Assignment 5b: Self-portraiture

Concept & Setup

This is my first time doing a self-portrait, at least in photography, so it was difficult for me to come up with concepts. I also find it really uncomfortable to take pictures of myself. It's always been that way ever since I first held a camera, I’ve always been more interested in capturing everything around me rather than myself. Part of it is because I don’t like how I look, so these photos might not be the best, but I did what I could for now. As for the concept, since it’s been really hot lately, I thought of going with a summer theme. I used natural light to capture that golden hour vibe because I wanted my photos to have a warmer, more dramatic color palette. Another reason is that I really like warm colors, especially different shades of yellow, since they remind me of happiness, life, and hope, but also a bit of melancholy and loneliness.

I used a tripod for the actual photoshoot. It’s a bit old but still useful and doesn’t cause any problems. It can be adjusted vertically, and I can also choose whether the placement of my phone camera is horizontal or vertical.

As for the camera, I only had my phone (Xiaomi Redmi Note 11) to use. Setting everything up was a bit difficult, but the actual process of taking pictures was much harder than I expected. It was tricky to get the timing right when posing or positioning myself so that the frame wouldn't cut off parts of me. I ended up using the timed burst mode, which takes a photo every five seconds, so I could take as many shots as possible and just pick the ones I thought turned out best.

I wasn't familiar with the "pro" camera mode since I recently just discovered with while taking this course (well, fortunate for me since I don't have a digital camera like I did back then :D). I did a bit of research about each setting and tested them myself. WB is white balance, F is the focus, S is for shutter, ISO (International Organization for Standardization) for the camera's light sensitivity, EV is exposure value, and LENS is just for the camera lens' adjustment for perspective. I only used 3 of them mostly (F, S, ISO).

Headshot

Recently, I became addicted to taking photos using the 9:16 ratio and the film frame. It just gives me a dramatic, movie-like mood, which I like. I also enjoy certain frames when watching movies, so I guess that influenced my thought process for how I could approach this assignment. To be honest, I was conscious about how I should take a headshot portrait of myself. I don't have any lighting props or tools to use, so I just decided to use sunlight as the light source, since artificial light doesn't look good on my phone camera for some reason. That's how I came up with this photo.

Pardon my poker face, I don't know how to pose or make good facial expressions, which kinda ruined what I had in mind. Well, I don't even know what I wanted to show here. I just wanted to take a clear portrait of myself, and that's it. I love the afternoon light and decided to use it because I thought it would look good on camera, which it did (I think). I wanted to make it look like it came from a film, which I hope I achieved. I also didn't know where to look since my phone has a lot of cameras and I wasn't exactly sure which one to face, haha.

Camera Settings & Post-processing

I did a bit mistake on the original photo, the ISO is a bit low that result on the photo (which I kinda dislike after a long staring with it, but I decided that maybe I can adjust it, maybe it won't make much of difference but it still helps). Since the concept is summer, I adjusted the brightness, exposure, highlights, and contrast a lot to make it vibrant and not too bland, as well as the shadow to at least make some details to be noticeable (processed) compared to the original photo.

I actually intended to use a filming frame while taking the photo. Unfortunately, it wasn't available in the "pro" camera mode, so I used Clip Studio Paint (since I don't have any photo editing software with more tools) to add the black rectangles on the top and bottom. I also adjusted the lighting by adding a bit of light to make it glow slightly, not too much, just enough to create a contrast with the shadows.

Original Photo

As for my camera settings, I only adjusted the focus and ISO based on what I wanted. I intended to use 200 ISO to capture minimal light, since it was afternoon when I took the picture, and the light source was extremely bright. I experimented a bit with this photo. As for the focus, I adjusted it randomly and took many timed burst photos since I couldn't pinpoint how the photo would turn out, especially because I was alone. I just tried to find the right placement in front of the camera to make the background a bit blurry while keeping the focus on the subject (which, in this case, is me).

Candid Shot

I took a lot of photos for the candid part, in different locations, I mean. It was a bit difficult to choose one, but this one resonates with me recently. Maybe it's because sometimes I feel like everything is falling apart, but there are also times when I feel like, "Today is gonna be a great day!" That shift in how I feel each day is something I always keep to myself. I know I have my family and friends, but I feel like even if I tell them my problems, it wouldn’t change anything. I tend to avoid people when I don’t feel good because I don’t want them to be affected by my emotions.

Sorry again about my facial expression. I tried to make it look sad, but I don’t really know how. Anyway, I specifically chose this location in my house, a dark, secluded corner, which represents the “depressing” thoughts that surround me. It feels suffocating to be buried by your own mind, filled with mindless thoughts that often cause me anxiety or a sense of emptiness. I used the afternoon light as a symbol that, despite the dark days I’m going through, there will be moments when I can suppress or escape them. A golden light guiding me through the darkness. Sounds cliché, but that’s just how life can be, I guess.

Original Photo

I actually like how it turned out, but I decided to do some a bit adjustments on the lighting and frame. It was just a little bit of improvement on the photo.

Camera Settings & Post-processing

I wanted to make the surroundings a bit darker and adjust the lighting to create more contrast between dark and light. It wasn’t that much of a change compared to the original photo. Again, I made these changes to make it feel more “dramatic.”

I only used ISO and set it about on 250, just to capture the right amount of natural light without making it too bright nor dark. To be honest, I think this one didn't need some post processing, but I decided to be (extra, jk). I just want to make my photos "dramatic" as they can be.

Reflection

I chose this option for the assignment because I assumed it would be simpler compared to the other one. Although I still have some hesitation about my decision, mainly because I'm insecure about my appearance, which affects how I visualize and execute things properly. At first, I was thinking about a concept for this assignment that could reflect how I’ve been feeling lately, since I thought I could use this as a way to express myself. I looked for some inspiration online and checked what props or materials I could use without spending anything. The first problem I noticed was the lighting, but I realized I could just use sunlight, especially since natural light looks better than artificial light in photos (at least for me). I waited for the sun to start setting before beginning the photoshoot.

It was quite embarrassing to shoot outside, we live along the highway, so a lot of people can see me. The lighting was good, but I ended up not using most of the outdoor photos because they didn’t turn out the way I expected. So I decided to do an indoor shoot instead, still using natural light that came through the windows. I didn’t turn on any indoor lights so they wouldn’t interfere with the natural lighting. It was difficult, as you can probably tell, I was sweating a lot because it was really hot, and I tend to sweat easily. I wanted to make it look clean and proper, but I still looked a bit haggard in the headshot part. Still, I think it was the best shot out of everything I took. The candid shot was also a bit tricky because I had to use a timer. Running back and forth from the camera to the spot and quickly fixing myself to pose was a struggle, but it turned out well, which I’m glad about.

Overall, the most fun, yet also challenging part for me was choosing the best photos and doing some light post-processing to make them look the way I wanted. I didn’t really change them much, just tweaked the color grading and adjusted the framing a bit. It was a fulfilling and challenging assignment. The planning part was fun too, although I kept thinking about whether my ideas were actually feasible, so I wouldn’t have too hard of a time during the shoot. I feel like I’ve improved a bit in photography, even though I still get confused with some camera settings, like in the previous assignment. But I hope I’ll fully grasp them someday. I really hope the result of this assignment meets the expectations of what it’s supposed to look like!

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