Consistent Self Portrait

BradfordBenn

Hello All-

I have been trying to figure out how to do a consistent self portrait as I travel. I have not been able to figure out how to do it. I have been wasting lots of electrons trying to figure out how to do it.

The goal I have is to have my face/head be the same size and in the same location in each picture. So that as I move around the country/world I can get a self portrait that is consistent so that at the end of the year I can create a "time lapse" of me traveling.

If I was home this would be easier, mark where I stand, mark where camera east, repeat as necessary. The challenge is that I move around and am trying to accommodate various situations of travel. There will be times I will have my full setup, there will be other times where it is just the point & shoot. I am thinking it should be the P&S for consistency, but I am still not sure how to do it.

Any ideas?:scratch

pathfinder

Hold your camera in your left hand fully extended??

OK, OK, it's Hokey, I know, but it does solve the lens to face distance issue, is highly portable, and requires no special equipment or measuring tools.

Other than that you are going to need a tripod or some support that can consistently hold your camera at a consistent height and distance from you. There are clamp on camera holders that will clamp to door sills, shelves, baxk of wooden chairs, etc kind of like a Justin clamp for speedlites, but these alternatives require much more stuff to haul with you everywhere. There are the plastic, moldable tripods for P&S but not many for real DSLRs that I trust, like the Joby Goriilapods.

If you go the Gorillapod route, you still have to deal with height and distance issues for consistency frame to frame.

Happy New Year!!

BradfordBenn

Hmm something to try. I have Gorillapods and they did not solve the issue either. I even thought of a piece of string with a level on it but figured I should just ask. I can try it over the next couple of days and see what happens. Can't be any worse than what I have now.

Happy New Year!

ian408

Try using a pole with a 1/4-20 tripod mount on it. It's a consistent length and some pole mounts collapse (like a tent pole) making them easier to carry.

BradfordBenn

I thought about that idea using a Trek Pod (http://www.amazon.com/Trek-Tech-TrekPod-Aluminum-MagMount-Travel/dp/B00A0VG508/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1357082992&sr=8-4&keywords=trek+pole+camera) but the length makes it hard for carry-on - which would be ideal. I thought about the use of one of those self portrait extender things http://www.amazon.com/T-200L-Extendable-telescopic-handheld-Portrait/dp/B003Z4YLAI/ref=sr_1_15?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1357083134&sr=1-15 but same issue of consistency.

Where is Kevin with his Kickstarter when I need him....

I wonder if I could use an onion skin feature on a tethered camera or a iPhone.

ian408

How would a T200 be inconsistent? You might need to learn to be consistent with it (as you would with anything) but it offers flexibility without a lot of extra stuff.

BradfordBenn

I might just have to try it. The Left arm trick is being tested tonight... Details later

Gary752

How about just composting? Take a shot of yourself in your studio with a solid background and then remove it, and drop it onto the photos you want it on.

GaryB

ian408

BradfordBenn wrote: »

I might just have to try it. The Left arm trick is being tested tonight... Details later

Remember that you can use points of reference for the lens, angle of the camera and so on. I would definitely use the P&S every time. You are more likely to have that (and if it's your phone, use that instead.

If you have to, you can probably use something similar to stacking in order to align everything at the end.

My advice is don't over think it. Just do it.

pathfinder

I just was reading about the Olympus m4/3 camera body - E-PL5 and it has the very interesting feature of the LCD on the back of the camera can be configured so that you can actually see the LCD when shooting a self portrait. (I just realized my Panasonic GH-2 will do the same thing, but the Oly is cheaper and smaller than the Lumix GH-2.)

This would allow you to see the image you are shooting so that you could have your portrait the correct size and location by direct viewing of the image before capturing it. This would allow you to use various techniques of supporting the camera, even different focal lengths, and still be able to pull off the compositing you require.

This might be all the camera you need on your trip too. The m4/3s systems continue to improve, and are small, inconspicuous, and produce quality imagery.

BradfordBenn

Thanks for the comments. On the past trip I tried it and the PowerShotSD950 worked pretty well. I am thinking I am going to get the handle/extender for it to see how that works out.

In terms of not compositing, part of the purpose is to watch me change over the year. With how much I travel I need to be able to make it portable.