Results of 2nd April Photography Competition
Hi All,
I am delighted to announce submissions and the winner of our 2nd competition for April. We have received more entries than I anticipated for our little group.
I was expecting a few people to be camera shy, but fair play to you all for sending in your photos. You all have came out from behind the curtain and embraced the self portrait.
On top, I was very happy to see some really excellent submissions by a few individuals who have done an outstanding job and have surprised me. I appreciate everyone taking the time to put something decent together and send it in. Photography can be a great way to break your barriers, whether that’s reaching out to others, or discovering yourself and I think a few of you have done this beyond 100%.
Hopefully, some of the top entries will help you understand the difference between a self-portrait and a selfie. Selfie is usually something you take quickly before a night out, whereas self-portrait is usually a picture of you, but more importantly, your own expression of who you are.
As per previous competition, I have divided all submissions into Tier 1, 2 and 3. Tier 1 represents the best photographic submissions followed by Tier 2 and 3.
On a little side note to ensure we are clear. If you are viewing these photos on your mobile phone, the description of each image and the artists name is underneath each image.
If you are on an iPad or PC, description is either left or right of the image.
As usual, always remember, that these photo submissions are my opinion, that does not necessarily make this right or wrong. I simply judge them based on the rules outlined in the rules of the competition.
Hopefully, some feedback will help you learn something new and make you excel in your future photography.
Without further delays, enjoy these beautiful photos and people at it’s best.
Winning Submission
Our winner of this weeks competition is Frano Vidic and his beach self portrait. Congratulations Frano. Your photo will be featured on our Facebook and Meetup Page headers for the week.
Frano Vidic
It’s hard to describe this photo, I just feel the connection to you through this photo. More specifically, it’s the eye contact. To me, the most important point in a portrait, is the eye contact, for one reason or the other, I can feel you looking at me, as creepy as that might sound :D.
Outside of this, you have managed to balance the light on your face between shadow and highlights in direct sunlight and composed the photo and yourself very nicely in this photograph.
Well done and congratulations.
Tier 1 - Self Portraits
Here are the images from the fellow photographers for Tier 1. Well done and congratulations.
Kasia Katarzyna
We had a few late submissions this week, but it was worth waiting for this portrait. It was very hard to pick this or Frano’s photo. Like the winning portrait, I can connect to you with direct eye contact and natural framing of the photo.
You have managed to make the photo stand out with some interesting shadows and highlights. The play with your hair give this photo mood and feeling. It’s well composed and has a unique feeling to it. Congratulations & Well done.
Marilyn Lawless
A very interesting photo submission. A very unique angle and perspective for a portrait.
I keep thinking that this photo should have a title that I am missing. I like the concept very much and it definitely makes it stand out from the usual portrait.
However, I feel this photo is a little bit unbalanced.
I am not a big lover of virtual frames, so take that as you like, but I always find its more of a distraction, than a compliment.
I would also review the background or the colour pop effect. It feels a little weird and it distracts me away from you, as the subject. I think everything around and outside of the subject should be a little bit darker and less saturated. to help you stand out in the picture.
However, great job and well done for capturing my attention to hop into Tier 1.
Bried Collins
Well done with this great image. I can see you put in great effort into your photograph. The image is well exposed and we have good eye contact. We have a good proud posture that differentiates this portrait from a typical selfie or mugshot.
Couple of tips would be to move the background a little bit further away from you or move yourself, this will help you get a completely black background.
Another tip is to mess around and have some fun with some different expressions. Just set the camera on a timer to take continuous images and go wild with silly poses and looks. Some shots can be frustrating at the beginning, but you will eventually find what works and what helps you express yourself.
Tier 2 - Portraits
Closely followed by Tier 2 Submissions.
Haseeb Butt
A very nicely lit portrait. You have nice soft light and a well exposed face. This interesting angle gives this photo a little bit of mystery and a different feeling to it.
Fair play for embracing the side profile shot, not many people have embraced it since Patrick Pearse :)
However, I feel if you stood up a little bit and cleaned up the surroundings or eliminate them, this would have set the image apart a bit better and clean it up for a proper portrait.
Avril Kenny
Thanks for the submission Avril and nice use of direct sun to expose your image and give it nice vivid colours and separation from the background.
However, I would like a little bit more connection to the camera. I can’t help to think that there’s something outside the frame that has your attention, it doesn’t feel intentional and throws me off a little bit.
Sorina Popescu
Thanks Sorina for you submission. Well done for finding a way to clean up the background and eliminate any distractions for the viewer.
A tip for the future is to try mess around with window light and blinds. Find a good distance from the window with a clean background and mess around with the curtains to block the light entering the room, this will create more a moody & dramatic effect.
Also mess around with different poses and body angles. Whenever we shoot portraits, we usually pose our body 45 degrees away from the camera. This gives us a more pleasing pose and angles.
Manoela Martins
Thanks Manoela for your self portrait submission. You’ve managed to light up your face nicely. I can only assume that sparkle in the eyes is a window light which is a great way to start taking natural light portraits.
Same tip as for Sorina. Try to part block or close the curtains to block some light in order to darken the background and eliminate any distractions from the image. You can always part close the curtains or even use bin liners and a bit of tape as a way block the light on your background.
I also like the way you have framed your portrait. A close up of your face helps the viewer focus on you as the subject and your expression.
Adrian Furlong
Thanks for your submission Adrian.
A very nice photo and a nice expression, however, parts of your face, especially the eyes are completely black and I can’t see them.
Try removing any hats or obstacles that might block light falling on your face, which is the key objective when taking a self portrait.
Tier 3 - Selfies
Followed by the last Tier in our photo competition. Thanks so much for participating.
Melosh Mutavijich
Thanks Melosh for you submission. A very fun and inviting pose.
Tips for the future is to try be a little bit more inventive with the background and avoid parts of picture frames as your background.
Olive O’Brien
Hi Olive, thanks for your submission of your portrait, it’s nicely lit and composed image.
Couple of tips for the future, whenever taking peoples picture. The angle of the body (not the head) should be 45 degrees away from the camera to give yourself or whoever you’re taking a picture off a more flattering pose.
As photographers, we usually tend to avoid posing our subjects body straight to the camera as it has resemblance to a selfie or a mug shot.
Liam Byrne
Hi Liam. I couldn’t figure out for a while where the self portrait part of you was in this picture.
Because of the very faint reflection of you in the train window, I focused more on the train passengers and the train as opposed to you.
This does not really qualify as a self portrait, but I have included this in the competition.
Thanks for you submission.
Thank you all so much for participating. It’s great so see such enthusiasm.
If you’re up for it, click HERE to see our 2nd weeks competition and submit your next amazing photo :)
Regards
Evan