Help with photography.

[Fuchsia]

I have no idea how to take good photos of myself in dresses etc. I have a digital camera and a smart fone, but no full length mirror in my house and dim interiors. Any tips on how to take good photos of myself would be very welcome, especially how not to take blurry ones. I've never thought about it before as I always only dressed for myself but so many of you girls manage to take such wonderful shots xxx

[junetv]

If your digital camera has a self timer, use a tripod and then take a picture close to a wall with a flash. The camera will focus on the wall and you should be in focus.

[franlee]

June told you the main thing about taking your own pictures solo. I just think you should always take many and I mean many of each pose or setting. You can always delete but you have to have them to make the best choices! So snap,snap, snap!

[Beverley Sims]

Using multi shot cameras you can strike various poses and choose the best ones to keep.
Take photos outdoors in the shade of a tree with reflected light behind the camera.
A big white board will suffice and you can use fill in flash.
Inside with a mobile phone you need to use a mirror or have very long arms.
You do need to get some light inside even through a lightly curtained window is good.

[reb.femme]

I have no idea how to take good photos of myself in dresses etc. I have a digital camera and a smart fone, but no full length mirror in my house and dim interiors. Any tips on how to take good photos of myself would be very welcome, especially how not to take blurry ones.....

Try with various settings of lights on or off in-doors, with and without flash.. As already said, take several in each pose as a digital camera should have a multi setting. Mine, a Canon PowerShot A490, so nothing special, has a 3 shots / 10 second timer setting, so I basically use that. Allows me to delete the ones where I don't look like an oil painting by a great master. Actually, I haven't managed ONE like that yet. :o

To avoid blur, you can focus it on an object where you intend to stand or sit, hit the button, run to said position within 10 secs, eject original object of focus, prep for photo. Alternatively, it should have an auto focus. :heehee:

Rebecca (smart @**e)

[Anne2345]

I use a tripod, a very small remote control, and set my camera to autofocus. After I take about a bazillion pictures of myself, I am usually able to find one or two that are somewhat half-way presentable and decent.

[Chickhe]

You need to support the camera somehow and then you need to use the self timer function. You might need to focus the camera manually. One way to do that is to use auto focus on something that is the same distance to the place you will be and once focused, switch to manual focus so the camera doesn't refocus when you take the picture.

[Aylineira]

sorry.. my head was in the gutter and read "need help with pornography". Why did I click the link to read this anyways ahhh!

[Fuchsia]

Thanks girls, will try out the various suggestions xxx

LOL Aylineira. Next time I need some help with pornography I know just the girl to ask xx

[Julogden]

And keep in mind that you ought to learn a bit about photography so that you'll know how to solve the problems you will encounter. For instance, if you're standing in front of a white or very light wall with a lot of the wall visible around you, your camera is probably going to underexpose the image to one degree or another, so learn how to use exposure compensation to bring the exposure up to where it should be. Same with a very dark background, only this time it will overexpose.

Carol

[Lynn Marie]

Two more things. First, take a picture with your new tripod and self timer. Take a look at the shot and move your tripod so that you frame the picture properly with you as the main subject filling most of the frame with a little backgroud included to give the picture a sense of place. Second, be brutal with your editing. Narrow all your shots down to one picture per location and one picture per outfit. Just the very best and delete everything else. Who needs to save rejects? Then publish the very best one only. The one that makes you look spectacular.

[Cheryl T]

Other tips...
If you are tall the take your shots with the camera above you angled down and it will make you appear shorter. Vice versa if you are short and want to appear taller.
If you are plus size and want to be thinner then always pose at an angle to the camera, never square on to it.
Make sure your background doesn't clash with your outfit...try to always use a light colored background so that your outfits stand out and don't disappear into the background.
Don't look right at the camera unless you are taking closeups. If you look at something off to the side of the camera it won't appear that the shot is too "posed". You'll notice that this is always what is done in yearbook individual shots so it looks more natural.

Happy shooting...

[Wildaboutheels]

1] Avoid using flash if possible. Also avoid front lit ouside shots [especially] in the middle of the day unless you shoot in the shade and/or use fill flash.

2] LIGHTING is everything in photography. Open shade outdoors is good or backlit or sidelit preferably in the morning or afternoon hours. Even cheap cameras should have a backlit setting but you must set the camera for it or use manual exposure adjustments if possible. Use manual focus if you can [prefocus] and nothing less than 1/30th second if shooting manually.

3] If shooting indoors...anytime during the day is OK preferably in a corner of a lightly colored room with a window nearby. You'll get good fill light in a corner. IMO, shots handheld and/or shot in a mirror are just plain lame because even w/o a tripod a folded towel on a box on a chair or a stool or kitchen counter etc. can be used along with the self timer. I can guarantee you, no one ever died from reading their camera or phone manual to learn how to use the self timer. Unless you are extra photogenic, expect at least 20 "bad" [relative] ones for every "good" one. You can probably get a decent used tripod on Amazon for less than 20 bucks.

Keep the BACKGROUND simple/clutter free or blur it with a large aperture/fast shutter speed. It's easy to "soften" any pic by selecting a high ISO if your camera allows it which applies more voltage to the sensor. 1600 or higher will do a pretty good job.

In essence, LIGHTING is everything and you get quality from quantity.

[AllieSF]

If you have second hand shops, charity or thrift shops near, check them out and look for an old used tripod. Just make sure that you camera can be screwed onto it, or buy one of those small cheap folding tripods that are just a few inches high and put that on a table or chair. Also look for those cheap mirrors that are about 60 cm by 100 cm ( ft by 3 ft). Here in the USA they are super cheap and can help you get those full length shots too. Hallways and stairs are good places for pics to get the looking up or down poses. Good luck.

[sonna]

first you need to get a (phone) not a "fone" just kidding im one of the worst spellers on here
do what most of us do take a billion pics and keep the best ones.

[BLUE ORCHID]

One thing that I see a lot of is people taking pictures with a window, lamp or an overhead light in the picture
and the light gets all the attention not the subject.

[Maria S]

Whilst we are on this subject please can someone tell me how you take a photo small enough and few enough pixels to put as an avatar.

Thank you.

Maria

[SmithJay]

most cams have timers right?

[Vickie_CDTV]

Maria, you have to take an existing picture and resize it with a photo editing program like irfanview (easiest I know of) or something similar.

Incidentally, if one has a Canon Powershot and wants to have more tighter control over the settings used to take your picture , try the (temporary, not permanently installed) CHK firmware. It adds lots of features (including raw file support) and the ability to add a USB remote trigger.

[mikiSJ]

I'll politely disagree about using a flash, unless it is the one stuck on the camera. Even then, it you are backlighting, or side lighting a subject, force the flash and it will illuminate the front of the subject and compensate for the bright background.

If your camera has a flash shoe, then beg, borrow, um, don't steel an accessory flash. Using this type of flash straight on the subject will over illuminate, but by bouncing the flash off a ceiling or wall will provide a very nicely illuminate subject

I realize many of the girls here won't have a DSLR, but if you have a friend with one, try to borrow it. You'll take much better pictures.

[Julogden]

One thing that I see a lot of is people taking pictures with a window, lamp or an overhead light in the picture
and the light gets all the attention not the subject.
Yep, good point. A light in the photo or a bright window can really mess up the camera's ability to expose correctly. NO LIGHTS OR BRIGHT WINDOWS IN THE PICTURE, VERY IMPORTANT! :)

And be sure to not mix different light sources other than daylight and flash, which is usually okay. Don't mix indoor lighting and flash or natural daylight and indoor lighting, makes it really hard for the camera to get the color right.

Carol

[Tracii G]

Mine has the multi setting what does that mean?

[Jenniferathome]

Whilst we are on this subject please can someone tell me how you take a photo small enough and few enough pixels to put as an avatar.

Thank you.

Maria

Maria, if you are on a Mac, open the picture in Preview, not iPhoto, and choose TOOLS; Resize. Choose the "custom" drop down in the windoid and select 640 x 480. Easiest way. If you are on a PC, choose any editing program and do the same. 640 x 480 will almost always get you below 60Kb

[Leah Lynn]

God I miss my 35 mm SLR's!

[kellytea59]

What type of Digital camera do you have ?

[Cheryl T]

God I miss my 35 mm SLR's!

Me too, but I don't miss the wait for the film to be developed...I'm all for instant gratification...or DELETED!...lol

[pernille d]

There are 1000+1 answers to this question , i am a prof fashion photographer and Even for me self portraits are not the easiest thing in the World. To do. i need to see the image through my lens , is not easy as i know how i want it to look like but i have to guess from the Other side of the camrea how to stand,sit pose etc. Relaxing and Being natural is The key to succes's,
In my time i have seen guys/ girls's with enough equipment to fil a Van that produce rubbbish and People with a 50 pound Company that produce stunning images , YES gear does help but it goes Down to the eye And the person pushing the Button.
My advice is to Read the advice above ( of cause there are lots of dos and donts) but there is no subsitute for learning by doing + its fun , so just take it easy and just experiment and take lots of photos and try and remember what you do . Then all of a sudden things Will all Fall into place and more and more of your photos Will become keepers,

[linda allen]

I'm surprised nobody suggested this, but photo editing software on a computer will go a long way towards ending up with good photos. Rather than a lot of experimenting trying to get the correct distance from the camera to fill the frame, just take the shots and then crop them on the computer.

Good photo editing software will also allow you to change color balance, contrast, etc. And erase things you didn't realize would end up in the photo such as that lamp that seems to be growing out of your head.

If you really want to take good photos, invest $15 or so in a good book on photography. Study it.

[Elle1946]

My best advise is to use a tripod and a remote trigger to take the picture when you are ready.

[~Joanne~]

I have no idea how to take good photos of myself in dresses etc. I have a digital camera and a smart fone, but no full length mirror in my house and dim interiors. Any tips on how to take good photos of myself would be very welcome, especially how not to take blurry ones. I've never thought about it before as I always only dressed for myself but so many of you girls manage to take such wonderful shots xxx

I just got a new camera myself and a tripod. The camera has so many settings and I just can't seem to find the ones that make a great pictures. I guess trial and error is the best way plus gives you an excuse to take even more pictures ;)


One thing that I see a lot of is people taking pictures with a window, lamp or an overhead light in the picture
and the light gets all the attention not the subject.

This is where I think I am messing up. I take most of my pictures in front of a window (most neutral spot in the house with some cropping) and maybe I should have the blinds shut though I thought the extra light may help it may actually be the reason that the colors change a lot.

[Maria S]

Maria, if you are on a Mac, open the picture in Preview, not iPhoto, and choose TOOLS; Resize. Choose the "custom" drop down in the windoid and select 640 x 480. Easiest way. If you are on a PC, choose any editing program and do the same. 640 x 480 will almost always get you below 60Kb

Hi Jennifer

Thank you at least I've got my own photo now. Not too good but at least now I can go away and take some more.

Maria

[mikiSJ]

God I miss my 35 mm SLR's!
No, you don't. Repeat, often.

Unless you are doing production work for publication, you don't need the very fine grain of the negative, if you can even find the film these days. You also don't need to take your film down to the processor, print the negatives, dodge or burn...throw away an afternoons work because you had the wrong exposure or white balance setting.

I have a Nikon D90 and shoot in RAW mode for everything. I don't have to worry about exposure, white balance, hue/tint, cropping...12.3 Mp and Photoshop with a RAW converter gets rid of any desire to ever have to load a roll of film into a camera.

[Wildaboutheels]

For those who already have a digital camera, [and I know this is going to sound a bit silly] READING the manual for just a half hour... At least then, you might realize how many "special situations" there are out in the world that our eyes are able to handle with ease. That's what ALL those different symbols are for on many cameras, fireworks, portrait, snow skier, etc. Some cameras might just have the word SCENE where YOU then select the proper symbol. Those are there because IF you leave the camera in full auto mode, it MIGHT take a pic that can be edited to "decent" but you will get a much better pic [to work with] IF you TELL the camera just WHAT special condition it is looking at. NO camera at ANY price can recognise all of these "special" lighting conditions.

The big problem with pics comes because NO camera, regardless of price, sees "things" the way Humans do. Our eyes are constantly/continously making adjustments every second they are open UNLESS we have our eyes LOCKED on something, say a tv or book.

One more thing...

Get CLOSER and/or zoom. One of the biggest mistakes made is not getting close enough.

[Beverley Sims]

No, you don't. Repeat, often.

Unless you are doing production work for publication, you don't need the very fine grain of the negative, if you can even find the film these days. You also don't need to take your film down to the processor, print the negatives, dodge or burn...throw away an afternoons work because you had the wrong exposure or white balance setting.

I have a Nikon D90 and shoot in RAW mode for everything. I don't have to worry about exposure, white balance, hue/tint, cropping...12.3 Mp and Photoshop with a RAW converter gets rid of any desire to ever have to load a roll of film into a camera.

Don't forget all that color printing in the darkroom to get the desired effect.
A 10"X8" piece of paper cost a dollar once and that was expensive, let alone the chemicals at the right temperature.
I have SLR digitals and good ol' Photoshop also.
To get a nice color enlargement that was not really that sharp unless done on large format film could cost $20.
Now I can buy 50 pieces of A4 inkjet paper for about $20.

[docrobbysherry]

Whilst we are on this subject please can someone tell me how you take a photo small enough and few enough pixels to put as an avatar.

Thank you.

Maria
Google: resize.it It's free and very easy to use!

I use it for all my published photos, which I shrink to about 360x whatever. Every site accepts that size. They look good and can't be "stolen" effectively!

Best advice for pics? Practice, practice, practice!

[Fuchsia]

All the advice is really welcome Girls. Now all I need is some time alone in the house and then I can shoot away. Looking forward to posting some pics when they're ready xxx

[Nichola]

A digital SLR camera would probably take the best pics but bridge cameras are a bit cheaper & can still work pretty good. I use a Fuji S7000 which is ok but it eats the batteries way too quickly. I tried a Nikon 3100 DSLR too, but the flash is too bright & makes me close my eyes:heehee:
Like everyone says a tripod & a self timer can help as that way you don't need to hold the camera:) Have fun!

[Jenn A116]

I tried a Nikon 3100 DSLR too, but the flash is too bright & makes me close my eyes

Easy cheap solution, which works with any camera, is to drape a tissue over the flash. This softens and diffuses the light. Just be sure the tissue doesn't cover the lens too.

[Acastina]

I use a tripod, a very small remote control, and set my camera to autofocus. After I take about a bazillion pictures of myself, I am usually able to find one or two that are somewhat half-way presentable and decent.

That does it for me, too. A remote is much more convenient than a timer, and they're quite cheap. Ditto the bazillion thing. Professional photographers have known this for years, especially artsy folk like fashion photographers, which is close to what we're after. Snap, snap, snap while the subject strikes different poses; some will turn out great, while many will have unfortunate angles, lighting, or just a moment before or after the perfect expression and look. Digital makes this all so easy and cheap compared to film.

A great aid is monitoring on a TV or small monitor. Most cameras have a video/AV out that can connect directly to the yellow jacks on a monitor/tv and let you see what you've composed before the snap and the result right after. It basically allows you to be two places at once, behind the lens and in front of it, but instead of moving the camera alone, you usually move the subject (yourself) to frame the image. Hiding the remote in your hands is easy.

So: charge the battery; put it on a tripod; rig a video monitor with an extension cable so you can move the tripod around; set it to remote control, autofocus, and autoflash (unless you want to experiment with natural light--hold still if you do); be aware of backgrounds (plain is almost always better than cluttered); find your perfect smile; and fill up the memory card. Card reader or USB cable to upload; review and delete at will. Save your treasures, but be careful of where and how if your computer isn't real secure (family members, etc.). Thumb drives are a good storage device, as are CDs/DVDs for archiving, or a standalone external hard drive that you control, as they can all be completely disconnected from the computer when not in use.

Then you can change avatar pics often to reflect your mood or show off a new look from time to time...

[Acastina]

Whilst we are on this subject please can someone tell me how you take a photo small enough and few enough pixels to put as an avatar.

Thank you.

Maria

Almost any software that will display images has a sizing control. I seem to recall that the image manager on this site will re-size anything not exceeding 600 x 500 pixels, but I size my avatars to 150 pixels and they come out fine. I usually use Preview, part of the Mac OS package, but Photoshop and iPhoto can do the same thing. Be sure to crop the images appropriately. For example, to take a head-and-shoulders view from a longer shot, select the desired part of the image and crop the rest out, before final re-sizing.

[Acastina]

Easy cheap solution, which works with any camera, is to drape a tissue over the flash. This softens and diffuses the light. Just be sure the tissue doesn't cover the lens too.

A couple of layers of a tape like Scotch Magic (plastic, not cellophane) will also soften the flash if it's too harsh. Bringing up the ambient room lighting will have a similar effect by making the subject and background lighter to begin with.

[Candice Mae]

.......................................

[Shelly117]

Definitely will make some adjustments to taking pictures of myself

[JaytoJillian]

If your digital camera has a self timer, use a tripod and then take a picture close to a wall with a flash. The camera will focus on the wall and you should be in focus.

Ditto! The self timer with multiple exposures is a great way to take pics--the tripod is an absolute must!

[Chickhe]

I wanted to add...you CAN do all the high tech stuff, but don't forget about the simple solutions too. You can position the camera on a pillow or shelf, use the self timer without needing to buy anything that you don't already have. It is easier with a tripod, flash, remote relase etc... but one trick I use is a handheld mirror...hold the mirror in position to see what the camera will see and form the perfect smile...move the mirror and click. Works almost every time.

[danielletorresani]

Best way to do this is to just film yourself. Then download and install a program called "Faststone", which is a screen capture program. You can take stills from the video you took, just pause the video on a frame you like and use faststone to grab the screen. It even has a crop tool you can use.

[JenniferR771]

Lots of good advice above, Fuschia. I love photography. If you are using a cell phone--it may automatically use a long slow exposure under low light conditions (indoor). This means even a slight movement will result in blur. You may be able to find the exposure speed the phone used in the metadata. Likewise photos under low light may be pixilated as the camera tries to compensate for low light conditions.
So...take you photos outside in the shade for best light conditions. Green bushes in the background work nicely.
Inside, use your phone's self-timer--since it will not fit on a tripod (usually) place the phone in a coffee mug and stuff in a paper towel to hold it straight. Turn on lots of lights. Sit the mug on a counter or shelf or other support. Use a low chair or sit on the floor to get your face in the picture.
Also, if you have a flip phone. Stand it on a table partially open like a place card so it becomes its own tripod. Use the self timer. The pics come out upside down--but any photo program will flip them. And most photo programs will color-correct for the excess yellow caused by indoor lights.