As it turns out, I never got around to doing anything for the 'Masters Free Study" - just didn't have time for the stuff I wanted to try. But at the beginning of the month, I had a go at some family portraits which ultimately led to me trying a self portrait. Since it turned out to be quite difficult to do (especially with a face like mine!), I deemed it worthy to enter just with the hard-to-do-well factor. I was also curious how it would rate. I guess 6.0x isn't too bad, but man I'm disappointed in the placement. I see a lot of B&W head-shots in my line of work, and I kinda think this one is unique... I NEVER like how I look in pictures & this one I don't mind so much!
Oh, btw, I'm not wearing any pants in this picture.
(I wanted to label it as such, but that seemd a little inappropriate given the semi-serious nature of a 'Masters Free Study' :)
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One of the comments below made me realize that I should add one note here: This is me, just as I am - other than a slight sharpening of the pupils to compensate for being a bit out of focus (I manually preset focus & triggered with an IR remote but I had leaned in a little for this pose). As it turns out, I overdid it. This is one of the last images I edited on my dying old Mitsubishi CRT monitor. On my new NEC LCD, it definitely looks overdone. Aw, well...
So other than that, there was no retouching - I left the scars, wrinkles & discoloring in. The angle of my face and the lighting does wonders, tho'!
B&W treatment was achieved through 2 adjustment layers of Hue &bSat, but I probably should have done a tri-tone treatment afterwards. Thanks for all the great comments.
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I remember seeing this photo earlier in the month -- you must have posted it to your portfolio for awhile. It's very striking, though for my taste the eyes are a bit overdone. I think a subtler (more evenly drawn) line around the pupils would be less artificial. Overall though it's a good, flattering self-portrait.
Usually the "self portrait" challenges makes people cringe, but you did one in a free study; impressive! The B&W works well this this shot, it makes it look very crisp. The lighting is great with no harsh shadows or uneven lighting and the glint off the earing is a plus. If i had to give criticism, I would say that its not the most "original" shot. 6
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