SELF PORTRAITS - Some tips and what I look for in portraits

I love seeing portraits that really do a great job of helping me understand who a person is. So for this assignment this week I would love to see pictures that simply tell me: who you are in a picture.

Not looking for crazy tricks

Doesn't have to be amazing shot or tons of photoshop or crazy cool tricks. I want to see a nicely taken picture that does this job. There are plenty of sides to me and this is one... out in the middle of somewhere cool with my PhotoDeca beanie a coat and some twilight skies and a nice smile (like my other two) that makes people feel comfortable, like "hey, that guy is alright to be around."

A PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER'S OPINION

I can write volumes more on this subject and I'll add it to the list of things to do... but suffice it to say I am a portrait photographer by profession. I have done this for a living for 10+ years. It's what I love to see.

My favorite compliment when taking pictures for people is for a friend of theirs to comment: "That is so you"

I want people to really see their friend (you) in the picture, not just what they look like but for someone to understand who they are through the picture. Or recognize their friend. Be it cell phone shot, photoshopped masterpiece or a nice self portrait on a tripod.

I want to recognize you in the picture... good art is great and that will be rewarded but to me a portrait is what I've said. And so my additional points and my rankings for the main points of this Hive account@photogames assignment will sway in that direction. I won't dock you for being creative and abstract I'll simply be keeping an eye out for those who share pictures that their friend would see it and say ... "that's so you" ... also i'd like to see it not blurry and taken nicely.

LAST NIGHT WITH A TRIPOD
And with that I think this is me.
I set up a tripod last night as a secondary thought and took a self portrait.

My big tip is to have someone or something stand in in order to get the focus. Then lock it and stand in that exact same spot. If you have a nikon use interval timer so you can get a bunch of pics with different poses and facial expressions.

IT CAN BE QUICK
This was about 10 minutes of my time from taking the pictures to selecting to editing. Sure I was somewhere pretty epic and that helped. But i'm also worried everyone thinks they have to spend hours doing some crazy project to do well at this assignment. You don't. 20 people will get awarded... there aren't even 20 people who've done their blog posts yet.

Ok now out of the three of these which one should I make my new FB profile picture?? haha