I’d never done such a thing before, but I pulled over to look at the two puppies for sale on the side of the road. The sellers told me she and her little brother were Springer Spaniel puppies. What did I know? (She’s not) But she was just a bit of a thing. Smitten. That’s what I was. And so I bought her and took her home.
I’ve already shared this on Facebook and wanted to share it with all of you, as well. As I quipped, “So, I think I come by this photography thing honestly. Dad’s selfie from 1964.”
This time I was practicing with glamour lighting. That is. I placed the soft box directly in front of myself about four feet away, bottom of the box at about chin level, light facing straight forward (not tipped down). I did not use any reflectors, hair lights, etc, because I wanted to see just what one light would do. All were shot at ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/20s.
I haven’t done a selfie since I shot myself at the Museum of Modern Art in May (before my birthday), so here is the first addition to my “57” gallery.
I was just fooling around with my continuous lights and my 50mm, so forgive the lack of lipstick.
Seen at the Museum of Modern Art.
And that, my friends is the end of my posts of our travels to Washington, D.C. and New York City. I may throw another one or two photographs up, if the mood strikes me, but as MoMA was our last main stop on Day Three, aside from the NBC Studios tour where photography was strictly forbidden, I believe I have ridden this horse as far as she can go.
If you wish to see more of my photos from our trip, you can view them at my SmugMug gallery. (Link)
I had the house to myself last night, so you know what that means! I was looking to explore broad soft lighting but at the same time decided to try shooting myself in a ball cap, just to see what challenges the brim would provide.
Ah! Lipstick! Better…
One, sans cap. Pretty pink nails.
And one with Nina, for fun. She was squirmy and didn’t cooperate for the timer!
I got inspired by Fergus Ford (and if you want to see a real pro’s results, take a look at his latest – awesome work). In this post he offers his “how-to” and I used it as jumping off point. Sort of. I didn’t use a flash through an umbrella. I was on the north side of the house in shade and I shot this at noon so the sun was high and bright and bouncing off our yellowed winter grass to camera left and the white of the house acted as a reflector. ISO 100, f/2.5, 1/1000s, 85mm. My tripod was perched on the dog house, and I’m pleased with the perspective shooting down provided.
And this is the result. Pretty much out of the camera. I brightened my eyes and teeth and added a light blur vignette, but I didn’t touch my skin – this is how it came out. My skin is creamy and smooth, which is exactly what I was going for. I’ll keep working on this.
Needless to say, doing this as a self-portrait was quite hard, and I can’t wait for the opportunity to photograph others.
Carissa Snedeker Photography 