Take Self-Portrait When Solo Travel

Since I love to take photos and love to be inside the photos (hahaha), these tips are really important!

This is a nice article from Solo Traveler Blog :

The Tricks of a Solo Photographer

Capturing the moment in photographs is as important to solo travelers as it is to anyone.

And while it’s fine that we’re not in most of the shots, it would be nice to have the occasional photo as evidence that we were actually there.

Everyone likes photos of themselves – including solo travelers. 

(Especially me!!!)

The Hazards of Self-portrait Photography

But there are hazards to taking your own photo. With most cameras, you won’t be able to look through the viewfinder and take your photo at the same time. There’s a lot of guess-work involved – and a lot of room for errors such as:

• A chopped off head.
• The “Kilroy Was Here” effect (peaking up at the bottom).
• The horrors of a double chin you didn’t know you have (and needn’t show). --> (this is what PhotoWonder are for :P If you are an iPhone user, you must know this hahaha)
• Massive dark circles under your eyes caused by light from above. (again, PhotoWonder will do its job for you)
• Disappearing altogether because of a back light (particular problem of mine with white hair).

The list goes on.

How to Take Your Own Photo

Fortunately, with a bit of practice, you can avoid these problems and take great self-portraits. To master the one handed, no viewfinder shot:

• Shoot yourself using the widest angle your camera offers. Zooming in leaves too little room for error.
• Extend your arm fully. Again, this gives you more room to get it right plus it will show where you are – the background will show.
• Hold your extended arm at the same angle whenever possible. Through hit and miss, you can discover the best angle to show your best side.
• Be aware of how you hold your head and be consistent with it as well (to avoid the double chin challenge.)
• Make sure that there are no smoke stacks or flower pots positioned behind your head (so that they don’t appear to be springing out of your head in the photo).
• Be aware of the location of the sun to avoid ghastly shadows under the eyes or the silhouette effect.
• Don’t be shy to send a big smile into the camera. So what if people around are looking at you oddly. You’re happy and your photos should reflect that.
• Delete all horrible pictures of you. I have no really bad ones to show because I’ve already deleted them.

(Fortunately, karena aku suka foto2 sendiri (alias camwhoring..hahaha) jadi sedikit banyak udah bisa mastering trik2 itu. Kalo mau gampang, pake aja iPhone, atau smartphone lain yang bisa foto dari kamera depan, problem solved! :D )

contohnya foto2 sendiri yg berhasil :D

Another option for the solo photographer

Only recently did I buy an iPhone and one of the big surprises was the ability to see myself as I take my own photograph. However, I think I will stick with my method with my camera for a number of reasons. It offers a wider angle making it easier to get more in the picture, the photo is larger and the quality is better. However, in a pinch the phone is a great solution.

(long story short: pake iPhone atau smartphone lain kalo butuh nampang-on-the-go :D Tapi kalo butuh nampang yang rada banyak dan tempat memungkinkan, alias ada tempat datar buat naruh kamera baru pake digicam, atau kalo kita tebel muka, minta orang sekeliling buat motoin, hahahaha)

Personally, kalo aku solo traveling ntar, untuk masalah dokumentasi, cukup berbekal iPhone dan kamera Prosumer Fujifilm yg biasanya aku pake buat foto2 cosplay :D More than enough for capturing the journey :)