Project 52: Week 5

self-por·trait [self-pawr-trit, -treyt, -pohr-, self-] noun

• a portrait of oneself done by oneself.

Wow, what a hard week. I don't like photos of myself at the best of times, and trying to take one of myself and actually liking it was always going to be a major challenge. I think that I took over 200 photos and deleted about 195 of them!

I did learn a few things about taking self portraits though:

1. You need to have something to focus on when setting the picture up i.e something to stand in your place in the photo. Height doesn’t matter so much as distance, but try to match it to yourself as best as you can.
2. You also need to use both auto and manual focus. First, focus on your stand-in object using auto focus. Then, with the object still in focus, switch your lens to manual focus. This then gives you the freedom to tweak settings without messing with your established point of focus. You then just need to make sure you stand perfectly on your mark each time you take a photo.
3. You need to use the timer and burst (taking multiple images at once) functions. You need plenty of time to get in position and figure out what you’re doing. Most cameras let you vary the length of the timer as well as take multiple photos in succession. I set mine to 10 second timer and taking 8 photos at once.
4. You need to capture you; and
5. A certain amount of post photo processing will be needed, at the very least photos will need to be cropped.
   

Point 4 is where I failed, I managed the technical aspects of the shot well but my photos just didn't "say" what I wanted them to say. I had so many ideas, but just couldn't seem to pull them off. This challenge is about learning and growth and its not about taking amazing photos all the time (of course I would love that, but its just not possible). I have learned this week and have experimented so I think that's a good thing.

Without further ado, here are this week's photos (no first, second and third, but 4 photos that worked and that I liked). I have decided to post them all as Ethan is awake and I have no time/energy to try and decide on a top three. They are here for all sorts of reasons. Please comment and let me know your thoughts!

Photo 1: This photo is here because this is how Ethan (and Jason) see me all the time! From behind the lens!
Photo 2: This is me, hiding in the shadows! Pretty representative of my feelings around photos! I just don't like them!Photo 3: this photo was all about applying the techniques I listed above i.e. auto and manual focus etc. I wanted my face to be blurry and out of focus and I am pleased that I achieved it.Photo 4: Getting a macro shot in focus as a self portrait is HARD. But I got there in the end! Well as you can see, I did a fair amount of post photo processing this week, but learning new techniques is what this is about so although I wasn't 100% happy with the actual photos this week, I have developed (excuse the pun) as a photographer!

Stay tuned for next week's photos, the topic is "lines".