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Saltwater Room - Self Portrait
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Saltwater Room - Self Portrait



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"If this is what I call home, why does it feel so alone?" - Owl City - The Saltwater Room

One of my favorite self portraits. I was feeling especial...
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"If this is what I call home, why does it feel so alone?" - Owl City - The Saltwater Room

One of my favorite self portraits. I was feeling especially nostalgic and wanted to create a photo capturing me in the simplest form and my love for nature.
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upload_dateOct, 2013

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2515

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Awards

Zenith Award
Top Shot Award 21
Featured
Contest Finalist in Double Exposure Photo Contest by Pocket Tripod
Achievement in Originality
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Outstanding Creativity
denisebranhammcdorman theresalabin sarahfarrelly Nomaderom mfilipeferreira AnnieFairfax rodrigocardoso +41
Peer Award
djalmaarmelin billmartin_2615 Tudorof davidjprosser ileanaandreagmezgavinoser mhinsbeeck NancyFlemingPhotography +39
Absolute Masterpiece
itakegr8pics genevawilhelm amberschneider adelecostanza Pstanley Aharris907 garethlewisowen +26
Superb Composition
westhomas hugojordo bertohernandez allywatson Kahtiyo jessalynvalencia fernandofrancoj +16
Top Choice
cvrl Zach30303 nicoledolot krupalox chunity chrismonk kaylamaclaren +13
Exceptional Contrast
windonnewton
Jaw Dropping
steveyancey
Superior Skill
prabal
Magnificent Capture
Gambar

Top Ranks

Selfie Moment Photo ContestTop 20 rank
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Monochrome Masters ProjectTop 10 rank
Monochrome Masters ProjectTop 10 rank week 1
The Swag ProjectTop 20 rank
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The Swag ProjectTop 10 rank week 1
Black And White Compositions Photo Contest vol3Top 10 rank
Anything People Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Anything People Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
A World In Black And White Photo ContestTop 10 rank
The Fluid Self Photo ContestTop 10 rank
My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 3Top 20 rank
My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 3Top 20 rank week 2
My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 3Top 10 rank week 1
World Photography Day Photo ContestTop 10 rank
World Photography Day Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
World Photography Day Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Spectacular Monochromes Photo ContestTop 10 rank
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My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 2Top 10 rank
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My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 2Top 20 rank week 1
Fstoppers Volume 2 Photo ContestTop 30 rank week 1

Categories

3 Comments |
windonnewton
 
windonnewton December 18, 2013
Hauntingly beautiful portrait.
Yenrue
Yenrue December 20, 2013
Thank you! :)
RonClark PRO+
 
RonClark March 18, 2014
wow. just stare at it and wonder. congrats on award
Yenrue
Yenrue March 21, 2014
Thanks! :)
ArtQ
 
ArtQ May 27, 2014
Congrats on your finalist award.
Yenrue
Yenrue May 27, 2014
Thank you! :)

Submitted to Photo Contests

Tags

#self portrait
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Behind The Lens

Location

This photo is a combination of two photos. The portrait was a self portrait that I took against a wall in my newly finished basement right by a window - one of my favorite spots in my house. I've had many photoshoots right at that corner of my basement and this was no different! The forest photo was taken while I was out on a photoshoot at a local park a week or so prior. Something about the dark trees contrasting with the water and sunlight on the other side of the trees made that particular image pop when it came to deciding which image I wanted to layer.

Time

The self portrait was taken in the evening right around sunset at golden hour. With the way that particular corner of the basement was structured, the lighting during majority of the day as well as golden hour just bounces off the walls so perfectly. I have had photoshoots during sunrise and sunset but I am a sucker for that golden, warm light at sunset. So I am not surprised I chose to take my self portrait at golden hour. The forest photo was taken on a prior day but a little bit earlier than golden hour - my initial intention for that photo was to capture the contrast of the trees against the background.

Lighting

I used all natural lighting for the photo. I wanted to stick to a soft natural look to add to the dreamy/moodiness of the photo.

Equipment

This was shot with my Canon Rebel t2i with a Canon 28mm f/1.8 lens on a tripod. The photo was processed entirely in Photoshop because at the time I did not have Lightroom nor did I know how to use Lightroom.

Inspiration

A lot of factors inspired me to take this photo. I had been listening to Owl City's "The Saltwater Room" and it was the end of Summer and the beginning of Autumn - I wanted to capture the feeling of the song and the season in the photo. That year (2013) I was working on a 365 day photo project and that week I started to toy with the idea of working on some self portraits. I prefer being the photographer as opposed to being photographed and so I wanted to see if I could create a self portrait that would help me get more comfortable in front of the camera. That was the reason behind choosing to make the photo a double exposure, to give myself something to hide behind. All of the elements added a little mystery to the image and helped me capture that dreamy/moody look that I was going for. Little did I know this would end up being one of my favorite photos of myself!

Editing

It took about 2 hours of post-processing to get to the finished product. Each individual photo did not require too much post processing but blending them together took a good chunk of time. I started with the self portrait (I had to look through about 50 photos to pick the one I chose for this) and did some skin touch ups and followed that with some dodging and burning to get the highlights and shadows just right. The next step was to find the right landscape photo to layer on top of it. The landscape photo was not adjusted too much, the contrast and the vibrancy was boosted just a touch. After layering the photos, I played with the transparency of the landscape photo and then went in with a brush to increase/decrease the transparency in certain areas. The very last step was to change the photo from full color to a warm monochrome look. I did not want the colors of the landscape and the colors of the portrait to distract from the image.

In my camera bag

Currently, in my camera bag I carry around my Canon 5d Mark IV, Sigma 35mm Art lens, the nifty fifty (Canon 50mm 1.8), the Pluto Trigger, 3 extra camera batteries, a reflector, and some objects to add some creative light flares to my images (prism, old cd, piece of foil).

Feedback

Consider the colors in the image. For example, I chose to go with a monochromatic color scheme because I felt all the colors that were present in the original images would be too "noisy" and distracting to the photo. Experiment with posing! I took about 50 different shots before I was satisfied with the one I chose for this photo. When I stitch/blend photos together, I typically wait until the end (after I have finished aligning and small touch ups) to color edit or to add grain. I feel that waiting until the end to color edit helps the photo look more cohesive and hides the imperfections even better. Really take the time to figure out the lighting. For me, I work mainly with natural light and I typically have a reflector with me to help me bounce light where I need it. If you don't have adequate natural light you could also use lamps you may have lying around the house. My favorite piece of advice is really to just get out there and get creative - try new things, experiment! That's how you learn and gain experience and who knows, maybe you'll surprise yourself and create something great!

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