self-portrait - tips?

ablelocks

I'm setting up my own business (not photography) and will be going to a networking event next week. The organisers are doing up a brochure with photo and bullet points on each particpant.

They asked for passport style photos - any passport photo of me has been a disaster so i want to avoid that "inyerface" look.

So any tips for self-portrait photos?

(I'm using a canon 450d, canon 50mm and a 430exII flash, all on a tripod - background is white wall, unless anyone has any better ideas?)

enda1

ablelocks wrote: »

I'm setting up my own business (not photography) and will be going to a networking event next week. The organisers are doing up a brochure with photo and bullet points on each particpant.

They asked for passport style photos - any passport photo of me has been a disaster so i want to avoid that "inyerface" look.

So any tips for self-portrait photos?

(I'm using a canon 450d, canon 50mm and a 430exII flash, all on a tripod - background is white wall, unless anyone has any better ideas?)

Longer lens!

Softer background perhaps. Its not US immigration after all:p

Eirebear

ablelocks wrote: »

I'm setting up my own business (not photography) and will be going to a networking event next week. The organisers are doing up a brochure with photo and bullet points on each particpant.

They asked for passport style photos - any passport photo of me has been a disaster so i want to avoid that "inyerface" look.

So any tips for self-portrait photos?

(I'm using a canon 450d, canon 50mm and a 430exII flash, all on a tripod - background is white wall, unless anyone has any better ideas?)

Why not get a photography minded mate to do a portrait? That way you can bounce ideas off each other a little better.

Also, remember that this is your first chance to project an image for your new business....maybe think outside "the box" a little?

ablelocks

only got the call around 12, and have to have it up to them by 3 so don't have much time and no-one else available at such short notice

why the longer lens enda? i thought the 50mm was good for portraits?

homerun_homer

ablelocks wrote: »

why the longer lens enda? i thought the 50mm was good for portraits?

I imagine this is because the nifty 50 would provide a low depth of field and would make it tougher to focus on yourself when you are not behind the camera to judge.

Ghost Train

I don't see why a 50mm wouldn't be good enough as long as youre not too close to the camera

I'd probably go for natural light over using flash and take it against a non busy background

enda1

I guess you'll at least want all your face in focus so DOF is an issue.

The 450D is a crop body I believe?
So I guess about 80mm would be ideal to give the most "natural" and distortion-free aspect to your face's shape.

While the picture should be well made, it must also be factual so beware of shallow DOF and any wide angle distortion.

Crispin

I used a 50mm f1.7 on a crop body and natural light. Use a remote trigger. I used a white wall and got some reasonable results. Just trial and error. Fire off a bunch of shots. If you don't have a remote it's gonna take foreverrrrrr

shanona

so, how did it come out?

Ghost Train

shanona wrote: »

so, how did it come out?

hope he went for something that stands out