with sensible crops.

He didn't want anyone to notice he was shooting in his underwear.

I like the shots and always appreciate seeing the setup shot. :thumbup: :thumbup:

 

[Davor]

lol,what can i say... i was comfortable

 

[kundalini]

Your main light is set too low in #1 & #3. Notice the angle of the shadow on the nose..... going up. should be going down.

IMO, your separation (from the background) is due to PP rather than lighting and that #1 is more true to life on your lighting setup.

Portrait orientation would certainly work best in these shots and you have clipped digits in #2 ^&3.

In #2 & #3, your hand is much brighter than your face. This tells two tales. 1) your main light is too low and 2) you should position your main light higher. Oh yeah, your face should be the brighest portion of the image. (that's #2 and #2 should be 2A)

For single light portraits, google Rembrandt lighting patterns.

Not a bad go at it, just a few suggestions.

Your camera position is too low. By raising it to a point where it is level with, to slightly higher than your eye level, it should produce more pleasing viewer reults.

 

[Davor]

wow, some great advice kundalini. Never looked at it from that point of view. I will surely do this on the weekend and see if i can improve, its just that my equipment is so limited right now. Thank you very much

Now back to reading more books.

 

[kundalini]

I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer, your shots are better than most. I didn't mention the positive feel of your body position from the camera. A 45 dergee turn is an absolute positive in your favor.

 

[Ned B]

Your main light is set too low in #1 & #3. Notice the angle of the shadow on the nose..... going up. should be going down.

IMO, your separation (from the background) is due to PP rather than lighting and that #1 is more true to life on your lighting setup.

Portrait orientation would certainly work best in these shots and you have clipped digits in #2 ^&3.

In #2 & #3, your hand is much brighter than your face. This tells two tales. 1) your main light is too low and 2) you should position your main light higher. Oh yeah, your face should be the brighest portion of the image. (that's #2 and #2 should be 2A)

For single light portraits, google Rembrandt lighting patterns.

Not a bad go at it, just a few suggestions.

Your camera position is too low. By raising it to a point where it is level with, to slightly higher than your eye level, it should produce more pleasing viewer reults.

+1 we are trained to 'see' photos of people from slightly above: I'd hazard a guess that The photographer in your school pictures was much taller than you were. So from that early age and that photo we learn that the camera is 'higher' than we are. And as a result our view is that portraits look 'better' when the camera is looking down slightly in relation to the subject.

Spent about 15 yrs. Doing headshots & other portraiture. My bosses always said 'we never have to worry that your images will be too 'low -angle' to which I reminded them that I'm 6'3".... Lol.

Nice images, not bad at all for a first self portrait... I'd have submitted them.

 

[kundalini]

+1 we are trained to 'see' photos of people from slightly above: I'd hazard a guess that The photographer in your school pictures was much taller than you were. So from that early age and that photo we learn that the camera is 'higher' than we are. And as a result our view is that portraits look 'better' when the camera is looking down slightly in relation to the subject.

Spent about 15 yrs. Doing headshots & other portraiture. My bosses always said 'we never have to worry that your images will be too 'low -angle' to which I reminded them that I'm 6'3".... Lol.

Nice images, not bad at all for a first self portrait... I'd have submitted them.

I don't think it's that so much as it is that we, as humans livinig in a planetary galaxy, are accustomed to seeing light falling from above from the center of our universe. Our minds, brains and eyes are acclimated that way.

 

[RedWylder]

I really love the use of really inexpensive materials and the setup shot is helpful to those of us still learning. I'm ready to go out to the fabric land of the north and see what I can rig up. The only question I have since I don't have a flash gun (or any flash for that matter) and won't be getting one in the foreseeable future because Im saving for various life expenses and since photography is just a hobby that Im not particularly good at yet, I can't be spending all my dough on photo stuff and....wow what a run-on sentence I have here, where was I? Oh right, flash....is there an alternative I can try, like a shop light or something?