I want to do a selfie... a flattering one at that.. I have tried holding the camera at arms length, but I seem to end up with 3 chins or a point nose (I'm not that fat or ugly, thank you!)
I was wondering if anyone has any tips to getting a good angle on yourself. I really have no idea where to start!
Plus, everyone else on 365 seems photogenic... and I am more photophobic!
Hold it at arm's length but higher than you so you are looking up into the camera. The higher the camera, the younger and thinner you look! Paris Hilton trick, but it works! LOL!
Chins...Hold your head up high and jut your chin away from your body just a little bit. We tend to pull our chins down when having a picture taken of us, so it's a bit of an unnatural act to jut it out. Practice in front of a mirror to get just the right amount of jutting and holding head high where it doesn't look odd, but looks just right. You will be very happy with the results.
I don't have a tripod, so I'm always propping the camera on something. I hate doing selfie's but have had to do a couple for different challenges. I always do better when I have a prop- nothing fancy, just something to get my attention off of myself. It makes me less aware that the object of the photo is me. And believe, I am not photogenic either. It takes me 30 to 40 shots to get one with a nice expression!
Holding the camera myself it's more flattering to hold it higher than my head looking down on me! It takes practice to find your best angle, side etc... ;) All of mine on here are taken with me holding the camera myself!
stare at the camera, and focus on your eyes, and open your eyes up so a bit more white can be seen. If you do this, no one will see the pointy nose of the triple chin. You will get heaps of comments like "Your eyes are amazing" and "Wow, piercing shot". Only a mug like me will say "Nice chins" but I am easily ignored.
Oh and if that fails, over expose the shot, and keep on staring!
I do hand held and tripod selfies. In the beginning I used a mirror to look at the live view ;-) And.. I lift/stick my chin out a little and open my eyes a little more than I'm used to in daily life. Camera wise, try to overexpose a little bit; that makes you look younger and hides unwanted skin imperfections :-D
Tripod, remote... and I found out it's easier to place a mirror (in my case, it's a closet with mirrored doors) behind the camera so you can see yourself as well as the camera display while you're posing. That way, you'll have a better control of what you're doing. I did this one the day before yesterday:
Over-exposure, btw, is a good way to "hide" all the unflattering details that more or less everyone finds in self portraits. ;-)
Tripod, and the timer on my camera are what I used for my selfies. I also found that the natural light of outdoors is more flattering. Good luck! I hated doing mine at first, but now I am very comfortable with it and actually have a few photos of myself that don't make me want to hide. :-)
I guess it depends upon your perspective. Most of my selfies are on a tripod, but a couple are arm's length shots, but shot in a way to not make them look like that. Both of these were shot that way.
I got a remote off eBay for $3.69 ( free postage!) gives you more time to get ready for the shot, as opposed to the self timer where I only have 10 sec to get ready. I haven't used it for the project yet, but I will!
What's wrong with a pointy nose?! I happen to have a nose similar to Elphaba and I just own it! :)
Really though, the tripod/steady surface and self timer/remote help a ton. You can practice in a mirror so you can see what you look like, and eventually you'll start to recognize what feels like a good shot.
@calx holding the camera too close, especially just a little p&S or wider angle lenses will distort your facial features due to lens distortion (easily seen in straight lines)
Self timer and fence post, took a few tries to get composition and pose correct. Remember, we only need to see the good ones, you're free to delete all the others, that's the beauty of sharing in the digital age ;)
Self timer and windowsill on adjoining wall. Exposure set for curtains to over expose me in the window, and reduce the distracting slats across the window (the remaining lines could have been shopped out easily but I chose not to). Over exposing can also be a bit slimming (bit being the keyword) and reduce wrinkles and spots to be slightly more flattering. Only had time to shoot this twice and still did not get the composition exactly the way I wanted it (cut off a bit of my foot). Could have used a stronger flash to help expose legs a bit more so the detail wasn't as lost but we were running late for lunch.
Biggest tip, keep trying, look at other photos and try and figure out how they were done. Mimic and learn.
@calx PS. Shooting from above will reduce chin issues, I have that problem with some people that don't have much of a neck. Doubly hard since I'm so short and frequently tend to shoot from below which means their head will tip down a bit causing a few more chins.
Using a mirror like @shadowdancer suggested is a really good idea. If you cant get one behind the camera, practice in front of one, realize how your body looks when you move in it a specific way, then shoot.
Okay, I tried using a tripod and ended up taking pictures of the wall behind me. When I managed to include myself I was out of focus but the wall was perfect. Arm's length PandS is all I can manage.
Someone put up a link to this video on here and it gives invaluable info on portraits and that dreaded double chin....really good info http://vimeo.com/35732667
and then process it (in my case, a lot....exposure, saturation, filters, blurs) until you are happy, always better to be looking up than down at the camera.
heres mine
I was challenged to do a selfie, and it took everything I had to do it because I hate how I look in photos, so I decided to have fun with it. When I posted, all I could do was hope I didn't scare everyone off
@bobfoto OH my Goodness that ones pretty scary! It'd be even more traumatizing if it didn't have that little triangle of what looks to maybe be the normal world of sky and trees.
I may very well have some nightmares tonight :/
@catwoman2
If you were using a really shallow depth of field that can happen. Try closing down your aperture.
If you're using autofocus you can try placing something in the shot about where you're sitting so that the camera has something to focus on, then replacing it with yourself before the shot.
I read somewhere that women look better with their heads tilted slightly back and men look better with their heads tilted slightly forward, is my advice for angle.
My other advice (from a seasoned self-portrait taker) is SELF TIMER and even better REMOTE. Remotes are quite cheap and you don't really need a tripod, I've used anything from a stack of books to a wooden crate when my tripod has been absent.
Choose a body part or a side that you like best. Make sure the lighting is nice and soft late afternoon outside or I use my bedroom with blinds so I can adjust the natural light.
My remote is flat so I've been using the timer which meant I try and keep the aperture around 11. I will focus on something I plan on standing in front of nd that usually works - a remote is a 1000 times easier and you can play around with DOF a little more.
In post processing I usually overexpose and play with the clarity to try and even out my skin tone. At the end of all that - I usually take around 40 photos and end up with 1 I'm vaguely happy with lol
I think it's a lot to do with confidence... smiling into a camera not at a person is a bit odd, and we're used to being the other side of the lens! I did my profile pic into a mirror, and this one with the camera on a tripod and a mirror close behind it - you can see the reflection!
Good luck!
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This was posted on 2/20/2012 and is quite helpful even for self portraits. http://365project.org/discuss/tips-n-tricks/11165/it-s-all-about-the-jaw-portrait-tips-video
Oh and if that fails, over expose the shot, and keep on staring!
Over-exposure, btw, is a good way to "hide" all the unflattering details that more or less everyone finds in self portraits. ;-)
Will try the over expose idea and the mirror.. I'll let you know how I get on and @bobfoto can give me an honest appraisal of my chin(s) :p
Thank you 365ers
Really though, the tripod/steady surface and self timer/remote help a ton. You can practice in a mirror so you can see what you look like, and eventually you'll start to recognize what feels like a good shot.
Self timer and fence post, took a few tries to get composition and pose correct. Remember, we only need to see the good ones, you're free to delete all the others, that's the beauty of sharing in the digital age ;)
Self timer and windowsill on adjoining wall. Exposure set for curtains to over expose me in the window, and reduce the distracting slats across the window (the remaining lines could have been shopped out easily but I chose not to). Over exposing can also be a bit slimming (bit being the keyword) and reduce wrinkles and spots to be slightly more flattering. Only had time to shoot this twice and still did not get the composition exactly the way I wanted it (cut off a bit of my foot). Could have used a stronger flash to help expose legs a bit more so the detail wasn't as lost but we were running late for lunch.
Biggest tip, keep trying, look at other photos and try and figure out how they were done. Mimic and learn.
Using a mirror like @shadowdancer suggested is a really good idea. If you cant get one behind the camera, practice in front of one, realize how your body looks when you move in it a specific way, then shoot.
and then process it (in my case, a lot....exposure, saturation, filters, blurs) until you are happy, always better to be looking up than down at the camera.
heres mine
I may very well have some nightmares tonight :/
@catwoman2
If you were using a really shallow depth of field that can happen. Try closing down your aperture.
If you're using autofocus you can try placing something in the shot about where you're sitting so that the camera has something to focus on, then replacing it with yourself before the shot.
My other advice (from a seasoned self-portrait taker) is SELF TIMER and even better REMOTE. Remotes are quite cheap and you don't really need a tripod, I've used anything from a stack of books to a wooden crate when my tripod has been absent.
http://365project.org/theseven/365/2011-12-06
My remote is flat so I've been using the timer which meant I try and keep the aperture around 11. I will focus on something I plan on standing in front of nd that usually works - a remote is a 1000 times easier and you can play around with DOF a little more.
In post processing I usually overexpose and play with the clarity to try and even out my skin tone. At the end of all that - I usually take around 40 photos and end up with 1 I'm vaguely happy with lol
Good luck!
I know I have tried a few in my project and they are all just having a bit of fun.
Try it, change it and try it again.
Here are a couple of mine.