tips on taking a self portrait

[topazsol]

I'm sorry if I am putting this in the wrong section, I couldn't find a place for self portraits. I have noticed that I take pretty good photos of other people and I thought taking a self portrait wouldn't be as hard as it is but boy was I wrong! I used the self timer and tried to get the scene ready but every time, the photo turns out blurry or just plain weird looking. I will set the self timer, put something in the spot where I am going to be posing so the camera can focus, run to the spot, throw the thing (a teddy bear) I am using out of the way and try to take the picture. I was told that I need to put something there for the camera to focus on. But, the photos almost always make the background look crisp and I look completely blurred, even with the teddy bear for focus. I don't have a remote to take the picture with, I wish I did! Any advice on how to take a self portait would be very appreciated, thanks.

 

[jwbryson1]

Infrared remote...buy one.

 

[Joshonator]

If you have manual focus, use it. You may have to put the object in the middle of the frame for it to focus properly, or aim the camera at anything equal distance away from the camera as you will be standing. It could also be that there not enough light and if you don't stay perfectly still and the shutter speed is slow, you will look blurred and the background will be crisp. Lean against something or sit down to steady yourself or add a lamp.

 

[Buckster]

Pose where you're going to be in the shot. Now put something where your eye is as a placemarker, a light stand, broomstick, chair back, string with something tied to it tacked up to the ceiling - whatever will work. Now go to the camera and focus on that thing you placed. Now turn off AF. Now set your timer, go to your pose, get theplacemarker out of the way and you'll have your self-portrait, focused on you.

 

[Solarflare]

Why do people even have this problem ? I could manage self portraits just fine with my very first camera already. Which is just a very primitive point and shoot I still carry around because it weights zip, can be carried around at the girdle, and can be taken from the girdle in no time.

 

[Terenas1986]

I learned it from here:
Sorry if I shouldn't post things like this

 

[TCampbell]

If you look a couple of daisies then I'd say you're doing a great job.

Self-portraits are indeed tougher than one would think. When I shoot someone else, I'm thinking about how to model the face and capturing the shot at the right moment. But when taking a self portrait, you can't see yourself -- and looking into a mirror or monitor just captures a look that makes it pretty obvious that I was trying to study a mirror or monitor and it's hard to get a good looking shot.

Depending on your camera, you may be able to shoot in "tethered" mode. I have a Canon. The EOS Utility that comes with the camera (software on the CD) has the ability to shoot "tethered" (I use Aperture which also has the ability to shoot tethered.) I then use an IR remote. The remote has a mode which either shoots instantly, OR... has a 2 second delay (enough time to allow you to hide the remote before the shutter is triggered.) The camera has a USB cabled wired to a laptop and the screen is facing me. I can then review the shot that was just captured and maybe tweak my position a bit before shooting the next shot WITHOUT having to walk back to the camera (which would completely change my position.)

 

[topazsol]

Great advice! Thanks to everyone who replied.

 

[PhotoBrody]

You can always do a mirror shot like me ;-) haha

 

[SoCalTiger]

Depending on your camera, you may be able to shoot in "tethered" mode. I have a Canon. The EOS Utility that comes with the camera (software on the CD) has the ability to shoot "tethered"

Speaking of tethered mode, I believe the EOS utility also has a function to automatically take timed shots. So, for instance, you could tell it to take one picture every 3 seconds. That way you could keep making slight adjustments as the camera snaps away.

 

[Studio7Four]

Infrared remote...buy one.

Or buy an RF (radio frequency) remote. I got one cheaply (~$5) off ebay and it works very well. The advantage of RF over IR (infrared) is that IR requires line of sight whereas RF does not. You can hold an RF trigger behind your back, or in your pocket, and it will fire the receiver. You can also use it for non-self portrait photography and it will trigger the camera when you're behind the camera, whereas I believe IR remotes which you use with your camera (ie, not a transmitter/receiver pair) only work if you're activating the remote from in front of the camera.

 

[SoCalTiger]

Infrared remote...buy one.

Or buy an RF (radio frequency) remote. I got one cheaply (~$5) off ebay and it works very well. The advantage of RF over IR (infrared) is that IR requires line of sight whereas RF does not. You can hold an RF trigger behind your back, or in your pocket, and it will fire the receiver. You can also use it for non-self portrait photography and it will trigger the camera when you're behind the camera, whereas I believe IR remotes which you use with your camera (ie, not a transmitter/receiver pair) only work if you're activating the remote from in front of the camera.

Some of the wireless flash triggers like the YN-603 can double as an RF trigger remote too. So if you want/need a flash trigger anyway that is another option.