November: Highlight Reel, 1
With the theme of Self Portraits this month, I honestly wasn't sure how many people we would have sharing in the photo dumps. Self portraits is a tricky theme as it requires more of a time commitment and it requires a lot of bravery. Getting in front of the camera and then editing that image without getting caught up in all of our flaws is SO. FREAKING. HARD. But as always, y'all delivered in such a beautiful way. The self portraits I have seen over the past 2 weeks are stunning and I just really appreciate the vulnerability this group demonstrates time and time again.
Thank you so much for everyone that participates. Remember, these images are just ones that stuck out to me, Wendi. If you're image wasn't chosen, it doesn't reflect your value as a photographer and it doesn't reflect how good your image is (or isn't), it's simply that the individual, me, chose images that spoke to me and my perspective is shaped by a lot of past experiences, nothing more. I can't wait to see what else y'all come up with the remainder of the month.
Gear: Nikon D750 w/ Tamron 24-70mm on 24mm
Settings: f2.8, 1/160, ISO 12800.
The Shot: This shot has been in my head for awhile to try to express how God illuminates a path for me, kind of like Merida in Brave. I had passed this trail for awhile, many times talking myself out of it, and finally got the motivation to do it. I waited for sunrise and shot, maxing out settings. I hadn't realized it was raining before leaving the house but ended up really liking the detail of the mud on the dress
Post Processing: Mostly Photoshop - I darkened all around me with gradient filters and cloned the few places sunlight was coming out of the trees to make it seem like night. Added a firefly overlay I found on etsy.
Gear: Nikon D750, Nikon 24-70mm at 34mm
Settings: 1/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 4000, manual mode, spot metering
The Shot: I prepared the camera settings by using my husband as a focus point. Then I had him trade places with me. I showed him where to stand and where to focus. I had him take a few pictures of me in the kitchen from a couple different angles.
Post Processing: I edited in ACR using a Krautkopf preset.
Gear: Nikon D750, 50mm 1.8
Settings: ISO 320, f3.5, 1/200
The Shot: I shot this at my front door, because I wanted the pretty light to one side of my face and a good shadow on the other side, also, my door is a beautiful color of blue! I increased my fstop to 3.5 to try to make sure I kept myself fully in focus.
Post Processing: Edited in LR using SMAL01 as a base. Removed grain, matte, and dodged a little on my eye and the sticker to make sure they were more of a true white. Then I brought it into photoshop, cloned out the lines on the door, and tried to make the background more solid. I used the gradient tool to help with the shadow to the right side.
Gear: Fuji X-T2, Fuji 23mm
Settings: ISO 400, f/4, 1/60 sec
The Shot: Camera on windowsill in very dark room with only afternoon window light, 10 sec timer
Post Processing: Edited and shot for highlights, converted to B&W in LR
Gear: Nikon D850 with 50.0 mm f/1.4
Settings: F/2,5 ISO 800, SS 1/100
The Shot: I wanted to do some selfies with my daughter because we have fewer pictures together as I am always behind the camera.
Post Processing: I wanted this picture to look dark and moody so I downed shadows and highlights, put radial filter to stand us out more and convertet it to black and wite.
Gear: Nikon D810, Sigma art35
Settings: ISO 320, f3.2, I/2500s
The Shot: I had this idea in my head of doing some shots inside the home but it just wasn’t working! I was going to give up but just stepped out into the backyard and saw this beautiful autumn dappled light falling on the home exterior wall. I quickly set up my tripod, put my camera on timer and clicked a lot of images! It took a while to get comfortable and to start having fun.
Post Processing: Edited in LRC, adjusted WB, decreased highlights and tweaked shadows. Added a radial filter, did some healing for spots on the wall and that’s it!GerNikon D810, Sigma art35
Gear: Canon 6dmkii + Canon L 85mm 1.2
Settings: F1.8, 1/200, ISO 400
The Shot: I don't have a tripod so I stacked my toddler's toy baskets into a tower until it was tall enough to balance my camera on then used the Canon app on my phone to focus.
Post Processing: Deepened shadows, added contrast and warmth
Gear: Nikon D750, Nikkor 50mm 1.8, Amazon basics tripod
Settings: ISO 100, f/4.5, 1/13s
The Shot: I set up the camera on a tripod in a room with natural light coming from only 1 window. I turned on the interval setting to capture 5 photos, each 7 seconds apart. My husband grabbed focus on my eye and then ran over and walked in front of me over and over and over as the camera snapped away. This took about 25 photos to get.
Post Processing: In ACR and PhotoShop. I did some basic adjustments in ACR such as upping contrast, lowering shadows and blacks, decreasing highlights, adjusting temp and tint (since I shoot auto WB). I brushed texture and clarity over my freckles. Made his shirt more yellow with a brush, to emphasize the primary colors. Adjusted skin tone with the color mixer and color grading. Fixed several red color casts from my shirt.
Gear: Canon 5D mark IV, 35 mm
Settings: ISO 200 f16 10sec
The Shot: I put the camera on the kitchen table in front of me and turned my head
Post Processing: LR: b&w, adjustments, brushes and radial filter
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