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Blogs > rm_NJpix > Picture Perfect

Why not shoot yourself?  

rm_NJpix 65M
3 posts
9/22/2012 8:16 pm
Why not shoot yourself?
With a camera or course!

The question is why have someone else take pictures for you when you have a perfectly good camera and can do the job yourself? Well there are several reasons:

(1) Just because you have a camera doesn't mean you can take good photographs. Owning a pen doesn't mean you can write well and owning a scalpel doesn't make you a surgeon. Do you know about lighting? Flash fill ratios? Bounced light? Color temperatures? Light positioning? Foreshortening effects of short focal length lenses? The influence of aperture on the background sharpness?

(2) There are cameras and then there are cameras. It's very tough even for the best photographer to get good indoor shots using a compact digital camera. Even with a basic DSLR you still need good lenses. Do you own a fast prime lens? Do you know what one is and why you need it?

(2) Assuming you know how to take good pictures and you have a top of the line camera and lens, it's very hard to get good shots of yourself (and partner) with the camera on a tripod and a remote release or self timer. You can't see exactly how the shot will look. You can't time things for the right expression and last, but certainly not least, you probably have things other than photography on your mind!

(3) When it comes to video things are even more difficult. 15 minute movies which are just one long continuous take with the camera mounted on a tripod and exactly the same framing throughout tend to get a bit boring, no matter what the subject matter is. What you need are shorter clips from multiple angles edited together properly. Tough to do if you're both the actor or actress and the camera operator unless you're shooting with 3 or 4 cameras simultaneously.

So while you can take your own pictures, it's not the route to the best results. If you find someone you can work with to do the photography, you'll generally be much happier with the final images.

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