I am sooo obsessed with Sorelle Amore’s Youtube channel. Like, legit. I have been binge watching her channel for the past few days and I really liked her idea of creating Advanced Selfies. Basically, one has to take pictures of oneself without the help of anyone else. It’s so perfect for an introvert such as myself. So, for this month’s challenge, I decided to go back to my passion– photography. It’s been a while since I last held the camera. I wanted to consistently hone this skill so I challenged myself to do four different shoots. It was really challenging since this was my first time being in front of the camera. It really pushed me out of my comfort zone. But, anything for the photo! Thankfully, the photos turned out to be fine. I know there’s so much more for me to learn but I did enjoyed the whole thing. I hope you enjoy scrolling through the photos!
Shoot#1: The Bedroom
For this shoot, I woke up really early. I wanted to catch the sun light from the window because it would give the photo an over-exposed-mood. I wanted the shoot to portray what seemed to be my lifestyle: loving my bed and reading my journal. I aimed for more relaxed poses which turned out to be quite good.
Shoot #2: Plain Wall
I was aiming for a direct-flash-shoot with a plain white wall. I took a lot of shots and thought that I got a handful of great ones. However, when I was already editing the pictures, only one made the cut.
Shoot#3: Dirty Kitchen
This shoot was not really planned, which was a REALLY BIG mistake. I had no inspiration of what kind of pictures I liked to get. I just thought, at the time, that our dirty kitchen was a good location. And so, I wore a flowery dress and tried to pose what I can. It was really wrong since there was no intention to the shoot. Plus, I didn’t exactly posed with the background. Anyway, that was part of the learning process.
Shoot#4: Different Lights
I was really excited to do this shoot. Basically, I placed two different lampshades beside me and covered it with cellophane paper. The outcome turned out to be great. I took a hundred photos but only the first few made it. It was really fun tho.
Doing the challenge really taught me a lot. There were some things that I would do differently. I knew the photos weren’t perfect but it still hold its value in my heart since it became a stepping stone for me to learn. On the other hand, some photos came out to be quite nice. It’s as if they’re telling me that I do have the potential to be more.
Here are some of the things I learned:
1. Shoot with intention
It’s really important to find inspiration of how you like your shoot to turn out. There are tons of ways to be inspired (i.e. social media: pinterest, youtube, instagram; walking around) Shooting with intention reflects on your photograph. It’s important to plan everything from location to models to styles down to the littlest detail. One way to do this is to compile a bunch of things you think suits your shoot. You can do this through Pinterest or if you’re a traditional-kind, you can do it manually. To create a board, place sections such as location vibe, wardrobe style, make-up, poses, models, color scheme, inspiration, and photographs of others with the same concept. This will really help with the flow of the shoot. (Check out my Pinterest)
2. Use your phone to find the perfect frame
When you’re new to a place, it easier to roam around without your gear. Scan the area before shooting. Just take out your phone and use it to snap what you think will be a good frame for your photograph. Check for right angles, capture frames that face the light, and find the perfect spot of where you’ll be placing your camera. If you have already taken a bunch of these with your phone, it will give you an idea of how to pose at the time of your shoot.
3. Step out of your comfort zone
Stretch yourself to do further. Being shy is really hard especially if you want to get THE photo because it hinders you from taking your time and posing the right angle and just capturing what you envisioned on your mind. So, this tip is really hard for me. It’s awkward to take photos of yourself especially when there is a possibility that someone might see you. But being shy reflects on the picture. People want confidence when they view pictures. So, smile through the awkwardness. Strangers wouldn’t remember you and people close to you would want to have you take their photos if it turned out to be great.
4. Be resourceful
You don’t have to buy the most expensive gear or a brand new dress to do a shoot. Shoot with what you have. Choose the cheap but chic way!
5. Be patient.
It takes time to get a great photo. I think I spent around 40 minutes each shoot. I had to pose then check the camera then pose then check the camera. I looked crazy going back and forth but I had to see if my settings were still correct or if my poses were alright. I didn’t care if I took a hundred photos just as long as at least one of those turned out great.
6. Get up and start taking photos
I have been a bum lately. I really wanted to be good at photography and so I watched hundreds of videos and tutorials. However, I wouldn’t learn with just watching, I had to get up and shoot. I had to learn from my mistakes and strive to be better each time.
Here are some of my mistakes:
1. Lack of Sharpness
Since it was my first time to actually take photos of myself while being the model at the same time, I didn’t get my sharpness right. As you see, most of the images are a little off. I remembered to focus the camera but I forgot to zoom on my face to really focus it. I had a lot of great poses but the sharpness wasn’t on point which made the whole photo useless.
2. Not posing with my right angle
I should really learn what my angles are. At first, it was soo awkward posing in front of the camera that the awkwardness reflected on the photographs. I tried hiding my face by not directly looking at the camera to lessen the stiffness but this is something that I should really work on.
3. Not asking for help
When you don’t know how to, ask a friend or a youtuber. I had a problem on how to apply make up that I experimented on my face right before the shoot. As you know, I’m not a fan of wearing make-up so I don’t do it on a daily basis. As a result, my make up during the shoots were a negative out of ten. I should have consulted youtube to know what kind of stuff I should be putting on my face.
4. NOT loving editing
If you ask me, editing is the hardest part in photography. I’m not really into it so it took me a while to get my laptop and start editing. I need to learn how to make colors pop and to deliver the mood I want to have without using any presets. Oh my, help me.
And that’s a wrap! I’m done with my month’s challenge. I promise I’ll do something like this again in the future. But for now, I have to practice, practice, practice!
Snaps of Bliss 