Self Portrait...

I am learning about creative lighting techniques and actually set up

and took this shot alone using only candle light from 3 stratigically

placed candles. Having no access to a model, I was forced to do a

self portrait. I am sure there are many areas I may have overlooked

however I am proud enough of this to share it with the group..

Please, any help you could give me on this would be greatly

appreciated~

Thanks so much...

Marylou

simple and elegant.

I appreciate all the feedback I can get..I am also looking for other tips to make pale skin look better in B&W's such as this one, or other creative lighting techniques that would help to flatter in this way...thank you again

Great idea, and well executed.

Great concept and exposure. I would loose the fuzzy edges though, as to changing skin color,are you looking for filters or software changes< Photoshop does it all. What would happened if you used different colored lighting i.e green or yellow?

I think it is hard to be both photographer and model. As photographer you need to be able to study the light as it falls on the subject. I don't know whether you do your own processing or not, but many of your images that should be dramatic, lack full rich blacks. You could also be losing them in the scanning process even if original prints have them. I have worked both with chemicals/ film and digital. My recommendation is to go digital because the feedback will be faster and you will learn faster with far less expense.

This has come out remarkably well considering the technical difficulties of using candles and not being able to see the exact effect until it's taken. I think experimenting is the best way to find what kind of result you like but a simpler way to begin would be to use one light source (eg an "angle-poise" lamp) and add one reflector (eg a light coloured wall or a bed-sheet. This is the set-up I used in my "First nudes" series and it allowed me to concentrate on the aesthetic effects of highlight and shadow.

I think you would find it a lot easier if you persuaded a friend to model for you - maybe another photographer or artist so you could swap roles.

Back to the photo - you could make it a bit more dramatic by printing with higher contrast. I would also leave a little more dark space on the right so as to accentuate the nice side-lighting and appreciate the shadow.

Best wishes, Jonathan