Self Portrait

mwcfarms · Dec 5, 2010

And very last one. I know Derrel this isn't what you were talking about but I did get it mostly in focus lol. I tried using my 18 to 105mm also but the bokeh just wasn't as nice as the 50mm. I can't wait till my kid gets home so I can practice on her.

oldmacman · Dec 5, 2010

mwcfarms said:
And very last one. I know Derrel this isn't what you were talking about but I did get it mostly in focus lol. I tried using my 18 to 105mm also but the bokeh just wasn't as nice as the 50mm. I can't wait till my kid gets home so I can practice on her.

Yeah, I like the bokeh in the last pic better as well. It seems to lighten up the background and be more festive. If you do a taller shot like this, maybe you could try dragging the shutter a bit to make the background a little lighter.

I don't know if you are looking for details because these are basically test shots for lighting, but the bit of tree skirt at gift height is a little distracting when everything else is you and the tree. The focus is pretty good in this one... nice job. You could easily bring more sharpness to the eyes with some PP. How did the test sots with your kids go?

Robin Usagani · Dec 5, 2010

RRRRRR so pretty

Yeah, the 2nd one you did has really nice bokeh I really think you need to stick with that one.

Or try this. This may work but I am not sure. Put the camera on a tripod. Turn off all the lights except the xmas lights. Set up off camra flash. Set your aperture wide open and ISO to the lowest setting. Drag your shutter and change the flash power as you please. By making the flash be the main light you will freeze the subject with your flash. By dragging the shutter you can control the intensity of the bokeh. I wouldnt go slower than 1 second. Keep adjusting flash and shutter speed so you get the right ratio you want. I assume your flash cant be too powerfull because it will affect the overal exposure because the room is small.

GeorgieGirl · Dec 5, 2010

Ooohh, I really like this last one! I like the umbrella of the first and then this one. You are doing some really nice work. :thumbup:

mwcfarms · Dec 5, 2010

oldmacman said:
mwcfarms said:

And very last one. I know Derrel this isn't what you were talking about but I did get it mostly in focus lol. I tried using my 18 to 105mm also but the bokeh just wasn't as nice as the 50mm. I can't wait till my kid gets home so I can practice on her.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I like the bokeh in the last pic better as well. It seems to lighten up the background and be more festive. If you do a taller shot like this, maybe you could try dragging the shutter a bit to make the background a little lighter.

I don't know if you are looking for details because these are basically test shots for lighting, but the bit of tree skirt at gift height is a little distracting when everything else is you and the tree. The focus is pretty good in this one... nice job. You could easily bring more sharpness to the eyes with some PP. How did the test sots with your kids go?

Haven't done them yet, kid is sick now so I'm going to try with my brood tonight. I'm confused about the tree skirt at gift height comment. Which shot were you referring to? The first one you can see it but it doesn't appear to be gift height. Focus was much better for this yes, I had help lol.

I shot this to intentionally make the dark background. One can only have so many shots of herself and bokeh.

Schwettylens said:
RRRRRR so pretty

Yeah, the 2nd one you did has really nice bokeh I really think you need to stick with that one.

Or try this. This may work but I am not sure. Put the camera on a tripod. Turn off all the lights except the xmas lights. Set up off camra flash. Set your aperture wide open and ISO to the lowest setting. Drag your shutter and change the flash power as you please. By making the flash be the main light you will freeze the subject with your flash. By dragging the shutter you can control the intensity of the bokeh. I wouldnt go slower than 1 second. Keep adjusting flash and shutter speed so you get the right ratio you want. I assume your flash cant be too powerfull because it will affect the overal exposure because the room is small.

Since Im using an Alien Bee how would this work? Thanks for the compliment.

GeorgieGirl said:
Ooohh, I really like this last one! I like the umbrella of the first and then this one. You are doing some really nice work. :thumbup:

Thanks Georgie. Practicing with myself is hard, I need my teenager to come back so I can get it down.