Tips/ideas for a self portrait?

[Pot Bellied Fool]

Argh, I've finally been rumbled and my tame graphic designer is demanding a better photo of me for business literature.

Any tips for doing a self portrait? (Tripod, Olympus e-300, remote control, 14-45mm kit lens, Sigma 55-200 & a Metz flash are all I've got bar a few filters & extension tubes)

Don't want to do the typical rabbit in headlights passport thing but would like to minimise the double (ok, trebble-ish) chins a little!

[Simpo Two]

Lighting is the hard bit as you can't see before you shoot. A simple quick fix, seeing as you only have one toy in the box, is to bounce the flash off the ceiling and tweak to taste.

[davidd]

stick your neck out a little...

[The Moose]

Don't be in it.

That was the advise I was given last time I posed that question

Can you get someone else as a stand in?

[DJWuk]

Make life easy and forget flash.

Sit side on to the largest window you have in the house, twisting only your shoulders 45 degrees towards window. You want to avoid direct sunlight otherwise shadows will be too intense. Example I took of a subject next to a north facing window :-



If the shadows are too much for you, then use a sheet of white paper to bounce light back into the shadow area.


Shoot with lens wide open for narrowest depth of field. Focus point is the eyes. Plain background works best if you're unable to blow the background out of focus.

Good luck

Dave

Edited by DJWuk on Friday 11th October 08:36

[Pot Bellied Fool]

The Moose said:

Don't be in it.

That was the advise I was given last time I posed that question

Can you get someone else as a stand in?

[Simpo Two]

DJWuk said:

Focus point is the eyes.

Tricky to do when you can't look through the VF at yourself... and how is shutter/AF activated or do you go MF and guess?

[Hooli]

[quote=Pot Bellied Fool
Any tips for doing a self portrait?
[/quote]


Plastic surgery if most examples I've seen are anything to go by

[tenohfive]

Simpo Two said:

Tricky to do when you can't look through the VF at yourself... and how is shutter/AF activated or do you go MF and guess?

That was my first thought, but anyone can be drafted in to focus on the eyes. Or alternatively you can focus on them, and once the focus is locked swap places.

[DJWuk]

Simpo Two said:

Tricky to do when you can't look through the VF at yourself... and how is shutter/AF activated or do you go MF and guess?

Manual focus, pre focus on any item you can place is same position that you are going to be. Not ideal, but downside of trying to do a self portrait. Alternatively , ask a friend to take a photo, whilst promising not to take the pi$$ out of your poses

If you have a remote trigger to take the photos you can still do manual focus, but take multiple shots moving yourself forward a small amount each shot. If you start behind the perceived focus point, one of the shots should be in focus. Bit of a pain, but not much choice if on your own.

Edited by DJWuk on Friday 11th October 19:07

[Simpo Two]

tenohfive said:

That was my first thought, but anyone can be drafted in to focus on the eyes. Or alternatively you can focus on them, and once the focus is locked swap places.

That sir is not only like smashing up a boat to make a raft but also fails to make the category 'self portrait'!!

[tenohfive]

Simpo Two said:

That sir is not only like smashing up a boat to make a raft but also fails to make the category 'self portrait'!!

Which might matter if it's a 365, but for a website photo I suspect the OP can live with having someone else take credit for focusing and pressing the shutter.

I'm sure there are ways to do a selfie with shallow DOF but the simple approach - getting someone else to do it - may well be the easiest.