Paul Osborne wrote:
So suggestions for the self portrait technique would be good.
Paul
I can offer some help here - as taking clear pics of your own eye is a LOT harder than you might first realise!
So here are some tips:
1) Switch OFF your flash! Most cameras default to "auto" - make sure it is totally off.
2) Use good natural lighting wherever possible - if this is not possible, try a small torch. If all else fails manually increase the exposure setting if your camera allows this (increases chance of blurry pics though - see next tip).
3) Set up your camera on something steady, ideally a tripod - I found our fridge to be the ideal height!
4) Get in (a comfortable) position. Support your head to keep it steady. Close the eye you aren't photographing so you can line up the lens directly in front of your other eye, then...
5) Eyes wide open! - even if it means you pull a silly face in the process - you can always crop that out later!
6) Set your camera to "burst" or "multi-shot" mode - that way you won't kick yourself for blinking at the worst moment!
7) Use your camera's self-timer, (especially if the wait is adjustable) - this avoids blurry pics caused by movement when pressing the button.
8 ) If you feel comfortable getting really close to the camera, try using the "macro" setting.
(You may also like to try taking a photo through a large magnifying glass - although it can be trickier to get an in-focus image).
9) Take lots of photos and sort through them on the computer later - as pics that look fine on the camera's screen might turn out to be blurry when viewed full size on a computer's monitor.
10) Practice makes perfect! My early attempts were not that great really, but got better over following weeks. Shame really as the early days are the most interesting - but the light sensitivity combined with the poorer vision (compared to later) work against you.
Happy snapping!
Rob.
