Category Archives: SPS

Self Portrait: ‘Peek’

My first self portrait for November has to deal with lies ahead for the rest of 2013. We are now officially in my favourite time of the year. This month alone is filled with Bonfire night and fireworks, a blogger meet-up in London, my husband’s birthday, my birthday, a friend’s wedding, Panto rehearsals, and preparing for Christmas! So much is still yet a head and I wonder what is all in store for us this holiday season.

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DO YOU LOVE SELF PORTRAITS?

I try to do one every week and post on a Saturday.

If you would like to link up with me, add this button to your blog.

I would love to see your photography!

Get out those tripods, remote controls, and set your self timer!

How It Works: It must be a ‘self portrait’ and does not need to be an image you took this Saturday. Feel free to link up to past Self Portrait posts in your blog. This link up will be every Saturday so feel free to use that as your motivation to learn more about your camera, hone in on your photography skills, try out new post processing techniques, and let your creative spirit come alive. Join the Self Portrait Saturday challenge!

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Self Portrait: ‘Connected’

2 Replies

DO YOU LOVE SELF PORTRAITS?

I try to do one every week and post on a Saturday.

If you would like to link up with me, add this button to your blog. I would love to see your photography!

Self Portrait: Smart Phone #1

5 Replies

Welcome to another Self Portrait Saturday! I am so excited to have you all linking up with me every week. For today I wanted to do a self portrait from a different camera than my SLR. I bring to you a self portrait from my phone. As I use an iPhone 4, my camera is not as amazing as some of the newer phones out there now with comparable cameras to the point & shoots available today. However it takes pretty great great photos in its own right, especially if there is really good lighting.

Grain. I would like to dispel the myth that grain in a photograph is bad. It is one reason why I love shooting photographs on my phone and turning them into black and white. To be fair I am pretty obsessed with black and white photography. So if you are using your phone to take photographs and the grain is getting you down…work with the grain!

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DO YOU LOVE SELF PORTRAITS?

I try to do one every week and post on a Saturday.

If you would like to link up with me, add this button to your blog. I would love to see your photography!

Grab button for A Compass Rose's Self Portrait Saturday

Self Portrait: ‘Pedestal’ & Photography Tips

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Today’s prompt for Blogtember states, “A Self Portrait’.

This was my recommendation for Jenni when she announced another monthly change and I was so happy to see it included. I love taking self portraits because it has really helped improve my skill and push myself further creatively. When it comes to taking self portraits there are no excuses and that is why I continue to do them. I cannot postpone it because my model was a no show and I have been able to do these where ever I have been in my travels, including in the middle of Pompeii in Italy.

My Self Portrait Tips:

1. It does not matter what camera you have.
Yes different cameras will give you different results. However give the most skilled photographer a crappy camera and they will still produce an image worthy of art. Focus on the image you want to create.

2. Be in the moment.
To fully harness your best work and experience the process organically you need to be present. If you are constantly critiquing your work between shots, running back to the camera only to get more frustrated then I say take a moment to refocus. You are photographing an feeling, a mood, an idea, or a message. Not perfection. I have been crying in front of the camera before because I was upset about something. However, I was living this raw moment to be documented.

3. Give yourself time.
There have been some self portraits that I get a lot of feed back from where I took it in only one or two shots. There are others where I probably spent a good hour and a half from start to finish to get the one shot I needed. The point is to make sure you are not rushed and that you can devote the time you need. Do not rush art.

4. Find the light.
Lighting can make a good photo and amazing photo. I take a lot of photos in front of the window for natural light. It is a great way for me to get what I want without my neighbors giving me quizzical looks if I were to do it outside. My favourite lighting is overcast skies as the clouds act like a huge diffuser. If you do use a flash on your camera try bouncing the light off a white card attached to your camera to avoid harsh light directly into your face. Experiment and see what works best for the shot.

5. It is okay to ask for help.
I have had family members and friends help me out as assistants on my self portrait shoots. Sometimes its to stand in for me while I focus my camera, to spray me with water, or to make sure my tripod does not fall from where it is positioned. If you yourself have any questions for me I am always a quick tweet away.

Self Portrait Saturday

Normally this would be a post to go up tomorrow and my link up would go live along with it. However for the #Blogtember post I have put it up today and the link up will be available through the next several days. Next week the SPS will continue on Saturdays. I am also going to be reinstating my themes that I did for the Self Portrait Challenge in 2012. This year however I will do just one set theme a month so that the rest of the month does not limit your creativity and vision. Hope to see you around for the furture SPS and make sure to link up this week!

Join Jenni for her Blogtember Challenge!

Self Portrait: ‘Raindrops on Roses’

19 Replies

For this week’s Self Portrait Saturday I want to inspire you to get creative for the following week. What can you find around your house that you can use for your shoot? Will it aid you in achieving your look or be a focus in the final shot? For this one i used a glass panel from a piece of furniture to aid me and water as my focus. The glass panel that I used was large enough to frame my face and I held it a few inches a way with my hands. My husband assisted with spraying me down with water as well as the glass. This I found during the shoot to be important as the glass needed to be refreshed when the water drops ran off due to gravity. For next Saturday’s Self Portrait find what you can use and tell us about it in your description. I look forward to seeing what you come up with and remember you can take it at any time during the week. Just make sure to share and link up with us on Saturday.

DO YOU LOVE SELF PORTRAITS?

I try to do one every week and post on a Saturday.

If you would like to link up with me, add this button to your blog.

I would love to see your photography!

Self Portrait: ‘Summer End’

18 Replies

“You don’t need to be perfect to inspire others.

Let people get inspired

by how you deal with your imperfection.”

–

Wilson Kanadi

DO YOU LOVE SELF PORTRAITS?

I try to do one every week and post on a Saturday.

If you would like to link up with me, add this button to your blog.

I would love to see your photography!

Self Portrait: ‘To the Music’

11 Replies

Another Saturday is upon us and that means it is another edition of Self Portrait Saturday. This is a reflective piece about my current view of life. A portrait of myself inspired by my father’s view of living life and enjoying life to its fullest. We are inherently never in full control. We can no sooner control life’s outcomes than we can control the weather. Sometimes this lack of control can cause people to try to control people around them. Be it to modify their world views or force people into the same mold of how they envision life should be. Feeling we cannot control our situations some people are quick to judge others around them or point out every moment where something is out of place, not right, or goes wrong. Life should not be forced. Nor burdened under the weight of guilt passed on from one to the next. Life should be full of passion. We may not be able to control the song, but we can choose to dance.

DO YOU LOVE SELF PORTRAITS?

I try to do one every week and post on a Saturday.

If you would like to link up with me, add this button to your blog. I would love to see your photography!

If you find the button code is not working for you,

feel free to right click and save the button to your computer and upload it to your post.