Self Portraits = Self Care [Archives]
One thing I've really struggled with lately is staying motivated to shoot. As any photographer who predominantly photographs people could attest to, people are very unreliable. Aside from the pandemic that has wreaked havoc on the world for the past year plus, many people are just flaky by nature. I don't hold this against anyone, but for obvious reasons, it can be very frustrating to someone (I'm someone) that just wants to make photos.
Trying to turn this negative into a positive, I've chosen to explore the other forms of photography that I've always neglected. One of those forms has been self-portraiture. Now, I have never been comfortable in front of a camera. Growing up I was always the chubby kid and was teased regularly, a story I'm sure we've all heard before, but nonetheless the kind of thing that takes a toll on a person; I’m no different. However, as I've grown into the man I'm still becoming, I've also grown in love and acceptance of myself. This is something for which I hold a great pride.
All the emotional mumbo jumbo aside, I got a pair of RGB panels a while back and figured I'd try them out on myself. Now, I am far from a lighting expert, but I had fun making these photos and really like the way they turned out. I tried a few color combos but the one that I ended up settling on was a simple red and blue. Using the red panel as a key light and the blue to light the background and give a little fill, I got a nice amount of depth and contrast that really make the photos pop in my opinion. Even the black and white images have a different/interesting feel to them, and lets be honest, I look pretty damn cool. So, shout out to self portraits for helping me see myself in a new light (pun all the way intended).
All this being said, natural light still is and always will be unbeaten in my book, but I'd be a liar if I said the possibilities of artificial lighting don't intrigue me. I'll definitely be trying out these panels in some different applications, so more on that to come. Now I'm sure you're tired of my babbling so that'll be all for now.
Photos below, enjoy!
