I wanted to include a self-portrait in this project. This was a very tricky shot.
I went to the gym, late at night so no one else would be around. Fortunately, the place was pretty empty, and I had an area of the weight room all to myself. I set up my tripod, and attached the camera. I shot a few test pictures, then adjusted the shutter speed to bring out the shadows a bit more.
The problem with self-portraits is that the camera focuses before the shutter is pressed, and doesn’t refocus. This meant almost every image I took was slightly out of focus. But I was shooting solo, so I didn’t have anyone to stand in for me so I could focus, and I don’t have a way to press the shutter remotely. To make it more complicated, I had ten seconds to press the shutter, get in position, and I had to ensure the tripod wasn’t visible in the mirror behind.
This is another subject I’d like to play with a little more, but it wasn’t bad either. The biggest problem was truly the focus, which I had anticipated. The result was less than perfect, but I’m going to share it anyway. I had a few decent ones, but I picked this one more for the composure than anything else. I like that you can see my eyes, but not the rest of my face. (Maybe I’ll put it in Photoshop and see if I can fix the focus.)
Photo #29: Self Portrait
Tech Details:
Equipment: Sony NEX-5R, 18-55mm standard lens, tripod.
Image: 1/320 sec exposure, f/4, ISO-3200.
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