I was really annoyed the other day because I couldn't get out to take photo's so I decided to do a self portrait (I was also hungover!). This is never intended to hit my portfolio, but I'd like some cc on it please as it's purely a practice piece. Thanks!
i think the focus is a touch off. It's on the brow and bridge of the nose, but misses the eyes. Also, I'm not huge on the crop for a shot like this. The bridge of the nose should be centered and the eyes symmetrical.
Self-portraits must be hard though, I tried once with a similar shot and it's so hard to get the focus right.
Thanks Mike, Yeah focussing was a nightmare. My camera's rear screen doesn't move so it was case of a best guess. I've since learnt that I can hook my camera up to an external monitor that I can use as live view which should help for the next attempt.
Yeah I'm shooting with a D7200 (no swivel screen), but I also have a D5200 which doesn have a swivel screen. I think I'll try with the 5200 next time and maybe get better results.
Good on you for shooting on a day where you couldn't get out though, haha.
I'd managed to get up at 4:30 (despite a raging hangover) with a shot in mind that I've been after. Had my hand on the front door and boom! massive anxiety attack. I was so unimpressed that day!
Anxiety attack? Why? Over your photography? Seriously?
If your anxiety is over your photography, rethink your photography. One thing I've learned is that who you are and what you feel will eventually (if it doesn't already) flow over into your style as a photographer. Unless you want your personal anxiety to show through in all of your work (which you may want) - get rid of it.
Some comments on the shot:
1: Yes, focus is a bit off - in the eyes.
2: I would have stopped down the lens more. This looks to be very wide open causing not just the background, but portions of your face to be out of focus. you may have been going for that, but on a shot like this, the subject is your face and parts of it are out of focus. Typically it's seen as a mistake, when any part of the subject is out of focus. Some people would say it's art, but to me it's a mistake.
3: I'm not a fan of the crop either. You often see the tops of heads cropped off, but not so much below. While it can work, this crop doesn't work for me as it's off center and crops your mouth away, which I personally can't warm up to.
I do like that it's black and white, which gives a more dramatic effect. I also like the lighting ratio which looks to be around a 3:1 or 4:1 - for again, a more dramatic effect.
Not over my photography - I have agoraphobia which raises it's ugly head at random moments. I was at f1.8 (on a 50mm prime) so yeah - wide open. Thanks for the crop advice, for the next attempt I'll be central in the frame.
Sorry to hear of your condition, and glad it's not related to your photography!
Same here :)
Not sure what Nikon has for WiFi, but I can live preview on my phone or tablet, and select the focus point too. With Canon.
There's no WIFI on my camera unfortunately - it's a canon 1200d, the entry level model - but I found out that I can tether it via USB to my laptop so that might be an avenue to explore.
That works too!
I don't mind the framing at all. That is code for I quite like the framing.
I like the lighting and the tonality. The focus, of course, is the first thing we photographers will check out, especially in a wide aperture close-up such as this and no it is not correctly on the eyes, such a shame but hardly surprising as shooting one's self with shallow depth of field is always going to be a serious challenge. I don't mind parts of the face being soft so long as the main eye is sharp, in this shot both eyes need to be sharp. The tip of the nose and ears, even the eye brows not at all. they are utterly irrelevant in terms of sharpness.
In short keep trying to nail the focus and you'll have a strong image. Very nearly well done.
Thanks Ian, I'm going to keep trying this shot when some-things annoyed me (I don't think I could look that grumpy when it's not genuine - I'm no actor!)
I like the high "drama". Focus, crop, dof just ads to my interest level. Context and perception are also important elements of any shot. Perfection is rare in any shot, because we all work from a different internal model.
Just my thoughts....for what they are worth.
I wish the focus was on the eyes. Has great potential.