Without Front
Aug, 2015Views
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Contest Finalist in Black and White Faces Photo Contest
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo at home in my living room. I don't have a studio or a backdrop, so I love to try and create a lowkey feel purely through use of light and camera settings.Time
This particular photo was taken late on in the evening so it was dark enough to experiment. I really enjoy the challenge of shooting in the dark, plus (being a fulltime mum), evening time is when I'm able to devote more time to what I love doing.Lighting
For this shot, I used a very cheap desk lamp. With the right angles you can produce some quite amazing lighting effects using this method. At the time, I had no flashgun so the lamp was my go to for anything requiring lighting.Equipment
Equipment used was a Canon 40D, Canon 85mm f1.8 (my absolute FAVOURITE lens!), a tripod and a shutter release.Inspiration
Self portraits are a great way to not only learn the fundamentals of portraiture, but also to give one an outlet. The work I produce at any given time and the creative elements of said same, are influenced primarily by my mood at that time. This particular evening I was feeling pretty dark, morose even. This final photo is the expression for how I was feeling.Editing
One thing I love about portraiture - post processing. Before I took up photography, I used to draw. So for me, PP is a bit like drawing. I'm a Lightroom user so I do everything in there. The main changes to any photo I process are A. Tone curve and B. Adjustment brush. This particular photo, the brushes were used to dodge & burn to enhance the drama of the image.In my camera bag
Oooo, tough question! It really depends on what I'm shooting. For portraiture, generally my camera, memory card, spare batteries and two lenses - 50mm f1.4 and the aforementioned 85mm. Never take too much as I think it's all too easy to get bogged down with what gear to use.Feedback
Advice...hmm. Experiment. With this particular method (the lamp), light spill is an issue and, unlike with a flash, there aren't modifiers available. In this shot I was holding the lamp in my right hand, just shy of arms length, slightly above my face (angled downwards) to my front right. I was kneeling in front of my camera on the tripod (camera slightly above and angled downwards) with the shutter release in my left hand. For self portraits in particular, try to avoid shallow apertures until you're comfortable with a thin field of focus. For this one, I used an F stop of 6.3. Other than that, just play, practice and have fun with it!
