Congratulations to DanielScott for winning Feature Thread of the Week with 2 votes - View Previous Winners
I don't often get in front of other people's cameras, and much less in front of my own camera, but sometimes I am inspired to take a self portrait. I decided to incorporate a few creations made by my friends into this self portrait as well: the glass plugs in my ear holes were blown by my friend Oisín, the travelers yukata was hand stitched and designed by my friend Rob, and the mustache wax was made by my friend Madison. I also hand painted the canvas backdrop used as the background.
Shot using the original Canon 5D with a Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM lens attached set to f/9, 1/200th sec, ISO 100. Lit with a single Neewer C300 flash with a 20x28inch soft box attached.
I love it. My one comment is - while I understand the intent and the need to not make the details explicit, the eye on the dark side is a little too dark (at least on my calibrated iMac Pro screen).
I agree with Rajan. Non the less it's still a good shot in classic Renaissance lighting. To illuminate the dark shadows you could have used a gold reflector off to the right and bounced some light into the shadowed area. 8 stops down from the key light would lift the shadows and enhance the skin tone quite nicely.
Put a rim light behind you. The rim light would isolate and separate you from the background. Then you've knocked it out of the park with the bases loaded, a grand slam. But, it would no longer be a 1 light lighting scenario.
Rajan Parrikar wrote:
I love it. My one comment is - while I understand the intent and the need to not make the details explicit, the eye on the dark side is a little too dark (at least on my calibrated iMac Pro screen).
InnomnateViem wrote:
I agree with Rajan. Non the less it's still a good shot in classic Renaissance lighting. To illuminate the dark shadows you could have used a gold reflector off to the right and bounced some light into the shadowed area. 8 stops down from the key light would lift the shadows and enhance the skin tone quite nicely.
Put a rim light behind you. The rim light would isolate and separate you from the background. Then you've knocked it out of the park with the bases loaded, a grand slam. But, it would no longer be a 1 light lighting scenario.
Renaissance lighting is perhaps my favorite studio lighting for portraiture with its' variants. Rim lighting, hair snoot, and for women eye high lighting with a very narrow shaped moldable snoot. Seeing that you are just growing into a 1 light setup experiment with your lighting. It would help if you had a modeling mask so that you could see the effect of variants of your lighting. It is not the key light that makes classic portraiture, it is the control of the shadows that will give you that 3d pop or wow. 1 more advice, get ride of the soft box and try a 8 foot ivory off white umbrella. The umbrella wraps your subject in light and enhances the skin tone on white and dark skin tones.
I very seldom comment on this forum. However, your image is so good that you've made me break my code of silence. Good day and keep on doing what you do.....
InnomnateViem wrote:
Renaissance lighting is perhaps my favorite studio lighting for portraiture with its' variants. Rim lighting, hair snoot, and for women eye high lighting with a very narrow shaped moldable snoot. Seeing that you are just growing into a 1 light setup experiment with your lighting. It would help if you had a modeling mask so that you could see the effect of variants of your lighting. It is not the key light that makes classic portraiture, it is the control of the shadows that will give you that 3d pop or wow. 1 more advice, get ride of the soft box and try a 8 foot ivory off white umbrella. The umbrella wraps your subject in light and enhances the skin tone on white and dark skin tones.
I very seldom comment on this forum. However, your image is so good that you've made me break my code of silence. Good day and keep on doing what you do........Show more →
Thank you, and I appreciate you taking the time to give critique and suggestions for improvement.
gheller wrote:
Brilliant self portrait, even more props that it is a selfie!
Wondering, did you try it with a hint of light on the dark side, creating a subtle catchlight? Not that it needs it, just wondering how it would look.
greg
Thank you. I actually did use various forms of reflectors for fill light during this shoot as well as taking photos with no reflector, but in the end I decided that the deep shadows in contrast to the lit side of the face felt right and made for the best and most interesting portrait out of the bunch. I like the idea of a self portrait that conveys human duality and I also like the way that the bone structure is cast as a silhouette.
Thank you. I used to intern for a photographer named Michael Thompson, who was Irving Penn's assistant for many years. Michael's work was heavily influenced by Irving's work, as is mine by Michael's. I love casting parts of the face or other details into shadow, and feel that it's a very effective way of creating an evocative image while also rendering a 3 dimensional look.
DanielScott wrote:
Thank you. I used to intern for a photographer named Michael Thompson, who was Irving Penn's assistant for many years. Michael's work was heavily influenced by Irving's work, as is mine by Michael's. I love casting parts of the face or other details into shadow, and feel that it's a very effective way of creating an evocative image while also rendering a 3 dimensional look.
