The first lesson was in lighting.
I consider myself to be an adequate amateur photographer with a good grasp of the fundamentals. However, occasionally I manage to expose my ignorance in a fashion that makes me chuckle.
Exhibit one! I took this as a “before” picture. When I captured it, I looked at the view screen on the camera and deemed it acceptable. A bit overexposed in the background, but good enough to be working with.
Exhibit two! This one was taken immediately post shave and shower. Maybe 10 minutes had passed. The only difference in these two shots is the light coming in the window onto my face and reflecting off some white sheets to my left. Still a bit overexposed (especially on the face) but so much better than the first shot, for lighting up my face.
Portraiture has been something I’ve been interested in for a while, but I’ve not gotten to it because I know it will be more of a study (practice, practice, practice) than the type of photography I’ve done most of my life. I remarked to Jenn that, based on these two shots, I really need to buckle down and learn about lighting and start practicing1
I was extremely amused with myself when I downloaded these images and saw the difference. My first thought was, “Why did I think that first shot was a good one?”
Oh, what’s the second lesson I alluded to?
I look a lot younger without the grey side burns.