I’ve noticed recently, in looking for a new Facebook profile pic, that taking self portraits don’t really work. Because I hand-hold the camera myself (instead of going through the hassle of setting up a tripod, and the adjusting the direction in which it’s pointed — because that’s just anal and vain right), I end up using a relatively wide focal length (< 35mm for sure). At the extreme edges (i.e., 17/18mm where my lens starts), things are just wacky and distorted (big nose for all). However even when the focal length is more normal, say at 24mm or 35mm, stuff still doesn't look right. My current picture was taken with a 50mm at f/1.8 (or f/2.8 I can't remember), and the proportions seem more accurate. I can only assume it's because telephotos are truly better for portraits since a longer focal length flattens things out.

Posted by Kevin in Blogs Tags: photography