(upbeat music)
- Very first time I went out and took photos of myself,
I didn't have any equipment on me other than my camera.
So I used the self-timer because it's there,
it's on every camera and anyone can do it.
You don't have to have any special equipment.
Using the timer gives you a certain freedom.
You're not actually thinking about the exact moment
when the shutter will click.
So you can kind of walk off and,
you know, twirl around, try some different things.
lose your inhibitions a little bit.
Which worked really well for me,
because I was really, really self-conscious
in front of the camera.
And if there'd been another person there shooting me,
I would've felt very stiff and nervous.
So it being just me, my camera and the timer,
is how I've got used to taking photos of myself.
(upbeat music continues)
So the best way to get yourself in focus
is figure out exactly where you want yourself
to be in the composition and focus on that spot somehow.
So sometimes I will leave something in that position,
in the photo, like a camera bag or the flowers or my hat,
and I'll focus the camera on that point
and then walk to it before the timer starts.
In this situation to begin with,
I focused on the back wall of the house,
'cause I tried standing there.
And then I moved the focus forward
and focused on the pillar and realized
I preferred that composition.
So I was going to go and stand next to the pillar.
So that's where I focused the camera.
With self-portraits and shooting yourself,
it's a bit of a safety net to increase
the depth of field a bit.
So I've actually set my camera to F-7,
just to make sure that more of the shot is in focus.
And that ensures that I'm not going to be
slightly forwards or backwards.
If I was using say F2.8, then the pillar would be in focus,
but not much in front of it and not much behind it would.
So if I happen to, you know, be behind the pillar
with my arm around it, I might be slightly out of focus.
So just as a safety net in this situation,
I would increase the F-stop.
(upbeat music continues)
With the poses, it can be trial and error.
So sometimes I will realize that it looks better
in the composition to be sitting.
It can depend on the angle of the photo as well,
if you're coming at it from a low angle,
you can look weird if you're standing up.
So sometimes then to sit down and, you know, make yourself
more compact in the picture, just works better.
So it's a bit of trial and error.
If I've got the time to take lots of shots
then I will take as many as I can until I feel really sure
that I've got something.
It's really frustrating getting home
and realizing that you've got your eyes closed
or that you're a fraction out of focus.
So if you've got time to do it, it's worth setting it
and then really zooming in on each picture,
making sure that actually your face looks okay,
that you are in focus and that you're going to be happy
when you get home and look at it on a bigger screen.
Sometimes I'm in a situation
where I might only get two takes and then I'm done.
You know, if there's a lot of people around
or the light is changing quickly.
But it's nice to try different things
and come back and look at the back of your screen
and think actually, "My leg looks weird there
or that's not flattering.
I'm going to move my arms.
I'm going to try looking up, looking away
and messing about with a few different things."
And you soon learn what works for you and what you're doing.
(upbeat music continues)
- [Man] Thanks for watching.
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