How to get this shot: close up of your own eye


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Originally uploaded by Tukay Canuck

Here’s a picture of my eye.

It probably wouldn’t be anything special, except that I took it myself, which may make it a bit challenging (or lucky, if you shoot blindly).

Here’s how I did it.

  1. I mounted my camera on my tripod.
  2. I used my 24-70 mm lens, with a close-up (Cokin) attachment
  3. I had a flash on the camera (SB-900), with a ring flash attachment
  4. I sat in front of my TV, and hooked up my camera to the TV.
  5. With the camera on LiveView mode (what the camera sees is projected upon the television), I positioned myself and the camera to focus on my eye.
  6. I set the camera on remote control mode, so I could fire it by my remote.
  7. I aimed an LED flashlight at my face to better see my eye on the television, and to aide the camera in focusing correctly.
  8. Since I was using a flash, I could use a narrower aperture setting, creating a wider depth of field (in case I moved too much).

Clearly, from this picture, I need more sleep.

That’s it for today’s tip.

Mmmm….blood


macabre_05485-Edit-2

Originally uploaded by Tukay Canuck

So I’m doing this 365 project, which means a picture a day, every day, for a year. Every day, without exception, I need to take a picture. Even if I’m busy, I’ll snap a picture with my iPhone. Today I decided to be creative and plan the shot, so I came up with this shot, along with a plethora of other macabre shots.

My original concept was to shoot into the butcher knife and see the bloodied reflection of me, but that was harder than I thought when I’m shooting alone. Even when things don’t go according to plan, you adjust and improvise. I’m happy with the results even if they weren’t my original vision.

(The blood is edible and quite yummy, and the black dirt I found under my car. Not so yummy.)

Click on the picture to go to Flickr, and see the other pictures in the series.

I hope you like, and hope you don’t get any nightmares tonight….