My wife is gorgeous. Regardless of how many magazines tout the Most Beautiful Woman in the World, the Hottest Woman or the Sexiest Woman, my wife takes 1st prize. But no matter how often I tell her that, she refuses to let me photograph her in a studio setting.
My make-shift studio really came together thanks to Jolly Old St. Nicholas. I received a white roll of a studio backdrop, two light stands, and a very sturdy Manfrotto tripod. I already had the off-camera Speedlite 430EX II flash, the LED Flashmate, the 50mm lens, a wireless shutter release, and of course, the Canon 60D.
When a photo challenge was issued for a self portrait, I volunteered myself (obviously, since it was a self portrait) to step in front of the camera for some shots. Since I am far from an experience model (or model in general), I used the Posing App I had recently downloaded onto my iPhone so I knew how to stand and where to put my hands so it didn’t look any more awkward than it already was. To make it more interesting, I had a couple of clothes options nearby and switched it up. Here’s my compilation of the “Best Of” captures.
Canon 60D | 50mm lens | Slow, but varied | f/10 | ISO 100 | RAW
I did end up having some fun taking the photos and being the subject, but I have no plans of quitting my day job. As for the self conscious part, it took me a few days after I shot the photos to take the leap and share the photo compilation on the Facebook photography group. Now I guess I am doing more than taking a leap, I am jumping off a cliff.
I also thought I would share a photo of the setup I was using, in case someone else wanted to play the victim with whatever equipment they had.
In short, I had my LED Flashmate right behind me to illuminate the white backdrop. I had the basement window on my left and my Speedlite on my right at a 45-degree angle. It did end up leaving a shadow on the backdrop, but I was able to patch it out using Photoshop.
To return to how I started this post, I would love to put my wife in the studio and snap some photos of her so I can get that perfect photo of the perfect woman and place it on the wall in my office. But I don’t know if that will ever happen. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.
~signed, Carltonaut
Carltonaut 