Self Portrait

[Tlynn]

Well, I've been lurking behind the scenes for months now, and thought it was time I got some feed back on my first self portrait.

A bit of information: I have been shooting photos for about 3-4 months total now. Nearly 90% of what I have learned has been from DPS, thanks for that everyone. I once saw a photo on here by xxpinballxx that really inspired me (was a black and white - kinda what I would call moody I guess - and now I can't find it anymore...anyway) as far as editing style. I don't care too much for self portraits, I don't really care for my photo being taken - that being said, I'm actually nervous about posting this.

I wanted to try out some different things and didn't have a subject except for myself so...

I am looking for some feed back on this as I have a ton to learn, and the forum is amazing. So, what do you think?

~T

[BigFuzzy]

Heya T,

First off, welcome to actually posting! I hope you post more in the future as I agree feedback is what helped push me.

So, on to the photo.
All of what I'm about to say are issues of taste as I found little actually wrong with the image.
I like the moody harsh look of the image.
I like the square crop (I need to do more of that!)
Things I think could be done differently (and remember, it's a taste thing).
- I know it probably difficult as you're a beginner, but using flash straight into the face of your subject is generally considered a bad thing. Here it's not so bad because of the good deal of contrast. But the light is being reflected off your nose, chin, cheeks and under your eyes. Eventually, you'll see you'll want to get the flash off-camera... which leads me to..
- I'm not a fan of the 'head floating in blackness" thing. It'd be great if you could have had a rim light lighting you from the side of behind to help separate you from the background. Would have added more depth to the image and helped it I think.
- the post processing you did left a bright edge of your face close to where you cap is. It makes the post processing obvious which should be avoided in my opinion.
- I think the whites of your eyes are overly processed, again, it's a bit obvious.
- lastly, and this is really just personal taste, so feel free to blow me off, but I pretty much hate the selective coloring where someone leaves the color in the eyes. Having said that, I am guilty of that myself, and feel it's a phase pretty much everyone goes through when they first start playing with processing portraits.. but to me, it feels a gimmicky.

Despite all that, I promise, I think it's a promising start. I like your effort to interject mood into the image and like your b&w processing (minus the colored eyes).

Keep shooting, and don't be shy to post!

Al

[Tlynn]

The flash comment, yes. I do need to invest in an off camera flash of sorts - thank you for pointing that out. Are there any recomendations for that type of equipment, price being a factor of course. The floating head idea - so I shot myself against a darkish wall basically, are you saying shoot with nothing behind me? Or would the side flash you mentioned take care of that? Or do both lol? The white rim at the base of my cap - lol, to be honest I didnt even notice it until you mentioned it, and it really stands out in the preview photo in my post - wow, I need to learn to watch that kind of thing closer. I do wonder why that happened however, I did not edit the cap or face seperately...Point taken on the both the coloring and whites in the eyes. My idea was to not only add more "drama" to the photo but to add more focus to the eyes. So, a very newbish question then: is that possible in full black and white? I realize it must be, and have seen numerous full black and white portraits that are striking, I will research this a bit more. I will revisit this aspect again for sure if you think it will make it...more.

Thanks so much for the feed-back. This is exactly what I was hoping for!

~T

[Tlynn]

I figured it out, the white you see at the base of my cap is a tan line from my glasses, and I wear a ball cap all the time - lol. That is if that is what you were talking about...

~T

[BigFuzzy]

Heya T,

Again, just want to remind you, this is the opinion of just one guy, so it doesn't mean you need to do anything I say haha.

As for flash, what brand of camera do you have? It's always good that you put down all info so we can better comment on the photos such as camera, shutter speed, aperture, ISO etc.. All i can say, if you own a Canon, that the 430ex model is a great place to start. It's cheap enough to give you the full features of a same-brand flash, just not as powerful as the 580ex.

The 'floating head' thing, again, is a taste thing. Many will love it. I just think that having the subject not so blended into the background is nicer. A way to do that is, yes, a slightly lighter background. Or a back/rim light.. even if it's a nice bright desk lamp, to put just a edge of light around the subject. I think this photo from flickr is a good example of using a bit of side/rim lighting to help the subject stand out a bit even though he's in front of a black background. Self Portrait: Ring + Rim Light Test on Flickr - Photo Sharing! And see how the image has lots of depth, that's due to not using straight on flash. But do note he's using at least 3 lights. This is another nice one to show you the concept: the stare! on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

As for the white band, that's one heck of a tan line! But it's also made worse by the processing you used which is all about creating contrast between light and darks.. which is why it bleeds into your actual eyelids which I imagine you don't cover with your hat? Heh, maybe you do!

yes, it's very possible for the drama you're seeking in purely b&w.. and you definitely have that here, it's just the processing is a bit obvious. It always starts with good light in the subjects eyes. Then subtle application of lightening the whites while also darkening/sharpening the areas around the white is what makes it.

I know this example is in color, but it works just as well in b&w... and all I used was one softbox very close to her (literally just out of the frame) and I did very little work on the eyes. I simply burned "darkened" the dark parts of her eyes (including the rim around the colored part and the eye lashes).. I did nothing with the white part.

I keep feeling that I'm saying too much because there's nothing really wrong with your image, I just think I know what you're going for and think there are things that could make it 'more' of what you're trying to achieve.

I hope this helps.
Al

[Tlynn]

Again your coments are very insightful, thanks. I got to thinking about the processessing aspect and that light spot by the cap. Initially I was toying with Dragan effect on this photo and moved it over to B&W. I wonder if that had anything to do with that area showing up more pronounced...

Gear-wise I am running with a Nikon D3000. Pretty low end stuff. The actual photo info is as follows:

F-stop: f/22
Exposure Time: 1/200
ISO: 200
Exposure Bias: -5
Focal length: 50mm

Thanks for the examples...always nice to have a visual refrence to things. And, thanks again for your time and effort in this.

~T

[BigFuzzy]

Yeah, I think the Dragan effect did exacerbate the effect I was talking about as I find it hard to imagine you wear your hat that low haha.

As a nikon guy, you should be quite happy with an SB600, and I think in general the Nikon lighting system is a bit better than my beloved canon. Once you get more into it, look into www.strobist.com, if you want to do portraits, it'll change your world.

In the end, it's an impactful image, you should be happy. Now just keep shooting!
Good luck!
Al