First real attempt... (contains one ugly sod)

Gav.

Gav.

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Gav
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Hi,

I can't believe I'm still doing this..:runaway: .. Sorry for putting these on here :LOL:

I need to work on the posing and settings but I wanted to post as I'm still trying to work on my Anxiety and a few other 'issues'.

I'd be happy to take any crit', I'm soft, but thick skinned ;) I guess I'd like to know if this works on a basic level, lighting, comp etc.. (flickr seems to have shifted light & colour levels :facepalm:)

Thank you for taking the time to look.



Self by Gavin Wickham, on Flickr
 
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Great attempt and yeah unfortunately the life of a hobby portrait photographer is taking lots of yourself!

Constructively you are a bit of a floating head in the picture, background and top very dark - might be flickr , my phone brightness is on full though.

The aspect ratio is unusual as well but all good practice!
 
Well done for working with your anxiety, buddy.

It works just fine for me. I don’t mind that you’re floating - it’s edgy enough with the lighting to break the rules. I like shooting portraits in landscape, so that’s good for me too.

I would suggest looking up Peter Hurley and his techniques for getting the best facial structure from a portrait. Basically push your forehead towards the camera. It feels weird as, but it tightens up the jawline and you can’t see that you’ve done it in the final image.
 
Very nice selfie styled capture Gav, works for me very well.
 
acrobatic_Citron said:
Great attempt and yeah unfortunately the life of a hobby portrait photographer is taking lots of yourself!

Constructively you are a bit of a floating head in the picture, background and top very dark - might be flickr , my phone brightness is on full though.

The aspect ratio is unusual as well but all good practice!
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I Like working alone, the arguments are amusing :LOL:
Thank you for the feedback, not sure if my wildlife style has come in to the making of this.. I'll watch the clothing in future, I was feeling brave on the way home from work so cracked on before changing my mind.
I've never noticed flickr changing tones before.
Thanks again.

The23rdman said:
Well done for working with your anxiety, buddy.

It works just fine for me. I don’t mind that you’re floating - it’s edgy enough with the lighting to break the rules. I like shooting portraits in landscape, so that’s good for me too.

I would suggest looking up Peter Hurley and his techniques for getting the best facial structure from a portrait. Basically push your forehead towards the camera. It feels weird as, but it tightens up the jawline and you can’t see that you’ve done it in the final image.
Click to expand...
Thank you, Dean, I thought it was time to man up :ROFLMAO:
I'll do some research and have a think about the next one.
Thank you again (y)


G.K.Jnr. said:
Very nice selfie styled capture Gav, works for me very well.
Click to expand...

Thank you George, much appreciated (y)
 
you look nothing like imagined ;), fair play far far better than I could come up with:cool:
 
Nice composition, clean and well focussed. Looks fine at this forum size. I think you could have got away with a closer crop to eliminate the floating head thing. I like the aspect ratio - but then I quite like landscape portraits. Gives heads room to breathe.

A slight tilt to the head (drop your chin just a shade) and the sticky out head Dean mentioned would add a bit of character. It "feels" a little lifeless as it is. If you're looking up Peter Hurley, might as well have a go at a squinch too :)

I'm also really not keen on the shadow on the (camera) RH side of the face. It either needs to be softer & less of a line, or darker and more pronounced. This kinda sits in the middle. It's compounded when you click through to Flickr and look at the bigger version. Just my opinion though!

Finally, something odd is happening with the sharpening to my eyes. The lit side of the face looks (to me) over-sharpened, and the shadowed side looks blurred. One eye is in focus and the other doesn't appear to be. The depth of field isn't so shallow as you can see all the hairs on the (camera) LH side of your face in stark clarity, but in shadow, everything is blurred. I'm not sure why this is, but it's disconcerting to look at. Only, however, at a blown up size, which no-one (apart from photographers) ever look at.

It's a really good effort, and practising on yourself - especially minor tilts and changes to pose will really help you work with novice models (i.e. family/friends).
 
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Please don't apologies for posting, its what we are here for, especially with work as good as this. Thanks for sharing (y)
 
A very nice selfie Gav.
No crit from me, I'd be more than happy if I could match, or even get close to that quality..
 
Harlequin565 said:
Nice composition, clean and well focussed. Looks fine at this forum size. I think you could have got away with a closer crop to eliminate the floating head thing. I like the aspect ratio - but then I quite like landscape portraits. Gives heads room to breathe.

A slight tilt to the head (drop your chin just a shade) and the sticky out head Dean mentioned would add a bit of character. It "feels" a little lifeless as it is. If you're looking up Peter Hurley, might as well have a go at a squinch too :)

I'm also really not keen on the shadow on the (camera) RH side of the face. It either needs to be softer & less of a line, or darker and more pronounced. This kinda sits in the middle. It's compounded when you click through to Flickr and look at the bigger version. Just my opinion though!

Finally, something odd is happening with the sharpening to my eyes. The lit side of the face looks (to me) over-sharpened, and the shadowed side looks blurred. One eye is in focus and the other doesn't appear to be. The depth of field isn't so shallow as you can see all the hairs on the (camera) LH side of your face in stark clarity, but in shadow, everything is blurred. I'm not sure why this is, but it's disconcerting to look at. Only, however, at a blown up size, which no-one (apart from photographers) ever look at.

It's a really good effort, and practising on yourself - especially minor tilts and changes to pose will really help you work with novice models (i.e. family/friends).
Click to expand...
Thank you for the detailed reply, much appreciated, I'll try to put all to use in the next one. With regards to sharpness and DOF, I think I may have fudged it with the angles and not using settings to allow more DOF, I need to work on lighting.
sirch said:
Please don't apologies for posting, its what we are here for, especially with work as good as this. Thanks for sharing (y)
Click to expand...
Thank you, Chris, I want to keep chipping away at this :)
Cobra said:
A very nice selfie Gav.
No crit from me, I'd be more than happy if I could match, or even get close to that quality..
Click to expand...
Thank you, Chris, it's appreciated.
 
Prefer the b/w one perhaps with the light on the rhs of your face just a tad harsh as opposed to the colour shot? Good stuff.
 
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