Photography tips needed

Hi all. I would love to participate in the new blog option, and much more in the forum in general, but one thing that's holding me back is that my photography skills are sorely lacking. Really, really bad. I have to take self portraits, and I would use that as my excuse except that I know some of you take great shots of yourself in the mirror, and I can't seem to do that. Any tips would be appreciated!

13 years ago

General

6 replies

Latest reply was from Diana

Sveta

(website)

Veteran

I was never able to get good shots in the mirror. My solution was to use a tripod and a self-timer in my camera.

13 years ago

goldenpig

(website)

Veteran

I know I really should figure out a good place to do tripod and self-timer shots for better pics but I am always in a rush so it's either quick snaps in the mirror or nothing for me! I make sure to turn off the flash so it doesn't flash into the mirror and obscure details. I take several shots so I can pick the best. It often looks better when I put my hand on my hip or cross one leg in front of the other. Pick an area that is well-lit. Take several close-up detail shots of your outfit as well. It doesn't matter though if your photos aren't the best quality--post them anyways! You will get better at picture-taking with practice.

13 years ago

Deborah

Veteran

I do as Sveta does. It took me a while to find the right place for photos, good lighting etc, You need the light in front of you (ie behind the camera). You can get a free self timer app for the Iphone (i use Gorillacam) and you can also get a free app for cropping and resizing photos etc (I use iRetouch Free). It just takes practice, so have some fun with it.

13 years ago

Active Member

Thanks, ladies!

13 years ago

modgrl

(website)

Veteran

I put my camera on the kitchen table and stand ~8 ft away from it. That seems to produce the correct perspective. Also, smile! Believe it or not, your attitude always comes through in your WIW's.

13 years ago

Diana

Veteran

I definitely recommend using the self-timer rather than the mirror shot. When I did mirror shots, I always got weird reflections (plus they always revealed that my mirror was not as clean as I thought, LOL), the perspective always seemed a bit distorted, and it was hard to get everything in the photo. I have no tripod, and a simple point-and-shoot camera.

You can experiment with locations as well as lighting conditions (never use the flash if you can help it though! take photos during the day!). Also, try taking photos with the camera at different heights (you can put it on a chair, or table, or shelf, table with a stack of books, etc if you don't have a tripod) to see what angle you like best. I take my photos with the camera around waist level, about 6 feet away, using the setting that takes 3 photos in a row after a 10 second delay. I always crop my photos to get rid of a lot of the other stuff behind me in the frame; I just use the built-in crop function in iphoto for this.

13 years ago

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