A few ideas for a self portrait photoshoot & the weekly linkup

I hadn’t intended to share these photos with you today. But I ended up running out of time yesterday and wasn’t able to take any other photos, so I guess I’m sharing my first self portrait photoshoot using the newfound ‘skills’ I’ve been learning. But I did take a few OOTD photos too, just in case! It’s not the most exciting outfit, I know, but it is the kind of thing I wear most days.

It seems that a lot has happened this week with regards to my photography. After sharing with the world about the fire in my belly regarding my creativity, I decided I needed to put in more effort to learn the skills. And it all seems to have happened rather serendipitously (I love that word)! Firstly, I headed on over to the Udemy site. It’s a brilliant learning site where you can purchase courses of all kinds. I’ve been using it for a few years now, having bought several courses, including Yoga, Affinity Photo, Affinity Designer, NLP, and more. Every now and again, they have brilliant promotions going on where you can buy a course that usually retails for over £150, at just 15,99 or so. It really is a no-brainer if you want to learn skills fast.

Anyway, so I popped on over and immediately found a great photography course that was, indeed, on offer! YAY! So I nabbed it real quick, and then thought, ‘hm…perhaps I should look at the videography courses too’. I duly bought a videography course! And then, while I was at it, figured I may as well add graphic design to the mix too lol. So I bought three courses for 40 odd euros. Bargain! I started the photography course a couple of days ago and I’m learning loads—and loving it!

And then yesterday, whilst walking the dog and listening to a photography podcast, I heard the host mention the name of a well known photographer, so I made a mental note to google him when I got back. It turns out this guy is one of the most famous wedding photographers in the world. His name is Jerry Ghionis (Greek Australian). I clicked on a youtube video that literally had me at hello (love Jerry Maguire). LOL. I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen the entire time. Jerry’s photography is simply beautiful. So beautiful, in fact, that I kept welling up! Goddam hormones!!

I clicked on his website and there was a webinar coming up. And there was literally 11 minutes to go before sign-up would disappear. I clicked like a mad woman and, a short while later, sat down to watch the webinar. I was so blown away by this guy’s talent, I just wanted to absorb everything he had to say. Needless to say, at the end of the webinar, there was a course you could buy. Although he is a wedding photographer, he reiterated that wedding photography really does cover all kinds of photography, which was abundantly clear throughout. Anyway, the course usually retails at $1700 and it was on offer for…..$299!! And so… I bought it YAY (after much deliberation, because I don’t usually like to spend so much on myself!). I’m so excited that I get to learn from such talent. Hopefully, over the coming months, you might start to see an improvement in my photography skills, but we’ll see how it goes.

These photos, however, are from my first self portrait photoshoot (before learning with Jerry), using my old Nikon D3200 DSLR, a nifty fifty (see, I’m learning!), and my remote control.

For the second photo above (the funky blue one), I used a free filter from one of my favourite Affinity Photo Youtubers, Olivio Sarikas. It’s cool, isn’t it? And for these two soft photos (below), I used a lace scarf placed over the lens. I was pleasantly surprised by the effect it gave — kind of like a 1970s romance book cover lol. Reminds me of Jilly Cooper’s earlier book covers, come to think of it. Remember them—Imogen, Harriet, etc, etc? I think it would be nice for ‘boudoir’ photos, but don’t worry, I’ve no plans to share any such photos on the blog LOL!

My favourite ones though, are the black and white images. I shot them in colour (RAW) and then did a little bit of work to them in Affinity Photo (a much more affordable alternative to Photoshop). What do you think of my very first self portrait photoshoot?

If you’re thinking of doing a self portrait photoshoot like this, here are some suggestions:

1. If you’re indoors, move next to a window and use the natural light as much as possible

2. Use soft lace over the camera lens to get a super soft romantic look

3. Try different hats to get a different vibe

4. Experiment with filters—you can get free ones online from the likes of Olivio Sarikas, for instance

5. Don’t be shy, or embarrassed—it’s just you having some fun!

And here is my OOTD—skinny jeans, rocker chick t-shirt, new pink baseball cap, and my pointy Ecco trainers. Like I said, it’s not particularly inspiring but perfectly acceptable for hanging around the house lol! The photo outdoors is very boring because I used the lens that came with the camera to see the difference and it’s well, blah.
And now for the Neverending Style link-up! Please join in the fun and add all your posts—style and lifestyle, below.

Last week’s favourite (most clicked) was Daenel from Living Outside the Stacks, who was styling an outfit inspired by the most beautiful piece of art for the Style Imitating Art challenge. I think she looks stunning, and I love her bi-monthly challenge, it’s always such fun to take part!