Self Portrait
Aug, 2014Views
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Action Award
People's Choice in Gloomy Brooding Black and White Portraits Photo Challenge
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Superb Composition
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
Magnificent Capture
Genius
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Behind The Lens
Location
The photo was taken in my home, near a window.Time
The photograph was taken in the early afternoon, but time of day probably had little impact on this indoor setting.Lighting
I was looking for natural three-quatering indirect light streaming in through the nearby window.Equipment
The photograph was made with a Nikon 85mm f/1.8 lens on a tripod-mounted Nikon D800E camera, wide open, with no artificial lighting.Inspiration
This photo is pure serendipity. I was setting up my camera for portraits of family members and rather than making them sit while I adjusted the tripod, focus, and lighting angle, I used myself to test my settings. With the self-timer, I took several shots of myself and then used them to make any necessary adjustments. I happened to like this one.Editing
I used PhotoShop to flatten the lighting somewhat. The original photo tended to emphasize the bags under my eyes (which really are there, but seemed to be exaggerated in the photo), so I softened them. Other than that, just standard black and white conversion and straightforward contrast adjustment.In my camera bag
When weight isn't an issue, it's my Nikon D800E, usually with a Nikon 14-24mm lens. But when I don't want to deal with the weight, I often carry a Sony NEX6 or Canon EOS-M mirror less camera.Feedback
I like naturally-lit portraits, and they are fairly simple. All that's needed is indirect window light and some kind of background. I like to use a dark blue sheet as a background. This allows me to adjust the tone from quite light to deep black simply by adjusting the blue sensitivity during black and white conversion. This has almost no noticeable impact on the skin tones of the model.
