GH1 Portrait – How it was done

Here are two images to show you how the self portrait on the About Me page was taken:

The above photo shows how the composition side of it was done.   I mounted the GH1 on a tripod and spun the LCD screen around so that I could see myself, and then I adjusted the tripod head direction and height and the lens zoom so that it captured the image framing I wanted.

The following screen grab shows you the method I used to take the photo – an HD video (1920 x 1080 pixels) so that I didn’t have to go back and forth to start the self timer.  The GH1 also has the advantage of continually auto focusing when it’s shooting video.  And I didn’t have to worry about blinking at the wrong moment, as I could selcct the photo or photos I liked best from the 6,785 frames taken.

I changed my position, distance from camera  and zoom settings throughout  the shoot.  This is where the GH1 continual autofocus made these changes practical.

I also have to pay tribute to my optician, Justin Maher of Glen Huntly Eyecare.  The glasses he prescribed for me earlier this year don’t show any reflections.

The section process might sound like a daunting task, but it was quite easy when most of shots didn’t work for me.  The screen grab below was set up solely for use on this page.  I used Vegas Movie Studio for the editing, but it’s user interface is straight from the professional version, and is not designed to look pretty.