Can you help me achieve this effect?

[djotaku]

EXIF:
Camera: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi
Exposure: 1/4000 sec
Aperture: f/11.0
Focal Length: 18 mm
Exposure: 0.00
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: On, Fired


EXIF:
Camera: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi
Exposure: 1/2500 sec
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: 18 mm
Exposure: 0.00
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: On, Fired

I'm very close on that last photo. I had to set the flash to manual mode and 1/32. But, while the background is basically completely black on that shot, I'm not as lit up (properly exposed) as I should be. So I'm thinking perhaps the needed solution is to have off camera flash, so the flash can be pointed towards me, but not towards the background - I guess. Any more suggestions given these examples would continue to be appreciated. Thanks everyone for all of the help you've given me so far. That link to zarias.com was very, very helpful in helping me to understand the role aperture and shutter speed play in these types of shots.

[djotaku]

Finally figured it out. Thanks a lot for all of your help!

Here's how it came out:

Used a flash light as it's the only way I could do this right now, that's why a circle on my face is blown

[djotaku]

I wanted to expand upon my success for anyone who starts reading this thread and then never sees how I solved my problem. I know that's frustating when I'm looking for a problem online and someone has the exact same problem and posts in a forum then comes back and says "I fixed it" without saying how.

So, settings for the above photo:

Camera: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi
Exposure: 0.033 sec (1/30)
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: 28 mm
Exposure: +1.15 (I think this is just my Lightroom settings for the high contrast b/w, not an in-camera setting)
ISO Speed: 400
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire

After going through my last set of photos I realized that my flash was causing the problems. If I had it bright enough to properly expose me, it would light up the entire room. So basically I needed to grib/gogo my flash as was previously suggested. I also needed it not to be on the camera facing towards the wall. It should be off camera, highlighting whatever part of me I want lit and leaving the rest in shadow.

In this specific setup I used a flashlight (torch for British-based readers) held in my hand. When I converted to B/W I bosted the constrast and my arm and the flashlight dissapeared. A flash unit or perhaps an LED based flashlight would have had a better even coverage of my face instead of a burnt out circle. The problem is that with the supplies I currently have, it would be a real PITA to use flash. I don't have an off-shoe cable or wireless transmitter. I do have two Speedlites so I could set the one on the camera to trigger one facing me. But then I have to spend the time/work to block the light from the on-camera master and jerry-rig a gobo on the slave. Nothing impossibly hard, I've just been insanely busy. I definitely want to experiment with it and in the future.

Hopefully that's helpful for anyone else trying to achieve the same effect.