Self-Portrait for Promo Purposes

LeDude

This is not something I've tried many times, and I could use some advice. I'd like to get something I can be proud of and show regularly. The subject may not be ideal :, but...
If this shot can be done right, then cool, but I expect a reshoot is best so advice along those lines will be appreciated also.

EXIF

lynnma

LeDude wrote:

This is not something I've tried many times, and I could use some advice. I'd like to get something I can be proud of and show regularly. The subject may not be ideal :, but...
If this shot can be done right, then cool, but I expect a reshoot is best so advice along those lines will be appreciated also.

EXIF

Hi LeDude.. I actually like your avatar better.. I also think it depends what the purpose of the photograph is and who is it you are looking to show it to. To me it seems like the left eye (my left) is slightly out of focus. I think to, and it depends on what you are trying to impart, that a more full face, open face look would be better. Thats just my humble.. I'd like to see more shots. Looking at it again.. it strikes me that the look could be mistaken for a little menacing. But again.. I don't know what the promo is.

System

ledude-

I agree with lynn re the avatar-

eyes do seem a little oof-

I hope I don't offend but that goatee really works for you-

wouldn't bother me if your hair was down to your butt but the way you've got it in the pic is a little too different-

nothing wrong with shadows but the one in your pic is so strong it makes your face asymmetrical-

I hope I'm not being too critical, but you asked-

best
george

vangogh

lynnma wrote:

Hi LeDude.. I actually like your avatar better.. I also think it depends what the purpose of the photograph is and who is it you are looking to show it to. To me it seems like the left eye (my left) is slightly out of focus. I think to, and it depends on what you are trying to impart, that a more full face, open face look would be better. Thats just my humble.. I'd like to see more shots. Looking at it again.. it strikes me that the look could be mistaken for a little menacing. But again.. I don't know what the promo is.

I agree, I like the Avatar pic better.

LeDude

lynnma wrote:

Hi LeDude.. I actually like your avatar better.. I also think it depends what the purpose of the photograph is and who is it you are looking to show it to. To me it seems like the left eye (my left) is slightly out of focus. I think to, and it depends on what you are trying to impart, that a more full face, open face look would be better. Thats just my humble.. I'd like to see more shots. Looking at it again.. it strikes me that the look could be mistaken for a little menacing. But again.. I don't know what the promo is.

When I said promo purposes I was thinking like a press photo, nothing specific-just a general purpose, "hey, this be me," photo that looks professional. Just like I have in my avatar really, but something maybe a bit more professional (the avatar pic is in my header too, but any bigger and it's flaws-er, my flaws-start to show pretty badly).

One alternative I don't see happening (unless Daniel gets it done) is a shot of me photographing musicians. I also need to try setting up my oft unused tripod rather than shooting in the mirror (like the one posted here). I have an SB800 and know use of natural lighting is usually good, but other than that I'm pretty uninformed as far as approach goes.

DancinKate posted a great self-portrait not long ago (http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=34324). It's definitely not the style I'm going for-that would be strange :uhoh-but, I'd love something that polished. Basically though, I'm fishing here because I don't really know what I'm trying to do yet.

Thanks for the comments. I'll definitely work on getting the eyes in focus (it is my left eye too-mirror!). I never would have though "menacing," but I'm glad to know that's coming across.

regards,
Rich

LeDude

gefillmore wrote:

ledude-
...
I hope I'm not being too critical, but you asked-

best
george

Critique away! I've got thick skin so this could be whipping post harsh and I won't be bothered. Directness saves time too!

Damn, I can't believe I'm getting goatee encouragement... I grew it while in Europe and upon return was barraged with 'get rid of the goat' comments for months. I eventually came to agree, and now the question returns, so. J/k... I appreciate the comment.

Oh yeah, and I need a haircut.

dragon300zx

Ok I see part of the problem that no one has touched on when I look at your Exif data. Your fstop is 2.2. While shooting wide open can be great for portraits and create really cool effects it really really really narrows your field of focus. When you are behind the camera thats fine but when you are trying to do a self portrait this is a problem because it's really really hard to get your face to be exactly where you focused. Because of this you really need to use a smaller fstop. Also I don't know how you are setting this up but.... Try getting a dummy, or a big stuffed bear or something that you can try to pose and put exactly where you plan to stand to help with the focusing. Then try to hit the pose as close as possible when you get into position. Pick something kinda comfortable because with the smaller fstop you will get a longer shutter speed so you may need to stay still for a bit. You have a great idea and all but your DOF killed this shot. It was way to shallow and that makes it sooooo much harder to hide that your focus point wasn't in the right spot (it looks like it was right at your hairline).

Plus keep in mind the avatar is much smaller. If you were to shrink this picture down to the size of the avatar it would be much harder to tell it's out of focus.

DavidTO

The reason your avatar is more appealing is that the head down, eyes up look is not working for you, it's making you look detached and kind of reclusive.

Best advice would be to drop the self-portrait part of the project, and put someone behind the camera, like was suggested above. Not just for technical reasons, but they can put you at ease and will be able to judge your pose/look more objectively.

Antonio Correia

LeDude.
Good afternoon.
I like your self-portrait. Better than your avatar. :
But I do not like the out of focus. It should be in your eyes.
It looks like this picture could be for the cover of a CD of your work as musician.
Then a perfect square crop would be necessary.
You have well choosen your clothes.
They are brown like your eyes.
In the picture you have an air of a certain mood which I do not have the word in English and it is hard to explain.
I googled a bit but it did not worked out.
I'll ask my wife later.
Take out your sweter because it does not fit here.
Lieve only the jacket or something brown.
Do care about the DOF.
Make it deep.
Opt (from option and I think it is correct to say opt) for the speed in the camera or whatever.
Get all the DOF you can get.
Photoshop then with Filter Noise Median, creat a layer for a mask and work on what you want sharp.
Lighten up your eyes.
Make them light brown as they probably are.
We are men, but this worked nicelly on "my girls" ...
http://antoniocorreia.smugmug.com/gallery/938400/2/69902288
A portrait of a man must be different from one of a girl/woman.
Regards.

System

ledude-

crack my ass!-

like your emoticon-I'm going to purloin it-

getting a lot of good advice here-

george

Antonio Correia

Just a crop with the rule of 3.eds

LeDude

gefillmore wrote:

getting a lot of good advice here

Wow, I love it! And, I'll be putting as much of it to practice as possible.

I might be a little limited on getting another photographer to help, but I've got some options. Even if I fail here, the use of a dummy spot and stopping down tighter should help. In any event, I'll try lots of expressions (that's easy) and I'll try to avoid the head down thing.

Glad you all dig my Avatar... I wish it was cleaner up close; I don't know if I just got back from fishing or had my face in a fire but the skin is rough (and the head on popup flash ain't great either).

Hey Antonio!, thanks for pointing me to that gallery... AGAIN I have to look at Particia and curse myself for not being in Portugal. You jerk . I'm noting your advice and by the way, there's no sweater... it's a poor t-shirt choice for underneath a pretty swank and retro button-down.
And how did I forget to use the rule of 3 eds? SO many times I have read this... and it helps a lot with this shot, but I'll be reshooting for sure.


-Rich

Antonio Correia

LeDude wrote:

... and I'll try to avoid the head down thing...-Rich

Why ? It looks good this way ...

DavidTO

You should also check out Rutt's technique for portraits, chap. 16 of the LAB book.

Here's a quick pass on the lo-rez version.

Antonio Correia

Indeed ...
And that is in ...

Awais Yaqub

I think you should have focused Eyes instead hairs and you look Fine in beard nice portrait and light :

Ted Szukalski

It is an interesting pose, reminds me of "romantic" portraits fram late 19th century (Chopin) but as others have pointed out I too would like your eyes well in focus. Also, and this is me being picky - loose the T-shirt - it is not distinct enough and blends uneasily with your skin.

Antonio Correia

Antonio Correia wrote:

Indeed ...
And that is in ...

IN THE BOOK MAN IN THE BOOK

spudjer

Ledude

I would try some sort of directional lighting to sculpt your face more. Start with Rembrandt and give your face more dimension.(aka clockwork orange?)

I, too, am working on a self portrait. Will be posting soon for a whippin'. Would appreciate your feedback.

til then, peace

spudjer:confused

dallas

Hi. Mrs. Dallas here, so don't blame William. David is right that the head down, eyes up thing isn't working for you, but not because it's detached and reclusive. It's a bigger problem because it's a teenage girl looking coy thing, not a look I think you want to sell. It also makes your chin and mouth look weak :uhoh :uhoh :uhoh. And although the eye focus thing has already been beaten to death, the dof puts your hair in focus to look like a conditioner ad. Looking directly in the lens is always a great visual connect, but you are better looking and a stronger presence than this picture sells.

LeDude

dallas wrote:

because it's a teenage girl looking coy thing

ouch, that hurts...:D it's cool

I am continuing to read and appreciate all your comments as they are posted, grazie.

-Rich

saurora

I agree with most that has been mentioned here, especially the eyes and the focus on the hair. The tilt down of the chin does nothing for you. I can see by your avatar that you have a nicely-shaped face. This shot distorts your face making your forehead look large and your mouth very small (especially since you aren't smiling) plus the shadow on the cheek doesn't help. It may seem un-original to many, but I always prefer portraits with very direct eye contact....and a smile...or grin. Does this need to be a head shot? How about a 3/4 or full-body shot???

spider-t

This is not my writing, but here is an entry from the chromogenic.net photoblog below on how he got a narrow depth of field sharp focus on his eye in a self portrait.

Cheers, Trish

---

Shoot Yourself 5:19 PM / 18 May 2005


I meant to post this along with the self-portraits from a few days ago, but it slipped my mind. Anyway, if you're going to shoot yourself, here's a trick: measure the focal distance out beforehand and use a piece of string or wire to check the focus when you actually take the shot. As an example, here's how I took this picture: first of all, I used a Hasselblad and 80mm lens, but this should work with any digital or analog camera with a manual focus adjustment. In addition, I used a 21mm extension tube to cut the minimum focus distance down to about thirty centimetres. Then I put the camera on a tripod and set the focus to the shortest possible distance and pointed it at the edge of a cup, moving the cup slowly towards the lens and watching in the viewfinder in order to stop exactly at the point where it came into focus. I tied a piece of speaker wire to the tripod mount just below the camera, then held it taught up against the edge of the cup and cut it off. Now I have a reference for the focus distance of the lens and camera mounted as such on the tripod, meaning I can just hold the string out to something and know without looking in the viewfinder that the lens will be focused exactly where the string ends. To take the picture, then, all I had to do was set up my flash and sit in front of the camera, hold the string up to my eyeball, then drop the string and hold very still while I tripped the shutter with a cable release outside of the frame. Voilà! Perfectly focused at maximum aperture, no need to be behind or above the camera. Let your latent narcissism run wild!

DanielB

LeDude wrote:

One alternative I don't see happening (unless Daniel gets it done) is a shot of me photographing musicians.

i could do that we can find those girls again and get a group photo.

LeDude

err-I really shouldn't be bumping here because I don't have a second attempt ready yet, but I had to relay this comment:

"...you look like young Johny Deep in movie where played the boy who had a scissors ( or shears) without hands..."

A compliment? Mr. Depp was looking and acting a bit strange in that film... hmmm-

Hopefully, Daniel will be posting my/his whole new approach to my promo picture by the end of next week. It should be entertainin .

-Rich

p.s. Thanks saurora and spider, and thx again to all-your advice is plentiful and a big help.

Bakat

Well I personally LOVE Daniels work so I can't wait to see it.

I couldn't think what it was about the shot that I disliked, until someone mentioned the "teenage girl coy look", yep that's it! I'm sure I've seen Britany Spears or one of her ilk in that pose.

LOVE the goatee (ignore your family)!

I understand what you were saying about wanting a more polished, professional look. I simply hate my smile and being in front of a camera; so any time I "pose" for a shot, it looks so posed and stiff that I could be carved from a chunk of marble.... Very uncomfortable marble......Thus my onion picture stands in for me.

Kat