Assignment 5b: Self-portraiture

Taking photos of myself has always made me uncomfortable. I’ve always preferred staying behind the scenes, doing the grunt work like production, post-production, and everything in between. And honestly, I was fine with that. I enjoyed it. Being behind the camera gave me the space to be my most creative self. I never really saw myself as the actual subject of a shoot.

Maybe it’s because I feel awkward in front of the camera. I know how to visualize good poses and angles, but actually executing them? That’s a whole different story. I don’t know how to pose or smile in a way that looks good on camera, and it’s something that’s always made me self-conscious.

So when we were tasked in our MMS 173 course to create a self-portrait, I felt a mix of fear and excitement. I was scared because I knew it would push me out of my comfort zone but I was also challenged by the idea of being a one-person team, handling everything from conceptualization to execution.

I started by brainstorming what I wanted to achieve with the shoot. We were asked to produce two photos:

First, a basic headshot, where the face had to be fully visible. Nothing fancy, just a clean, straightforward portrait.
Second, a candid shot, where we were given full creative freedom to express ourselves.

Since the headshot needed to be simple, I focused on the technical aspects first. I read articles and watched tutorials on portrait photography, how to position lighting, how far I should stand from the camera, what kind of background works best, and other tips.

The candid shot, however, gave me more room to play. I started by conceptualizing how I wanted it to represent me. I browsed online for inspiration, saved pegs, and eventually created a mood board to pull my ideas together. This helped me plan the shoot better, especially when it came to set design, props, lighting, wardrobe, and even makeup.

In the end, I decided to go for a dreamy flower boy concept for my candid shot. Something soft and a little romantic.

For the setup, I transformed a small room at home into a makeshift studio. I used a 1.35 x 10m seamless paper background in a soft, warm color called Wild Silk Yellow.

Since this was a self-portrait activity, I mounted my Canon EOS 1500D on a tripod and connected it to my smartphone, using it as a remote control. This way, I didn’t have to keep setting a timer as I could easily take my shots with just a tap on my phone.

I placed a small stool in the middle of the setup so I had a fixed spot to sit on during the shoot, making it easier to frame and compose each shot properly.

For both the headshot and candid photo, I used a continuous 400w studio lamp as my key light with a lantern softbox attachment to diffuse the light and create softer shadows.

I also used a reflector as my fill light to help balance the exposure and reduce harsh contrasts on my face.

For the headshot, I didn’t bother turning off the room's ceiling light. I used it as an ambient fill light. I positioned my key light on my left, the side of my face I wanted to highlight. I then used the reflector on my right to bounce some of the light back and soften the shadows.

Since the key light I was using was strong enough to fully illuminate the composition, I decided to keep my exposure as low as possible. This helped prevent overexposing the highlights since even with the softbox attachment, the light was still a bit harsh due to how close it was to the subject (a.k.a. me).

I set my ISO to 200 to reduce noise and maintain image quality.

To balance the low ISO, I opened up the aperture to f/4.5, which not only helped let in more light but also created a nice depth of field. It isolated me from the background and made me stand out more which is exactly what you want in a headshot, where all the focus should be on the subject.

Mounting my camera on a tripod also gave me the freedom to slow down the shutter speed. I went with 1/30, which worked well in helping the sensor capture enough light without introducing too much motion blur especially since I was mostly stationary in the shots.

The photos I took with these exposure settings turned out well on their own, so I only did minimal post-processing and didn’t have to tweak the exposure at all. I just lowered the highlights and whites a bit to soften the light's impact, especially on my skin. I also pulled down the blacks slightly to add more dimension and texture to my hair.

Since I used a lower and warmer light temperature for my key light, my skin tone came out a bit too yellowish. This effect was even stronger because the warm yellow backdrop reflected onto me. To fix this, I adjusted the color temperature and tint, cooling them down just enough to bring my natural skin tone back.

Lastly, I cropped the photo from a 2:3 ratio to a 3:4 ratio, centering my face within the frame. This adjustment also helped me align my eyes along the rule of thirds grid making the composition look more balanced.

Overall, shooting my headshot turned out to be a surprisingly rewarding experience. It pushed me to think not just creatively, but also technically.

Since the headshot was mostly straightforward in concept, the real challenge came from getting the technical details right. From planning the lighting setup and camera settings to making subtle post-processing tweaks that enhanced the final image without going overboard.

Through this process, I learned how to make the most of what I had, and slowly, I started to feel more comfortable seeing myself as the subject.

For the candid shot, I had a lot more creative freedom. Based on my mood board, I conceptualized a soft, dreamy “flower boy” aesthetic with warm tones. I wanted to create a scene that felt like the golden hour. That magical moment when sunlight peaks through a window, casting soft shadows across the subject.

To bring this vision to life, I kept most of my original lighting setup from the headshot shoot but made a few key adjustments. I used the same continuous key light but dialed down the intensity and temperature to mimic the glow of a late afternoon sun.

To simulate the sunlight streaming through a window, I used a photography flashlight fitted with a shaping filter that shaped the beam into lines.

This created the effect of sunlight spilling through window slats and casting shadows across the scene.

Since I wanted those shadows to fall on my right side while highlighting my left, I positioned the flashlight diagonally from the right, aiming it toward my left. I also placed a reflector on my right side to bounce some of that light back onto the right side of my face, softening the shadows and keeping the balance.

To add a touch of drama and emphasize my left profile, I turned slightly to my right towards the ”sunlight” (flashlight), which gave the overall composition a more moody feel.

I didn’t change anything in my exposure settings for the candid self-portrait, as they already suited the look and composition I was going for. I kept the ISO at 200, aperture at f/4, and shutter speed at 1/30.

While using the same settings as the headshot did make the overall image appear darker, especially with the dimmed key light and minimal ambient lighting, that was exactly the mood I was aiming for.

I wanted the scene to feel moodier and to let the simulated sunlight from my artificial light source stand out more. Keeping the exposure on the lower side allowed my camera to capture just enough of that “sunlight” effect, without overpowering the shadows I wanted to emphasize.

To enhance the shadows further, I made a few subtle adjustments in post-processing. I slightly decreased the exposure even more, added contrast, lowered the shadows, increased the whites, and dropped the blacks to give the image more depth. I also adjusted the temperature and tint to correct my skin tone, which had become too warm due to the lighting. I then cropped the photo to a 3:4 ratio, aligning my eyes along the rule of thirds grid for better composition.

To help bring my concept fully to life, I used some flowers as props.

Shifting myself slightly to the right created a negative space on my left side of the frame. I placed the flowers close to the lens, creating a soft, blurred foreground that filled that space and enhanced the dreamy, flower boy look I envisioned.

The shadows cast by the flashlight formed diagonal lines that naturally guided the viewer’s eyes toward my face, while the soft key light on my left side gently highlighted the highest points of my cheek as if the sun itself were casting its glow on me.

Aside from this final photo, I also got a few other decent shots. However, I noticed I could’ve used a bit more fill light. Still, the experience helped me learn how small tweaks and playing with lighting and shadows can really shape the mood and message of an image.

Overall, this turned out to be a really enjoyable and eye-opening activity. I was initially skeptical to do it, mainly because I’ve never felt fully comfortable in front of the camera. But I ended up enjoying the entire process. From conceptualizing the idea to actually executing the shoot. It was definitely challenging having to do everything on my own, but that also taught me a lot about what it takes to stage a studio shoot from start to finish.

More than that, it helped me build confidence in presenting myself as a subject. I’d definitely try this again and continue practicing portrait photography. For now, I’ll start with myself. Who knows? Maybe one day, I’ll be the one shooting portraits for campaigns and publications.

Rhon Joshua Calupitan | 2022-30993

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