171 Shooting a promo photo
Most artists are introverts. If you're like me one of the things you dislike most is shooting a promotional photograph. Tonight I shot the photo at right using a device called the Selfy. It's a remote trigger that syncs with your iPhone. All you have to do is sync it—there is no app or other download. Note that the trigger comes with a case. It appears to be a nice enough case but it is not essential to attach the case for the trigger to work. I use a battery pack so didn't use the Selfy case. Frankly I was surprised the remote was so easy to use. I'm kind of a Neo-Luddite and the thought of difficult installations are painful.
To get this shot I stacked a bunch of canvases against my taboret, turned the desklamp–with 60 watt incandescent bulb– toward my face and snapped about 20 pictures with the Selfy. I like this one the best because the lighting across my face seemed the most expressive.
I rigged my StudioBoom with a device to grip my iPhone and turned the viewing mode so I could see the shot in the LCD display. I've never had fun taking promo shots until I used this set up. I think this is the first self promo shot where I'm smiling.
Brad Teare—May 2014
Hey, that's a fantastic promotional selfy! Even before I read what you said about it, I loved the dramatic lighting and "artsy" feel. And you look totally at home and in your element, surrounded by canvas and holding brushes.
ReplyDeleteThanks Retta. I have a long succession of promo photos where I look terribly irritated. Because it WAS irritating to take them. I usually put them off till the last minute because they were so unpleasant.
DeleteLookin' good, Brad!
ReplyDeleteWell done!
Thanks Bob. It really was fun. It's a relief knowing getting a promo shot won't be so much of a hassle. Now if I could figure out how to make updating my bio fun!
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