Day 5 is the first composite image for my Self Portrait Project.
Take a look at "Tangled in My Thoughts"
I combined three different images to create this finished image.
First I photographed myself against a leafy green background outside. I made sure to use a shallow depth of field so it would be soft behind me. When layering in Photoshop, I cropped in and tilted the image to get the look I wanted.
Next I found some bare branches on trees, and photographed several areas, making sure to focus on various parts to create a few different focus points.
This gave the branches an interesting look and forces the viewer to linger among them to figure out what is happening there, as multiple focus points are not what the eye is accustomed to seeing in a photograph with shallow depth of field.
I layered the branches over my profile and proceeded to add in and subtract areas to create the look I wanted.
Then I adjusted the density, color, hue and saturation, along with minimal retouching to slightly brighten my eye and smooth a spot on my forehead.
The final result is interesting, and is exactly what I imagined.
Portraits don't always have to be smiley, looking into the lens shots. Sometimes the mood is more important.
What do you think?
What emotion do you think this image conveys?
Tech Info:
Canon 60D
Tamron 28-300mm lens
ISO 200 for face image
ISO 400 for branches images
Both at
1/60th second
F 5
Flash was not used for these images.
Flash was not used for these images.
