First self portrait with 50mm...

ph0enix · Feb 28, 2012

luvmyfamily said:
I agree with the positioning, however wouldn't f/8 have let even more light in?

Perhaps I missed something in between but you said the aperture you used was f/5.6. f/8 is smaller than that, not larger.

EIngerson · Feb 28, 2012

Bigger the number the smaller the aperature, meaning less light. I think F/8 would have been perfect. Also scoot out of the shade completely so there's no shade lines running through you. Pretty cool spot though. I look forward to the reshoot.

pgriz · Feb 28, 2012

If you ARE using a tripod, then the shutter speed can go much lower than 1/125 sec. I'm with the other guys - use a smaller aperture like f/8 or f/11, a longer shutter speed (1/8 sec or 1/15 sec) and you'll have plenty of DOF.

luvmyfamily · Feb 28, 2012

Propsguy said:
I'm afraid you have it backwards.... In general terms, a lower f stop number increases the amount of light that hits the film, and decreases the depth of field (blurs the foreground and background), while higher f stops decrease the amount of light (closes the aperture) and increases the depth of field....

I knew that!! I really did, sorry, I just found out some information at about same time I posted that, that took me for a loop and not sure i want to post much here anymore! Wasn't thinking!!! Anyway, Wouldn't have f/8 have caused the shadow to increase on my face?

luvmyfamily · Feb 28, 2012

pgriz said:
If you ARE using a tripod, then the shutter speed can go much lower than 1/125 sec. I'm with the other guys - use a smaller aperture like f/8 or f/11, a longer shutter speed (1/8 sec or 1/15 sec) and you'll have plenty of DOF.

Had a moment of "aperture dyslexia" with the info i just found out.....o-m-g......

luvmyfamily · Feb 28, 2012

ph0enix said:
luvmyfamily said:

I agree with the positioning, however wouldn't f/8 have let even more light in?

Click to expand...

Perhaps I missed something in between but you said the aperture you used was f/5.6. f/8 is smaller than that, not larger.

read above....I knew that....was taken back by something....but even at f/8....the shadow would have increased on my face in the shade.

pgriz · Feb 29, 2012

Um, hopefully whatever you just found out was not news about the health of one of your family members.

For taking portraits, you can use uneven lighting, but it takes a certain amount of care to get the image right. When doing a self-portrait, I'd go for simple: go all shade, say, facing the north sky, and you will have the "softbox" of the sky lighting up your face. With the right WB adjustment, it can be very flattering.

xyphoto · Feb 29, 2012

Do you have a reflector that you can use? It would be helpful if you decide to stay in the shade.

LaFoto · Feb 29, 2012

Was this the first time you decided to set up the camera and take a self?
No wonder you felt a little awkward. I would have felt that way, too. Mind you: I still do!
So I'll be the very, very last to critisise your little smile, which looks kind of uncertain and doubtful, careful, not quite trusting things overly much.

As to the shadow: a reflector would have helped, and if you don't have one, a white bed sheet could have helped, or a large piece of paper ... but for that you would have needed an assistent to hold it up for you, and I understand you were all by yourself. Just you, your camera, and your tripod?

And c'mon. No need to listen to the boys and their clamouring for bikini pics or even - oh my! - photos of you in the nude :roll: ...

Edsport · Feb 29, 2012

kundalini · Feb 29, 2012

Not too bad for a full body selfie. Yes, the shadow was the first thing I noticed too, but I picked up on a couple of other things not mentioned yet or I completely missed. So if you don't mind, a few thoughts.

Back to the shadow first. Did you try any using the built-in flash for Fill? Had you, the defined shadow line may have blended better, probably not eliminated, but lessened the obvious issue. With time behind the viewfinder you will start "seeing the light" in a different way and how to best utilize or modify it.

What I'm surprised at is the lack of comments about the tree growing out of your head or the two limbs impaling your back (dirty rotten cowards :biggrin:

) Again, with more time you will become more cognizant of the immediate and distant backgrounds.

I'm in total agreement that an aperture of f/8 to f/11 would be worth having a few attempts at for sure. I'm not a fan of overly bright backgrounds in most cases, of course there are exceptions. Add to that some flash and well….. it would’ve given you a slightly different exposure.

A few things to consider on your next attempt......... because there will be another attempt, right? With or without a bikini.
1) Do not sit flat on your bottom. By placing your weight on one hip, you will naturally create a more dynamic pose if you do nothing else.

2) I would avoid rolling your shoulders forward. This sends out a negative body language. Sit straight, but bend at the waist, no slouching allowed. A strong, dynamic position would be to have the shoulders somewhere between 20° to 45° from lens axis, with a slight lean away from the camera.

3) I suggest having the far knee at a 45° and extending the near leg and crossing ankles. Due to the lighting you have, this position would give more detail rather than the rather large dark area underneath your legs.

4) Think about the lines you can create with all your body parts.... arms, legs, head, hands, etc. Accentuate those lines.

Thanks for sharing.

luvmyfamily · Feb 29, 2012

LaFoto said:
Was this the first time you decided to set up the camera and take a self?
No wonder you felt a little awkward. I would have felt that way, too. Mind you: I still do!
So I'll be the very, very last to critisise your little smile, which looks kind of uncertain and doubtful, careful, not quite trusting things overly much.

As to the shadow: a reflector would have helped, and if you don't have one, a white bed sheet could have helped, or a large piece of paper ... but for that you would have needed an assistent to hold it up for you, and I understand you were all by yourself. Just you, your camera, and your tripod?

And c'mon. No need to listen to the boys and their clamouring for bikini pics or even - oh my! - photos of you in the nude :roll: ...

Yes, it was just me and my tripod, camera on self timer, everyone was at work and school. I have a white backdrop for my studio that works as a great reflector. Will keep that in mind on the next sunny day. If no assistant to hold it, surely I could make something homeade like hang it over 2 ladders? As far as the nudes and bikini's....I don't pay attention to those guys

luvmyfamily · Feb 29, 2012

kundalini said:
Not too bad for a full body selfie. Yes, the shadow was the first thing I noticed too, but I picked up on a couple of other things not mentioned yet or I completely missed. So if you don't mind, a few thoughts.

Back to the shadow first. Did you try any using the built-in flash for Fill? Had you, the defined shadow line may have blended better, probably not eliminated, but lessened the obvious issue. With time behind the viewfinder you will start "seeing the light" in a different way and how to best utilize or modify it.

What I'm surprised at is the lack of comments about the tree growing out of your head or the two limbs impaling your back (dirty rotten cowards ) Again, with more time you will become more cognizant of the immediate and distant backgrounds.

I'm in total agreement that an aperture of f/8 to f/11 would be worth having a few attempts at for sure. I'm not a fan of overly bright backgrounds in most cases, of course there are exceptions. Add to that some flash and well….. it would’ve given you a slightly different exposure.

A few things to consider on your next attempt......... because there will be another attempt, right? With or without a bikini.
1) Do not sit flat on your bottom. By placing your weight on one hip, you will naturally create a more dynamic pose if you do nothing else.

2) I would avoid rolling your shoulders forward. This sends out a negative body language. Sit straight, but bend at the waist, no slouching allowed. A strong, dynamic position would be to have the shoulders somewhere between 20° to 45° from lens axis, with a slight lean away from the camera.

3) I suggest having the far knee at a 45° and extending the near leg and crossing ankles. Due to the lighting you have, this position would give more detail rather than the rather large dark area underneath your legs.

4) Think about the lines you can create with all your body parts.... arms, legs, head, hands, etc. Accentuate those lines.

Thanks for sharing.

LOL, I think the term "selfie" will now go down in the books and may make the photography dictionary

Thank you, I agree that I could have posed and positioned myself better. I have a few others, but one of them the wind blew my hair in my eyes. I also have some with different apertures, f/8 was too dark in the face. In this case, positioning probably would have fixed a lot as you suggested. I like and agree with turning on the hip and not sitting on the bottom, but I didn't want it to look like I was trying to be a model, or too sexy of a pose, was trying to be me

The expresssion on my face was probably due to sitting on the uncomfortable rock in heels, lol. I wouldn't have thought of using a flash in daylight so i will experiment with that....not today....just had tornado warnings all over the place and had my camera ready in case!! Anyway, will try the flash next time and better positioning for a "selfie." I'm surprised noone said anything about the mud on my shoe