What are some tips and tricks you can give me to take better fashion photography of myself by myself

[ph0toe]

to post on blogs, social media. i want a well composed sharp shot every time and i feel like mounting a camera on tripod with remote might not get me the photo i want. having someone experience to take the shot for you would be ideal because of composition and having the eyes and of course skills. anyone can give input on this?

 

[Designer]

having someone experience to take the shot for you would be ideal ..

Yes, I agree! Find a friend and teach him the finer points of photography, so he can help with the photographs. Having a friend who helps with photography will enhance your own experience.

 

[Trever1t]

What’s wrong with Tripod and remote release?

 

[zombiesniper]

Step one is to ensure you will stand in the right spot.
I have two tape lines on my studio floor. One at 3' and one at 8' from my backdrops. These allow me to hit the same spot and make focusing easier.
Then I use a mannequin head on a light stand/tripod to pre-focus. I have measured from the heal of my foot forward to where my eye would be to be about 1.5". So I place the eye of the mannequin 1.5" in front of the tape line, focus the camera (which is on a tripod) and ensure auto focus is turned off on the lens (being careful not to adjust the focus).
To take the shot all I have to do is remove the mannequin and place my heels on the tape line and I know my eyes are in focus.

You do not need a mannequin to do this. you can use any item that you can put where you want your eyes to be. I've used a flash, my phone etc.

Now for the fashion side of things?!?! I'm worse than clueless.

This technique can be used with multiple people as well like below.

 

[Soocom1]

Composition of a photograph is only part of the overall aspect.
You also need to have proper framing, and consider format size.
APS, FF, Med. Format, iPhone?

The size of the image and the overall quality of the image is also expressed through quality of the lens and other aspects.
However:
A tripod and remote with a mirror lockup will give the single best image as long as your not taking the photo in an earthquake during a hurricane flying over a tsunami caused by a meteor strike in an ocean.

Plus a camera with an articulating LCD can be set up to do the best shot, or with a phone remote view.

The tripod eliminates 95% of camera shake and a remote will do the trick without moving the camera with pressure from a finger.

 

[TWX]

If my goal were to take photos of myself, first I'd start with camera height relative to the height of the pose I intend to assume. Second, I'd consider the effects of distance from the camera to myself, and whether a shot looks better with a wider angle lens up closer, or with a telephoto lens further away. Third, I'd consider depth of field, how much foreground or background I want in-focus with me or nearly in-focus, and how busy those elements might be in the photograph. Fourth, I'd consider how I'm being illuminated, based on the nature of what I'm wearing, the nature of the setting that I'm in, and the ability to control light.

There are multiple ways to trigger the shutter depending on camera. Timers, wired triggers, wireless triggers, cellphone app triggers. That part is important but is relatively easy compared to figuring out how you actually want to look in the photo.

I'll use two picture of my own as an example:

Same subject, same setting. Roughly same height from the ground. The first one, shot much closer, the car looks almost cartoonish. The car already has bulbous lines, those lines are greatly exaggerated, making the nearer part of the car look much larger than the further part of the car.

The second shot is more natural looking, I'm standing further away, the distance from front to back is much reduced. This flattens out and removes some of the exaggeration.

Depending on your goal, one might be preferable versus the other. Knowing what you want to shoot and how you want to present it will impact how you set up your camera versus your subject.

 

[Derrel]

Until you are fairly experienced, I think having someone else operate the camera is the best idea. How your photos look depends upon lighting, camera height, camera distance from the subject ,and lens length, among the multiple factors.

 

[Designer]

Composition of a photograph is only part of the overall aspect.
You also need to have proper framing, and consider format size.
APS, FF, Med. Format, iPhone?

The size of the image and the overall quality of the image is also expressed through quality of the lens and other aspects.
However:
A tripod and remote with a mirror lockup will give the single best image as long as your not taking the photo in an earthquake during a hurricane flying over a tsunami caused by a meteor strike in an ocean.

Plus a camera with an articulating LCD can be set up to do the best shot, or with a phone remote view.

The tripod eliminates 95% of camera shake and a remote will do the trick without moving the camera with pressure from a finger.

Guys; this poster needs much more basic help. Really basic.

 

[TWX]

Composition of a photograph is only part of the overall aspect.
You also need to have proper framing, and consider format size.
APS, FF, Med. Format, iPhone?

The size of the image and the overall quality of the image is also expressed through quality of the lens and other aspects.
However:
A tripod and remote with a mirror lockup will give the single best image as long as your not taking the photo in an earthquake during a hurricane flying over a tsunami caused by a meteor strike in an ocean.

Plus a camera with an articulating LCD can be set up to do the best shot, or with a phone remote view.

The tripod eliminates 95% of camera shake and a remote will do the trick without moving the camera with pressure from a finger.

Guys; this poster needs much more basic help. Really basic.

The problem is this was posted in the, "Beyond the Basics," forum, so it's not a surprise that somewhat more advanced or nitpicky topics are mentioned.

If one posts suggestions assuming that the asker is sufficiently experienced and this isn't the case, the asker tends to gloss-over and not follow-up. If one assumes that asker is inexperienced and posts suggestions or comments of very basic information, it's easy to oversimplify and unintentionally insult the asker.

Unfortunately the original poster has not returned to clarify anything. We don't know the camera, the setting, even the general nature of how the asker is attired as a subject and how that is to be conveyed. We're limited to discussing topics like shutter-releases and focal length because of that.

 

[Designer]

The problem is this was posted in the, "Beyond the Basics," forum,..

Unfortunately.

 

[ph0toe]

@Designer if you're going to continue posting on my thread(s) with your sarcastic unhelpful comments, just do yourself a favor and STOP.

Whether you believe I need to go back to basics is your opinion, and you're entitled to that, but don't post hog this thread with your elitist attitude. My question is fairly reasonable. I had asked (presumably experience photographers) if there was anyway around having a photo shot similar to having a person do the shooting for you.

If you're not here to learn and provide help, and this is your way to gain some recognition because you're not getting any in real life, I pity you.

 

[TWX]

ph0toe, since you are still around, please elaborate a bit more, it would be most helpful.

 

[ph0toe]

ph0toe, since you are still around, please elaborate a bit more, it would be most helpful.

Not a problem. Camera in question is canon 5d mark 3, setting is aperture priority mode.

As far as the attire model will be wearing will vary based on environment and the mood. For instance I could be wanting to shoot a close up shot of my face (similar to the car shown above) in one pic and another full body shot sitting in a studio chair with a plain white background to show the entire outfift.

I own the 24-105 mm 4.0 canon lens

 

[Soocom1]

So with respect to everyone, and I do mean this wholeheartedly, with respect to everyone,
my original post stands.

 

[Sharpshooterr]

ph0toe, since you are still around, please elaborate a bit more, it would be most helpful.

Not a problem. Camera in question is canon 5d mark 3, setting is aperture priority mode.

As far as the attire model will be wearing will vary based on environment and the mood. For instance I could be wanting to shoot a close up shot of my face (similar to the car shown above) in one pic and another full body shot sitting in a studio chair with a plain white background to show the entire outfift.

I own the 24-105 mm 4.0 canon lens

Ok Photoe, but first I didn’t read all the responses so hope I’m not repeating here!
A couple things come to mind. First I’ll assume you’ve got the lighting under control, so I’ll keep this to shooting.
If you shoot at f8 the focus won’t be such an issue. Do use a remote release whether wired or wireless. If you use the self timer the camera won’t refocus once you push the button, the wireless will refocus. Shooting yourself prefocused using shallow DoF is really hard, I’ve tried it!! LoL
For full body put a small dot of tape on the floor the same color as the floor/paper so you can stand in approximately the same spot every time.
Next you need to use a mirror to check yourself. BUT the camera does not see what you see in the mirrors unless the mirror is in front of the camera, like leaning against the tripod, then you’ll have the approximate same camera view.
I would use Manual Mode vs AV. That way you control all the settings.
You need to practice your poses in front of a mirror so you can learn your best angles and expressions.
For inspiration google Cindy Sherman. Cindy is a very famous photographer and all she does is self-portraits, nothing else!!!
This is my IG @MagicLightImages
I ONLY follow model photographers and models!
SS