Hello Orb!

I’ve been asked to put together a little guide for you all on how to shoot some simple self portraits at home that will make you all look as ace as possible.

So lets get crackin’.

Whats Happening?

The idea for this has come from a project I’m currently running with models from all over the world called the Virtual Photo Booth. The basic premise is that people submit to me self portraits shot at home against a white or plain wall and I then edit and format them to turn them into little photo booth style grids.

Orb has asked me to do this with all of you.

Here are a few examples.

What do I need to do?

Take a bunch of photos of yourself against a well lit plain white wall and get them over to me via Dropbox or WeTransfer. My email is thombartley@hotmail.co.uk.

Top Tips

1. Use the best camera you have at your disposal. For many people that will be their phone which is fine because phone cameras are excellent nowadays but if you have another camera which is better feel free to use that. If you really know your way around a camera and can shoot in the RAW format then that is ideal but it’s not a requirement, just a bonus if you know how to do that.

2. Lighting is the most important thing when taking these shots. The lighting doesn’t have to be complicated, if you can get near to a window or shoot in a bright room then that’s ideal.

3. Shoot against a plain white or light coloured wall.

4. Try and fill the frame of the photograph. Don’t just be a lil’ head in a big photo. Look at all of the examples for reference.

5. Keep the camera at roughly the same angle as your eyes (just like it would be in a real photo booth).

6. Try and take a large variety of shots. Serious, happy, goofy. Just be as you as possible. These shots work best when people have a bit of fun with them. I’ll send you a load of shots back for you to choose which ones you like so if you don’t like any you can put them in the bin, that’s your invitation to experiment, theres nothing to lose!

7. You can ask someone you’re with to take the shots or use the self timer. Either are fine! A lot of people actually do better shots with the self timer as they don’t feel as daft doing it on their own.

8. If you want me to check that your set up is ok before you take a ton of shots just DM me on Instagram or Twitter @thombartley and I’ll take a look and let you know if anything needs changing.

TL;DR

1. Take a bunch of photos of yourself with a variety of expressions against a white or plain coloured wall in a well lit room. Be as you as possible.

2. Once you have them leave them unedited and send them via WeTransfer or Dropbox to me at thombartley@hotmail.co.uk and I’ll do the rest.

3. If you have any questions or want any help when you’re setting up drop me a message on Instagram or Twitter @thombartley
   

Thanks!