Accidental Self Portrait

[LeftyLisa02]

Hello,
Long story short, I took this one on accident. Curious what I could have done differently to make it better if I were to try to recreate it.



Camera Nikon D3000
Exposure 0.04 sec (1/25)
Aperture f/4.5
Focal Length 26 mm
ISO Speed 400
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Exposure Program Manual

[atmenterprises]

Just looks slightly underexposed to me. Also my eyes get drawn to the light switch on the wall.

[Cabaret]

Give it more depth and make the contrast more interesting.

[jjbacoomba]

For it being accidental, it looks like a cool shot. Maybe just a little underexposed but it works for me. Maybe crop out the lightswitch and a little to the left of it.This is a cool B&W

[joe27]

I am thinking a lower aperture and photoshop the light switch out. Otherwise, I like it.

[LeftyLisa02]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions! Here's the edited version of the picture. Did I do this correctly?

[ColonelDebugger]

may try cropping the right side to eliminate the light switch and whatever that thing is at the bottom right.

it's a great "accident" though

[ziuek]

Personally I would add little bit exposition or brightness. Atmenterprises mentioned it before it seems to be underexposed.

[atmenterprises]

Originally Posted by ziuek

Personally I would add little bit exposition or brightness. Atmenterprises mentioned it before it seems to be underexposed.

I agree with that. The background seemed to get brighter but your face didn't get much brighter.

[BigFuzzy]

Hi Lisa, I'll comment based on your "if I were to recreate this" comment.

Besides what others have said, I'd work on the crop. It feels too tight on the right and all the stuff on the left just isn't that interesting to me.
Typically, you want to leave space in the direction a subject is either moving or looking, so I'd like to see your head much more to the left.

The background is also a bit distracting with all those details. Ensure no distracting elements in the background.

Also, if trying to recreate this, make sure the focus is dead on the eyes as it doesn't seem to be here. Could be a result of the 1/25th of a second exposure. Try to get 1/60th at least to ensure sharpness. And get more light into the eye so we can see them better. They're the key (imho) to a good portrait.

In the end, it just kind of feels like a snapshot, which you admit it is. Show us what comes next when you intentionally photograph yourself.