B/W self portrait

alfa147x · 7th of March 2011 (Mon)

Hey guys!

I really want to get a good picture of my smoking a cigar.

Kinda like this:
http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/mi...ng-a-cigar.jpg

But I would prefer to have it more cropped into my face. I have a large house that I'll be living in for the next 3 months (work) but it doesnt have any furniture. I'v got a lot of room to work with. A couple of questions:
How can I make the background appear black with out having a black back drop? Also how can I make the smoke stick out?

I have two calumet genesis 200 and a small canon flash for my camera.

Thanks for any tips!
Alfa

ElectricDreams · 16th of March 2011 (Wed)

Smoke has to be lit directly. So if you use the calumet as a key light to light your face and and the other to fill on the other side, place the small flash directly under where you are blowing the smoke. It will really bring out the smoke since you'll have three sources of light on it. Just play around a lot and you'll find something you like.

The black background maybe hard but work in a really dark room. It will be tough to see and you'll probably have to set the camera for manual focus but it will pay off.

7th of March 2011 (Mon)	#1
alfa147x Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 72	B/W self portrait Hey guys! I really want to get a good picture of my smoking a cigar. Kinda like this: http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/mi...ng-a-cigar.jpg But I would prefer to have it more cropped into my face. I have a large house that I'll be living in for the next 3 months (work) but it doesnt have any furniture. I'v got a lot of room to work with. A couple of questions: How can I make the background appear black with out having a black back drop? Also how can I make the smoke stick out? I have two calumet genesis 200 and a small canon flash for my camera. Thanks for any tips! Alfa __________________ 2011 Apple MacBook Pro 13'' Hackintosh Intel Q8300 SLGUR @ 3.5 GHz EP45-UD3LR 6 GB RAM Canon 5DII, 7D, 30D, 20D, 24-105mm f/4 IS L , 16 - 35mm f/2.8L II, 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L ISL , 50mm f/1.8 II Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM, 2x Calumet Genesis 200 \| The Aperture Lab \|I know I suck at spelling and grammar Sigma 50mm f/1.4 for Canon for sale

16th of March 2011 (Wed)	#2
ElectricDreams Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 76	Re: B/W self portrait Smoke has to be lit directly. So if you use the calumet as a key light to light your face and and the other to fill on the other side, place the small flash directly under where you are blowing the smoke. It will really bring out the smoke since you'll have three sources of light on it. Just play around a lot and you'll find something you like. The black background maybe hard but work in a really dark room. It will be tough to see and you'll probably have to set the camera for manual focus but it will pay off. __________________ Electric Dreams Inc. ^^^My Photo Blog^^^ Canon 30D with BG-E2 / 50mm f1.4 / 20mm f2.8 / 580EXII Leica M4P / 35mm Summicron f2 / 50mm Summilux f1.4

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