Selfie

I have sometimes wondered why I don't do more selfies. Could it be that I am not especially handsome? Mmmmm  Nah. That can't be it. After all, everyone agrees I am (ahem) devastatingly fetching .... sniff.

Today I worked out the REAL reason when I set out to do my studio portrait homework for the Blackheath Photo Group. Thing is ... various people are wanting Norma to model for them, so I thought I'd better be different.

Aaaanyway I suddenly came to count up all the various little things that I absent mindedly did, when shooting pictures of someone ELSE. There's everything from trialling spot meter readings on particular parts of the face to focusing on the eyes, positioning the camera at the most stimulating angle, fooling around with depth of field and tinkering with lights & reflectors while watching the subject's face. Then of course there's the trifling matter of asking the subject to move this way or that, playing with facial expressions until you get "just the right picture".

Unless you are just waving around a phone on a stick (while dangling over some scenic lookout,) doubling up as photographer AND model quickly gets tedious. Actually I am beginning to think that a phone and a stick might just be the best way to go in future. Anyone want a bunch of gear going cheap?