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A Shot At Self-Portraits
The other night, I attempted some self-portraits to test out my new 55-250mm lens and flash I just received.
Canon 55-250mm f/4 and Speedlite 430 EXII Flash
Inspired by Dr. Hyperbolus’ post and his mention of The Man Who Wasn’t There, I wanted to recreate the harsh lighting in the image he referenced.
However, seeing as how I didn’t have a tripod, didn’t have any lights, and had never really tried to light a scene before, I had a difficult time. Thus I didn’t figure it out in time, so instead I salvaged what I had… which actually look like future solo album covers.
I had some fun with textures…
Yeah so, I’ve never really done self-portraiture like this before. What I learned (in addition to the technical details) is that it brings up the question of what are you trying to capture? Is it the essence of the person, is it a mood, or is it something different altogether? The weirdest thing is just modeling for the camera with any of these intentions in mind. I’ll definitely try this again as soon as I pick up a fluorescent light or two… yep… aaaaaand maybe a tripod would help.
My ghetto setup in case anyone is interested (couch sideways with blanket | flash instruction book on top of wacom box on top of cable box on top of receiver on top of dresser).
Comments
Photogenic as usual Doctor. I love the texture effects you used on the other photos of yourself.
It totally looks like you’re saying PON-CHEE in that animated gif, btw.
I dig it dude.
I think the two pics above the animated gif are the best (especially the left)
I wouldn’t push the whites that hard though…
make me go blind.
What’s really cool is that you can see the texture of the cloth behind you.
I feel that the grain counteracts the clarity of what the other portraits are attempting to encompass though. You are the subject and nothing should overpower that.
I agree with Dr. Salvatron, I LOVE the two pics above the animated gif. I demand an unfiltered version of the pic on the right. STAT.
Not bad Dr. C, considering what you had to work with — or what you didn’t have. I too like those 2 photos above the animated gif. I don’t have a problem with the harsh whites — it kind of reminds me of the Ocean’s 11 one-sheet poster. (http://www.coolmoviestuff.com/o11_adv.jpg) Also, Mad Men. (http://www.deliciouslycreative.com/images/uploads/Mad_Men.jpg) Though I’m not sure if that was what you were going for.
Can’t wait to see when you get your total studio package together. But keep experimenting with lighting (especially with shadows). You can get some cool stuff in the photo before playing with it in Photoshop.
You should shave if you want to be as bad ass as Billy Bob. Great use of the blanket texture in the canvas looking pic. The one that looks like a wanted poster with the burned edges. Should have taken advantage of the lights I had while I was there sucka
Yeah I agree with you guys. I was just thinkin the pics weren’t turning out like I wanted so I decided to play with them. I got carried away with the first two heavily textured ones. I was playing off of the textured blanket behind me. I wasn’t sure if I should smooth out the BG or just make the entire thing textured. I do really like the simple blown out one though. It happened very organically too. I’ll attempt some self-portraits again in time.
Next in line though… lights and tripod. YAEK!
Keanu in Devil’s Advocate meets Tom Muthafuckin’ Jones. Awesome
Dig dig digging the two above the animated GIF – the suit looks hottt. The one on the left (on top of the animated GIF) really stands out because it seems like your image and the background really pop from one another. The shadow really sets the two elements apart nicely.